Blogdai

Nepal: A Word About "Foreigners"

2011-12-29T14:57:00.000-08:00

Why is it that every time any large-scale political or human issue befuddles and confuses us in Nepal we immediately accuse nebulous "foreign forces" of everything from simple meddling to outright sabotage?

We take to the street in a foamy rage every time an Indian actor or author dares call Nepal anything less than a sovereign nation; we flip-out when foreign dignitaries issue shallow threats; we have a media coronary if some ambassador says that he envisions "Maoists walking down to Singha Durbar;" and we dismiss anti-Monsanto protests because they "seem to have a majority of foreigners" present.

Get over it Nepal and grow up.

If we want to be respected on the world stage, we have to learn to be secure enough in our own identity to not only tolerate the voices of foreigners, but actively solicit their advice and counsel when needed. If there seems to be a lot of foreigners in a Monsanto protest its because foreigners have infinitely more experience in dealing with Monsanto than we in Nepal and we should listen to their advice in the spirit of neighborly help and greater understanding. If a U.S. ambassador speaks out against a bandh, its because he's seen it all before and knows that bandhs hurt Nepal's image immeasurably in the eyes of the world.

Monsanto protest, November 2011, Maharajganj

The banner is written in Nepali and for Nepalis and mostly held up by foreigners

We are trying to re-build a nation in Nepal and we need to wise-up and take all the good advice we can get. It will pose more than enough difficulty for our young people to work around Nepal's corrupt and worthless political apparatus and form a new governmental structure in the coming years, and shutting out all good-intentioned foreign advice will only add to this difficulty. So, I'll say this once:

NATIONAL UNITY CANNOT BE BUILT ON XENOPHOBIA

Fear cripples development, saps our young people of confidence, and keeps politicians corrupt and unaccountable to citizens.

We grow when we decide to learn--from all sources.

-=blogdai

Gagan Thapa is an Idiot

2011-12-19T13:03:00.000-08:00

Gagan Thapa angrily rejecting India's latest bribe of "5 more meat shops."

Blogdai is tired of this guy.

He was a screaming little boy during Jana Andolan and now he's a bought-and-paid-for member of the NC. Hooray. Now take your money and go shut up somewhere. Don't you have a string of meat markets to run in Kathmandu? Quite a nice set up for a boy who started with nothing, don't you think? Where did you get all that cash, Papa Koirala or did you just go to Delhi directly?

Seems Lady Gagan is just beside himself these days. He just can't handle the fact that the U.S. ambassador is concerned about the NC initiated bandh and may re-instate the travel warning for U.S. citizens thinking about coming to Nepal. Gaga(n) thinks its perfectly alright to bully the government into meeting NC demands under the shallow premise that one of their cadres was killed in a Kathmandu jail. Rule of law be damned! We're taking to the streets and we're going to break some things!

Once a street thug, always a street thug.

Let's see, our brave man of the people says absolutely nothing about China's arrogant in-roads into just about every aspect of Nepali politics or India's constant meddling (don't want to bite the hand that feeds on that one, shh!)but is quick to accuse U.S. Ambassador Scott DeLisi of meddling in Nepal's internal affairs for making an appropriate and correct assessment of the bandh and its effects.

Look no further than this for motivation: Lady Gagan is a boy of the streets. A little street action gets his blood going and he just might be making his little play for an advanced leadership position in the NC.

Other than that, his words are just shallow posturing by a screaming little coward.

Take another bribe and crawl back into your hole.

-=blogdai

We All Thought Paras Did It

2011-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Prachanda's recent interview with Greatway magazine. He basically confesses what we here at blogdai have been telling you all along,

http://nepalnow.blogspot.com/2005/06/i-dont-even-want-to-think-about-it.html

that none other than our crooked old blogdai nemesis Girija babu was the main boss behind the unholy alliance between Maoist, Nepal and India. He started and finished jana andolans one and two for his own personal means and......

MAY HAVE HAD A HAND IN THE ASSASSINATION OF KING BIRENDRA.

Sure, we got most of this from the most Rupert Murdoch-like news source in Nepal, The Telegraph, but hey, a quote is a quote.

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-10-22/nepal-maoist-chief-dahals-dangerous-leak-claims-girija-was-war-guru

-=blogdai

The Lumbini Connection

2011-08-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

That deal to take over Buddhism down in Lumbini must really be a hot potato. The Chinese not only will not give up on the deal but they are sending 50 "representatives" to Kathmandu to try and change minds at Singha Durbar.   Typical Chinese move: make a big show of force when you don't get your way and try and bully everyone until they give in.

