annus horribilis. The crisis has exposed previously unacknowledged realities, including frailties and vulnerabilities. For many countries, the tragedy is all the greater as some leaders had set national aspirations for 2020, suggested by the number's association with perfect vision. But their failures are no reason to reject national projects. As Helen Keller, the deaf and blind author activist, noted a century ago, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision." After JFK's assassination in November 1963 ended US opposition to western intervention in Indonesia, President Sukarno warned his nation in August 1964 that it would be "living dangerously",