The State of Dis-union

As thought, some communications have been restored to Nepal. Make your phone calls now while you have a chance. If you can't get through, we are told, keep trying. Those of you still interested in blogdai finding someone in Nepal, contact blogdai@nepalimail.com or wait for more communication options to emerge. We will still attempt to find those on our lists unless you request a cancellation.

A little unforseen problem for the King. Communication crack-downs always seem to cause more problems than anticipated. Nepal's new bag of troubles includes: some $8-$10 million dollars stuck in mid-transfer from international banks seeking to wire money to Nepal; credit card purchases and ATM withdrawls denied from lack of wire connection to verify funds; and international flight confirmation made impossible due to inability to code verify through the international reservation system, resulting in cash-only, first come first serve airline ticketing.
Blogdai has maintained throughout the postings that it is impossible to isolate a country again, once it has opened itself to the world. Nepal is not North Korea.

Two interesting quotes from the Indian media that were released almost simultaneously:
The first states that "India is dead set against third party negotiation" for this crisis. Blogdai wonders why? One can assume that India considers Nepal to be its personal fiefdom. The next comes from the King who says: (paraphrasing) "..Nepal is committed to multiparty democracy, but this is impossible while the Maoist threat exists.." Sounds like the foundation is being laid for a military movement against the Maoists. This is expected, but will China have a role in this movement? Blogdai says, yes.

BLOGDAI'S OWN PERSONAL RUMOR MILL.
Blogdai works for the CIA. False. I refuse to spend my life collecting business cards.
Blogdai works for the King. False. I personally can't stand the guy but give him his chance.
Blogdai is an alien. Only in countries other than my own.
There is some sinister purpose behind Blogdai. True. I like open communications and a free press.
Blogdai is anti-democracy. False. I am against mis-appropriating the term for personal gain.

Many of you are wondering about blogdai's identity and method. Forget it. Blogdai's sources and communication lines would be jeopardized. This may well be a moot point in the next day or two anyway. Hopefully we can all get back to talking politics and making fun of things.

A bit of a note on the level of discourse of this forum: blogdai has stayed awake quite a bit during this crisis in an effort to find information. Years of on-the-ground experience help me find information in obscure places- like the wide myriad of Nepali chatrooms. Being sleep deprived, I have made what I thought was a mistake by posting our forum's details on these sites. As a result, we have had a wave of chat-room style, invictive-laced, vitriol from some new fast-typing friends that is not always based on sound principles of argumentation and debate. -----But now, after some sleep, I think we need this. These are, generally, young, frustrated Nepalis. They don't like foreigners telling them about their country. They don't necessarily want to hear outside solutions either.

Therein lies the conflict: if we at Nepalnow.blogspot.com do not debate these issues, who will? Cultivating world opinion and interest about Nepal adds to everyone's knowledge. This knowledge may even help prevent some of the silly tabloid journalism that we are currently hearing about Nepal from the West. Truthfully, Westerners can't begin to understand the passions and convictions of Nepalis during this time. A recent history of unstable governments, the murder of a beloved former king and Maoist atrocities have thrown most of the citizens of this peaceful nation into anguish. Go ahead, read through some of these postings. These people have had enough of western preaching; they just want some peace.
-=blogdai