Nepal held the line about not letting the Chinese take over Lumbini and turn it into a Communist theme park. The truth is, our politicians were miffed at not being let in on the big cash pay-day so they rejected the deal. Corruption as a force for national unity, who would have thought!

It's laughable that the Chinese first went to two of the most bribe-taking-for-sale-to-the-highest bidder types in Nepal to get their foot in the door: Paras and Prachanda, the "Pee Pee twins," both of whom have visited Beijing so many times that they makes ol' Girija's frequent past trips to Delhi look like a once in a lifetime pilgrimage. The Pee Pee's took the money and ran. The Chinese overestimated their effectiveness. Somewhere Sujata is screaming: "hey, why didn't you guys call me?"

It's creepy how China tried to do the whole deal through the shadowy Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation. (APEC). Foundation Chairman Eric Tay is a steely-eyed Hong Kong businessman who just happens to have big expertise at defense system and radar listening equipment procurement.

No wonder the Chinese are sending 50 of their best and brightest bullys to Kathmandu, we wrecked their big shot at setting up a spy center and they're trying like mad to salvage the deal and not get exposed!

It's an outrage that a branch of the UN may be in collusion with Chinese efforts.

Kandeh K. Yumkella, the current director of the United Nations International Development Organization (UNIDO) seems to be supportive of APEC efforts in Lumbini. What gives? Aside from being a native of Sierra Leone and probably tired of the fact that our cricket team routinely kicks the shit out of his country's squad, Mr. Yumkella is also a member of the China Council of International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) which consists of senior Chinese officials and international experts and advises top Chinese Government officials on development issues.Oops. Could it be that Director Yumkella is on China's Lumbini payroll?

It's strangely curious that one Mr. Graham Wrigley, a member of the Himalayan Trust, UK branch, seems to be hovering around the sidelines. He and Mr. Yumkella both spoke at a Sierra Leone trade and investment forum in 2009

His current focus is on sustainable private sector growth in poor countries. He is Chairman of Aureos (the largest small to medium enterprise (SME) investor in low income countries with $1.1bn under management and 29 offices in Africa, Asia, and Latin America) and he sits on the Board of Manocap (a private equity fund based in Sierra Leone). In addition he is working in the Microfinance field in India and Nepal

So it looks like we can add a Sierra Leone connection to the mix.

__________________________________________________________

blogdai can't tell where all of this is going right now but my big guess will be the following:


1. The Chinese will agree to help fund the Nepali version of a Lumbini restoration scheme and agree to it's limitations for the moment.

2. China will throw a lot of money around Singha Durbar and Lumbini and eventually wind up building something similar to what it had originally proposed; spy center and all.

3. The Nepali people will lose one of it's world treasures to the forces of money and political arrogance.

-=blogdai

----------------------------------------------Update: August 9, 2011
IBN News has just reported that the Chinese have now officially signed the Lumbini deal. As predicted , they've somehow given in to the original Nepali design, but are planning an international airport as well. We lose.

Epic China Fail

2011-07-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Jai Nepal! blogdai is happy these days. Some of the darkest and most agenda-driven interests in Nepal have been thwarted and sent packing!

Lumbini, birthplace of Lord Buddha, is still safe in the hands of Nepalis.

China was pushing hard to force one of its typical hyper-development rapes on the most sacred site in Buddhism. A big plan was hatched where an international airport, hotels, tourist traps and a huge Chinese contingent of cynical profiteers was to be dumped on Lumbini in the name of China's version of "development." China even brought the "Pee Pee" twins (Prachanda and Paras) into the deal in hopes of tapping into that huge vein of corruption in Parliament.

Proposed site of China's new "Happy Panda" massage parlor and mini-mall

Fortunately, the only force equal to ineptitude in Nepal politics is Xenophobia, so the plan was rejected outright on the grounds that there was too much foreign control.

China's plan is clear to anyone who follows China's simple patterns: control the birthplace of the Buddha and you can eventually re-make Buddhism into a nice Chinese Communist Party-approved amusement. China sought to control the message from where the message began. They've begun to realize that simply picking their own Lama re-incarnations isn't suppressing Tibetan anger so they were trying to go after the source and perhaps re-write or mis-represent Buddhist history in their favor.

They failed miserably.

-=blogdai

The Art of "Blowing It"

2011-07-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

Nepali officials never met an opportunity they couldn't destroy. Usually it's in politics, but in a recent move by Nepal's ANFA hierarchy-- that sporting body with high scores in football bungling--Nepal shows that it can foul up the one things that Nepalis feel a sense of pride and happiness towards: Our football team.

