This is a translation of an article from a Japanese travel website, containing ten tips for travelers visiting America. Some of the observations are critical (apparently the author doesn't like American food), but others are more positive (apparently drivers here are much better than they are there). Overall, it's an interesting glimpse at how certain parts of our culture look from an outside perspective.

I'm posting this at the last minute, so the article I found doesn't really have to do with government. Still, I think it could be relevant. After all,

I had a bit of trouble finding a relevant article, but the one I chose can be found here.

This article has to do with several high-profile Germans being charged with tax evasion, including the mayor of Berlin and the treasurer of the country's conservative party. Apparently, a few years ago, the authorities got ahold of some CDs with a bunch of data regarding financial records, and there's been a lot more attention given to things like tax evasion since then. The article mentions that a lot of ordinary citizens decided to be honest about their finances in order to avoid being caught.

Apparently, some of this has to do with the perception of such crimes changing. It's becoming less socially acceptable.

I can't really figure out what the people who were charged had to do, but it looks like they just had to pay the money they owed. Given how wealthy these people are, that doesn't seem like much more than a slap on the wrist.