[eadmund]

> Maybe the attitude towards "truth vs. face" is similar in Egyptian governmental institutions.

My initial instinct when reading the prologue was to think about that, and be proud that we’re not like that. But then I reflected a bit more, and wondered. When folks say something we dislike, do we consider that it may be true, or do we shut down the conversation?

I’m reminded of the response to any number of public controversies in my lifetime, when unpopular arguments did not result in compelling counter-arguments but instead in shout-downs.

[inglor_cz]

This is a good observation, but as usual, everything comes in degrees of severity.

To fabricate an implausible report about a plane crash which took more than 60 lives is a very deep institutional problem, let us hope that this won't become the planetary norm.

[aprilthird2021]

It's actually a shallow institutional problem. If the dictator wants the report to say one thing, it must, the end.