It seems British skipper Graham Roberts has given our Nepal side the best chance it's ever seen on the world stage, with the boys headed to Jordan for another exciting match. Nepal moves into elite territory in the Asian region if it crosses over Jordan (sorry) and gets toward World-Cup territory. Exciting stuff!

Nope.

ANFA has consistently underfunded the Side and many smell corruption. Coach Roberts has rightly complained about the incompetent staff and fields unworthy of practice. ANFA should be ashamed.

The single greatest tool a Nation has in its possession for establishing pride and a sense of national unity is its sports teams.

We are all Nepalis when one of our own does well on the world stage; be it our Judo champions, swimmers, or our U-19 Cricket teams. WE need competence in the organizations that support our athletes so our athletes can do their best!

It is absolutely inconceivable that the ANFA has now accused Coach Roberts of blaming them for the sole purpose of covering an inevitable loss to Jordan. What a pathetic, defeatist statement from a bunch of low-class bakshish-beggars who see their country as constantly weak.

Nepal coach Graham Roberts attempts to describe the amount of excrement he had to wade through during his last visit to ANFA headquarters.

Fire every member of ANFA and replace them with volunteers from Nepal Unites, says blogdai

-=blogdAI

China Keeps Pushing

2011-07-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Vice President Jha? Are you serious? China tips its hand by showing everyone how far it is willing to go by having Ambassador Yang Houlan meet with Jha. Basically, the spearhead of Chinese visions of influence in Nepal met with the single most worthless and irrelevant politician in Nepal (and that's saying something).

What's the point? Well, politically and practically, there IS no point. Houlan is simply following orders and playing the Chinese "saturation" game of engaging any and every person in the country in an attempt to garner support.

China can see it has an opening now that India and the RAW have blown their chance. blogdai marvels at Delhi's laziness in this regard. Are they ready to cede Nepal to China?

It's well known that India is backing a resurgence of the Monarchy in Nepal, but China is moving for position at a much faster pace. China smells blood in the water and won't be denied their rare opportunity to gain position over India via Nepal.

Chinese Ambassador Houlan arguing with vice president Jha that the flower arrangements are "anti-Chinese" and must be replaced.

An Old King Probing for Weakness

2011-07-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

King G. is in the news again. He's quite outspoken about our inept politicians. With most Nepalis agreeing that the Monarchy should have at least SOME role in Nepal's affairs, his comments were well timed.

"The aspirations of all self-respecting Nepalese have been totally ignored,"

Not the kind of thing a fellow would say if he was planning to fade away into history, is it?

blogdai has always believed that a responsible Constitutional Monarchy could act as a viable balancing (if not motivating) voice to Parliament's chaos.

Former King Gyanendra catches the drool of an admirer who was unable to contain himself.

Unfortunately, his drunken bum of a son Paras, has blown any chance of honorable succession. There also remains the prickly question of: When did King G. ever give a flying fart about the "aspirations of all self-respecting Nepalese..?"

-=blogdai

Nepal: The "Inconclusive" State

2011-07-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

Who said our politicians are worthless?

Like death and taxes, our fearless fumbling fat-cats have regularly done their duty and provided the people of Nepal with one predictable, regular and guaranteed result: deadlock.

Every time one of those redundant and proceedurally confusing parliamentary meeting of the "minds" is called, we can always guarantee it will end inconclusively.

blogdai suggests that the first step towards rebuilding governmental efficiency and saving the cost and expense of such meetings is to nominate one member of government to rise to his/her feet during session and shout out: "I move that all meetings scheduled for today be resolved inconclusively."

There, I've just fixed the government

-=blogdai

China's New Envoy

2011-06-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Nope, it's not ambassador Yang Houlan. He'll do what he's told from Beijing. No, China's most visible representative in Nepal is none other than our Maoist Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

HM Mahara proudly displays the direction his nose travels when it is in the proximity of China's hind quarters.

Mahara knows his time is limited in his new post, and he's determined to not waste any of it. Aside from pardoning his Maoist buddies, Mahara, blogdai has just learned, is negotiating the wholesale transfer or border security duties to Chinese stewardship and supervision. High level meetings with Chinese security representative have been confirmed and Mahara has rolled-over 100 percent to Chinese demands.

This means China can and will move aside Nepali security forces and foray deep into Nepal on its own to look for whomever they please. This generally means Tibetans, but they can now move forces of any size into Nepal for basically any reason.

HM Mahara is a danger to the very sovereignty of Nepal. He's giving away our country and he must be stopped.

