Pire, Wrong analogy. For their day-to-day operations, Harvard and The Open Society have NEVER made any claim to be democratic institutions. Both are private and non-profit institutions, with their own institutionally arranged hierarchies in place. That's fine. **** Democracy = public, open, and that everyone, even the most disliked/irriated person has a chance to do what everyone else is doing with no fear of retaliation or without succumbing to someone else's exercise of arbitrary power. Democracy is all about learning to tolerate people whose guts you hate so long as they or you do not break the law. I see the fight for democracy in terms of: Letting EVERY child in Nepal to grow up to her fullest natural potential to be anything she desires to be WITH few arbitrary (i.e. man-made) obstacles there for her. I have no desire to fight for democracy for the corrupt netas, but for 20 million Nepalis under the age of 40 whose potentials are yet to be realized for the greater good os us all. oohi ashu