-=blogdai

The Next Step

2011-06-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

Blogdai is excited like a saano chowra. Having lived through a few revolutions from start to finish, it is a joy to watch the Nepal Unites movement gain steam and momentum. It is a wise, social-media focused effort that has learned from the youth uprisings in the middle east that complete decentralization of effort--no real leadership structure to criticize or attack--is the key to success. Smart people are running Nepal Unites; we should all watch and learn.

(Love the logo guys, but does it have to look so damn much like FOX News's?)

The best thing is to let the youth of Nepal run it as they see fit, but IMHO, the next step for Nepal Unites is to identify the things that unite Nepal and make them your own. Miss Nepal was a wise choice for endorsement. Now, how about a Nepal Unites logo for the boys U-19 cricket team? How about our Judo heroes wearing a patch on their belts when they compete? A Nepal Unites column in the paper? And ok, I hate to do it but it works: give a Nepal Unites endorsement to those political candidates who demonstrate complete devotion to Nepal and conduct their affairs with honesty and transparency. (Admittedly, this will be a rare endorsement)

Miss Nepal would make anyone want to Unite

It all sound a bit over-the-top, sure, but this stuff WORKS!

Let' help out Nepal Unites by figuring out more ideas for them. They are already asking for slogan suggestions so throw those in here also and I'll pass them along.

jai Nepal

-=blogdai

The Time Has Come

2011-06-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

...until Nepalis unite and speak with one singular voice of reason, the whole exercise of angered student protest is moot.

-=blogdai, September 2009

Why are we back? It has a lot to do with why we left in the first place. blogdai's sole purpose was to get the average Nepali Citizen involved in the political process and stimulate meaningful dialogue. That didn't happen. Discussions often strayed or missed the point entirely. We were discouraged.

Now, perhaps we're all starting to get it right again. This Nepal Unites thing might just be the kick-start we've all been looking for. At the very least, it will teach the youth of Nepal the vital lesson that politicians will never be held accountable for anything without significant back-pressure from concerned and engaged citizens.

Let's get started!

-=blogdai

Awakening

2011-06-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

I feel it again. New blood is surging. I feel like Kellen Skarsgard in King Arthur when, in his weakened state, he confronts his adversary and grabs a piece of bread for the first time and utters: "finally, someone worth killing."

What can do this to an old blog warrior like blogdai?

NEPAL UNITES
Amazing. Stay tuned as we direct comments and money to this group...

-=blogdai

Hami Sabai

So Long

2011-03-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Time for old blogdai to hit the showers. It's been a fun 6 years but now this blog has outlasted its usefulness. I'll leave it up for a while so you all can comment, curse, accuse, laud and argue one last time.

jaaani hooo.

-=blogdai

Wikileaks and Nepal Part I

2010-12-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

India has always wanted a somewhat unstable Nepal. It helps to reinforce and maintain Nepal's dependence on its big brother to the south.       --blogdai, "The Big Difference" December 2006

...blogdai sees India throwing support behind the 7-party alliance and yes, the Maoists. It's an open secret anyway, but look for more Indian arms to find their way into party hands in the future. India has always used the Maoists to keep Nepal unstable and dependent ......--blogdai "" A Tangible Shift"   September 2005

This leads one to the conclusion that India, through Girija, is now allied with the Maoists. This is a typically sneaky and autocratic way for India to deal with an uppity King so no surprises here from the "worlds largest democracy." ---blogdai "I Don't Even Want to Think About It." June 2005

Hate to say "I told you so" but we've been calling this all along. Now we hear that the proposed Wikileaks chapters dealing with Nepal are about to be revealed, and lo and behold, according to The Nepal Telegraph, the Indians confessed:

At a meeting held between the Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and a high ranking US official, Richard Holbrooke January 18, 2010, the Indian foreign secretary during a two hour long working breakfast had accepted that Indian establishment had funded the Maoists' rebellion in Nepal and that eventually became counterproductive to India.

No Kidding? Well guess what kiddies, ol' blogdai has a wikileak to tell and doesn't need a blabber mouthed State Department peon to leak it.    Remember your beloved Jana Andolan? In a nutshell, Girija allied with the Maoist and smacked down the King. The secret was, India was flaming mad at King G. for daring to try things on his own and they were looking to get even. Girija met with India (remember all those trips?), India met with the Maoists, and an unholy alliance was born. Delhi wanted the King out and knew it would take the political underhandedness of Girija and the brutal coercive practices of the Maoists to make it all work. It did.

India orchestrated and paid for the overthrow of King Gyenendra.

-=blogdai

Plenum of Confusion

2010-11-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

We've all known it for some time but this ridiculous Maoist "plenum" (is that even the correct term?) now confirms it: The Maoists are in total disarray and completely confused.

Blogdai likes these plenums and hopes the Maoists hold one every year just to make everyone else in Nepali politics feel more competent.

So let's see: the Maoists totally fail as leaders of government, they refuse to negotiate with the actual parties in power; they hold a discussion session or "plenum" and waste the time trying to form take-over power struggles among themselves. Baidya can't get allong with Battari so Dahal tries to get Baidya on his side. Meanwhile the Maoist PLA are strictly forbidden to attend the cat fight but show up anyway and threaten to disrupt everything. They also bring about 500 YCL child-thugs along for insurance.

Who cares anymore? Prachanda has lost credibility and Babu Ram has yet to form a complete, coherent public statement on anything. Why they are all clamoring for this Baidya guy's attention is anyone's guess.

So keep it up you fools, and keep it up in public so we can all watch and laugh.

-=blogdai

UNDP Report Shows Fake Progress in Nepal

2010-11-11T10:22:00.001-08:00

UN offices in Nepal are closing at a rapid pace. Nepalis are tired of the phony progress claimed by the UN while they ride around in expensive Land Cruisers and get nothing done.

Blogdai's extensive contact with UN officials and staff in Nepal has left a split impression of their personnel: They are either too young and inexperienced to make a difference and are just using Nepal as a "classroom;" or they are older, burned out officials on the downside of their careers. Either way, they are bad for Nepal.

So, rather than fix the problem, the UNDP decides to "fix" the results of their most recent Human Development report:
http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=24952

Pathetically, the UNDP has now decided that real "progress" in Nepal can now be miraculously measured simply by changing measurement indexes:

The report -- 20th anniversary edition -- has used new data and methodologies. For instance, it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita, replacing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to include income from remittances and international development assistance.

So congratulations Nepal! This new report says that every one of us is getting rich from aid money thrown at us. Of course, we can't help ourselves in this regard, but no matter, the UN comes out smelling like a rose.

-=blogdai

Have a Good Look

2010-10-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all old and new friends. Have a good look at this old blog 'cause new times are a cummin'.

As we at blogdai approach our 5 year anniversary, staff has decided that we need a revamp, so get ready all.

YOU will soon see a quicker, edgier, more up-to-date blogdai as we've added contributors from around the world who have the knowledge and insight on all things Nepali that will make the UNMIN hang its head in digrace and plunge the International Crisis Group into a panic as to how they might fake the same level of insight.

Alas, all is readily sacrificed for our readers.

Coming up:

--blogdai actually seeks out Prince Paras for an interview. I know where he drinks in Singapore.
--Exclusive interview with the "little elf hisself" Makune.
--More stupid Maoist tricks, this time documented on film.
--Uncensored posting (the usual death threats to blogdai being the exception) so wherever you screaming little YCL boys have been hiding all this time, here's your chance to form an actual complete sentence that all will see!

Hang on everyone, we're going to see if this ol' boat still knows how to throw up some spray!

-=blogdai

"Don't Be Evil" ( If it's bad business)

2010-01-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Gotta love Google's new stance in China. After a few years of being criticized for looking the other way with regard to censorship and human rights abuses in order to "open" up a Google market in China, Sergei and the boys are now threatening to pull out of China entirely after learning of Gmail hacking and strong-handed government tactics bent on uncovering the identities of dissidents and human rights activists.

It's fairly clear that Google's corporate mantra of "don't be evil" was probably applied after more of a cost/benefit analysis than an actual human soul-search. Shareholder complaints combined with the fact that Google.cn was not that profitable to begin with undoubtedly made the lights go on in Google's mind that they could get more mileage and credibility through moral grandstanding than by sitting around and continuously waiting for some elusive and mythical "massive Chinese market potential" to appear.

Yet, the move has real promise and could signal a change in how the world views China. For the last two decades, every greedy Western business has spoken in hushed tones about China's potential and how easily they are offended if one mentions small trivial things like:

-Lead Tainted Toys

-Counter-intuitive government intervention in private business

-Strict currency manipulation designed for Chinese advantages against open market societies

-Poisonous dry-wall products

-Poisonous milk products

-Poisonous anti-coagulation medicines

-The complete murder and decimation of fully 1/6 of all Tibetans and Tibetan culture.

-The complete murder and imprisonment of Uighur society.

-The shrill condemnation and interference in any activity by any country deemed "anti-China"

-The imprisonment and murder of a British citizen for drug trafficking.

-The support of despotic regimes in Burma and North Korea.

Yet, we only have our greedy, hegemonic Western arrogance to blame. We blithely think that China is an "emerging" democracy and will eventually see things our way. Bunk. Martin Jacques in his new book When China Rules the World makes a strong case for the ideas that many of us have known for years: China plays along with the rest of the world for the ultimate benefit of China. China doesn't want to be part of the world, they eventually want the world to be part of China. And, China will always use their "market potential" as a decoy and a shield to hide their barbaric human rights and economic practices.

Google, ultimate motivations aside and to their credit, is the first major corporation to say enough is enough. For that we must applaud them and hope they are the spear tip of a much larger change in world perception of China. Perhaps it has already begun. Duncan Clark, a Beijing consultant, notes these shifting winds: "People (in the Chinese government) here think no-one can do without China, and I think now some companies are thinking no-one can deal with China.."

-=blogdai

Cleaning out the Inventory

2009-11-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

blogdai has been following our government and its sense of frustration at the United Nations and its meddling in Nepal's internal affairs. The UN is insisting that Makune form a unity government. The little elf, to his credit, basic told the UN to go to hell and let Nepal make its own government. blogdai has also told the UN to go to hell on many an occasion, and this column will be no exception. In fact its time to take inventory of anyone we can think of who is worthless, burned-out, meddlesome and just plain incompetent and get them out of the country. It would be a wishful fantasy to request that the entire UNMIN leave Nepal, so let's just focus on some key idiots, shall we? Oh, and blogdai's wrath will not be limited to just members of the UN.

First, the worst....

LEAVE NEPAL NOW

1. Larry Robertson, UNICEF. This buffoon is the classic waste-your-time bureaucrat. Had the nerve to tell blogdai that UNICEF should be the only group conducting sanitation programs in Nepal and that all other groups are "ruining" our plans. Considering that Larry provides sanitation and water at a snail-like pace to maybe one or two villages a year tell us that saving children who are dying from diarrhea at an epidemic pace is not his priority. Hey Larry, lots of groups have lots of good ideas and Nepalis know best about how to help other Nepalis, so step aside, you monkey. Or would letting other groups help out "ruin" your job security? Larry's office is Near Patan, across from the zoo where the smart monkeys live. Drop in and blow him a ration of shit for being an autocratic prick.

2. Richard Ragan, WFP. We all had such high hopes for Richard. Young guy, can-do attitude. Turns out his innovative spirit was allowed to fester under the weight of Nepal's geographical obstacles and bureacracy. Hey Richard, you are not stuck buying rice from the Indian mafia. Food is available if you are creative. I'm sure Richard is patting himself on the back for winning some flimsy award for innovation. It seems he gave satellite phones to his remote employees and that was supposed to be a good thing. That's right, hide behind technology and call it progress. I don't recall a satellite phone ever providing food for the hungry. WFP's budget in Nepal is already down to zero, so why did you waste time and money on stupid Sat phones? It seems the only thing poor Richard is good for these days is writing articles about snow boarding in Nepal. Ol, Richard likes to take helicopters out on the WFP budget and snow board up by Manang. He's also fond of taking his staff up to the Last Resort off the Kodari highway for still more money wasting weekends. He's milking the international gravy train now and its time for him to go.

LEAVE NEPAL SOON

1. Kanak Mani Dixit. What's the point of his constant pro-India posturing? Do you think you are better than Nepalis?

2. King Gyenendra. That's right, ol' G. Told Prateek Pradhan of La Republica that the Nepali people "should get nothing" while slamming a glass of wine to the ground. You and your family are done. We don't want to see any more Shahs until your grandson is old enough.

3. Bal Mandir Orphanage. A child trafficking front run by the Koiralas. Fill out the phony paperwork, pay your money, look the other way, and buy a baby. Tragic.

4. The Maoists. Your movement is tired and people don't believe what you say anymore. Get out or get killed. Memo to Prachanda: I hear there's lots of work to be had all up and down the east side of India these days--lots for a Maoist to do. Shall I send a letter of introduction to Bihar for you?

SPECIAL MENTION

These guys never seem to get out of the way:

Ian Martin. Deposed and disgraced former head of the UNMIN. Begged to keep his job once and now continues to return for "trekking." Someone confiscate his diplomatic passport for the good of us all.

Girija Babu Koirala. Well despite blogdai's many predictions, it's clear that the old man will probably never die--ever. Fortunately, he and the Nepali Congress are becoming increasingly irrelevant so perhaps this is the best fate for the biggest and most selfish and power mad ego in Nepal. Sit back, watch, and deteriorate ol' babu; you've got it comming.

-=blogdai

Kathmandu is Dead

2009-10-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

So Long, old friend....

blogdai is hesitant to write this column. It is sad. No pictures and no funny comments this time.

Kathmandu is officially dead.

The facts:

--Traffic jams so bad it takes up to two hours to get from Lazimpat to Patan across town.

--Pollution is at its worst. Locals and tourist wear masks on the street and those not accustomed to the stench are instantly taken ill.

--Our recent revival in tourism has seen new arrivals get immediately on a plane to Pokhara in order to avoid Kathmandu.

--Dance bars and cabin clubs sprout up every day with no end in sight.

--Nigerian drug dealers patrol the streets in increasing numbers looking for business.

--Municipal police are now openly taking bribes and allowing petty street crimes.

--Up to 8 hours of electrical outages per day paralyze business and tourism.

We have no functioning central government that recognizes or even cares about the conditions in our once lovely city. Basic city functions are worthless.

Are we happy with our little cars, our greedy lifestyles and our disastrous jana andolan that gave us a worthless Maoist leadership?

Are we ever going to care enough to change?

blogdai feels that about a million of us need to die in order for Kathmandu to survive. At the current rate of events, either a major civil war or widespread disease is inevitable-----

That should do the trick.

-=blogdai

You Had Your Chance

2009-09-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Nepalis flee renegade APF moto-cross riders attempting to fleece gas money from rally attendees.

Enough already. blogdai sees the pictures of Maoist affilliated students protesting and throwing rocks at PM Makune and I look through my files: Just like 2000, just like 2001, just like 2003 and just like Jana Andolan. Do we ever get tired of this?

Sure the new government is incompetent and the only reason Nepal is not classified as a failed state is that there is no compelling reason for the world to label it as such. Makune will fare no better than the many administrations of Girija, Deuba, or any one else from the old guard, but until Nepalis unite and speak with one singular voice of reason, the whole exercise of angered student protest is moot.

What irritates blogdai is that these same little boy protesters don't realize that the Maoists had their chance and blew it. Prachanda tried to put the oppressive "Mao style" hammer on Nepali politics and got burned. I guess that's one thing the old guard got right: kicking out the Maoist bums before they turned the whole country into an oppressive Communist collective.

Hey little boys! You trying to be as obnoxious as all those Yank politicians and protestors? How very pathetic and how very unoriginal.

All of you students represent Nepal's future. Your education is a priveledge and a gift. Stop throwing rocks like a bunch of goddam Manangis and start solving the problems that you will inherit someday. That is why you are in a university. Not to get your cheap degree and go to Dubai as someone's servant, but to save your country. Now, knock it off and get to the real work!

-=blogdai

Clinton in India

2009-07-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles bravely while trying to take down junior Forestry Minister Jairam Ramesh in a hand shake death match.

Amazingly stupid move on India's part this week. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a visit to Nepal's big brother this week and the overtones should have been obvious. Just by the tone and temperature of Clinton's appearance, it was clear that the U.S. was testing Indian waters for the future. Clinton kept fawning over how much she loved India, ate WAY too much of the wonderful cuisine there and giggled like a school girl while chumming around with the girls at the SEWA foundation. Oh, she also opened up new nuclear agreements as well as trade and energy technology sharing contracts.

So, now any one of us who pays attention to such things should not view such things lightly. Sec. Clinton came to India ready to listen and trade--a real U.S. priority shift.

BUT NO.... Intellectually as well as politically junior minister Jairam Ramesh had to lecture the Secretary on India's carbon footprint. Ramesh must have felt this was his shot at the Big Time as he scolded Clinton on India's emmissions and said there was “no case” for the West to push India to reduce carbon dioxide emissions when it already had among the lowest levels of emissions on a per-capita basis. He later went on to threaten tariffs of some sort against the U.S.

Bravo junior minister idiot! Way to spin world pollution standards in India's favor. India always comes out ahead when they measure on a per capita basis since Indians can't seem to stop having dozens of children at a time and their "per capita" output of the same has now eclipsed China.

Typical Indian political arrogance. Puff yourselves up by pretending to lecture the most important people you can find on the merits of Indian policy. Well, you guys might have blown it. Clinton was in Delhi for a very specific reason. The U.S. wants a new partner in the region. A little preparation on your behalf, minister moron, and you would have known that environmental issues are a hot button with the new U.S. administration. A little diplomacy would have gone a long way but India turned the issue into cheap Delhi street brawl.

The Yanks don't like to be lectured so don't be surprised if Clinton takes her wicket and balls to some other nation. Did you see how she cozied up to Thailand after her India visit? Who can blame Clinton if she wants to take U.S. business elsewhere. Unconfirmed rumors have spotted Clinton measuring floor space in one of those fancy new Bangkok skyscrapers; just enough space to fill all the call center and customer service jobs she plans to take out of Bangalore--so the rumor goes.

The Larger Implications

The U.S. is fed up with China. They've spoken in hushed tones over the last decade or so; afraid to upset some nebulous concept of this great Chinese market that will soon be tapped into by American goods and services. They've patiently watched tainted products, Chinese government interference in transactions, a falsley supported Chinese Yuan distorting the true market, and gross, barbaric and childish human rights violations against just about any group that does not toe the Party line in Beijing. Now, the Chinese brand is tainted. They don't "get it" with regard to world market credibility and the U.S. is going somewhere else. THAT is what the Clinton visit to India was about and THAT, New Delhi, is why you'd better learn to control your renegade low-level politicians.

-=blogdai

Ian Martin and the Tapes

2009-06-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Oops, looks like long time blogdai nemesis Ian Martin of the tattered UNMIN has finally met his match.

Sorry Ian, apparently, one of the most difficult things for a UN employee to be is an idealogue.

It seem poor Ian gave an inflammatory report to the UN that was highly critical of Israeli intentions

Another Oops for poor Ian: Our dear deposed PM Prachanda was caught on tape confessing that he exaggerated the strength of the Maoist forces by some factor of five. Compound this with the latest news that Maoists claim that they never turned over their weaponry per sir Ian's request and instead kept the best and most lethal armaments away from UNMIN scrutiny and inventory bodes poorly for the efficacy of such UN missions in Nepal.

Per Ian Martin's request as well, monitors were to be stationed at all Nepali polling places during the last elections. blogdai immediately shouted "fraud" and "incompetance" at the idea. Having first hand knowledge (and photos, mind you) blogdai can assure all gentle readers that the UN delegation never made it out of the Kathmandu valley during election time. I saw most of them at club 1905 and they had no intention of leaving the valley for any "rough" travel to polling stations in the village.

Ian Martin's legacy in Nepal is one of abject failure. The worst of which is his idea of containing Maoists in cantonments. A complete an unmitigated failure of both concept, policy and implementation, this was. Maoists chose who would reside in said cantonments, had no sense of restricted movement, and basically carried on as usual. Such is the legacy that Israeli critics capatilized upon.

A career in ruins:

Well, that's it for Ian, finally. After blogdai has been calling for his removal from the world stage for the last couple of years, the pompous grandstander with the English pedigree has finally been brought down by Israeli scrutiny. They've rightly pointed to his failures in Nepal as an example of how he should not be allowed to conceive any report on Israel that bears any international credibility whatsoever. The so called "Martin Report" on Israel will now live as the penultimate example of the UN's perception of its own hegemonic inluence, and its ultimate failure as a policy.

So long Ian Martin. Stick a fork in him: he's done.

-=blogdai

First Photos from Everest

2009-06-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

blogdai is a proud supporter of Pemba Dorje Sherpa. Pemba and his brothers summited Chomolungma this May 19, but failed to stay atop the worlds highest peak for 24 hours as planned. Apparently, weather drove them down after 2 hours.

The first available photos of Pemba Dorje Sherpa at the summit of Everest sent exclusively to blogdai. So piss off you spoiled brat white American climbers.

Pemba, as you all remember, holds the worlds speed record for climbing Everest at just over 8 hours. He was attempting to bring the symbols of each of the world's major religions to the summit and pray during this record attempting period. Pity, but no sadness is required. Pemba will do it again. In fact, there are probably 100 active climbing Sherpas who could conceivably attempt world record type feats on Everest. Insanely strong people, these Sherpas, with an insanely high hematocrit.

As a blogdai friend, our first words from Pemba indicated that his two brothers were getting sick at camp II and that the endurance record would not be attempted. Still Pemba acheived his 10th summit of Sagarmatha: no failure in any human's opinion.

MEMO TO CHINA: Have a look at these pictures. This is what a real, non-simulated summit looks like. Cloud and mountain references in the background. Tibetans and Sherpas don't need your phony Olympic torch ceremony to get them up the mountain; they were born for this and find your politics distasteful. More on this later as blogdai is beginning to boil at the topic.

Anyway, Pemba says a direct "thank you" to all who've supported this effort. Peace and Namaste to all

-=blogdai

Start the Countdown

2009-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Deposed General Katawal deep in contemplation about where best to begin his army coup.

Here we go. After giving Prachanda and his thugs plenty of breathing room with ample time and resources to complete the Peace Process and consolidate a government, the Fierce One once again proves his ideological narrow-mindedness.

I've been screaming this at the top of my lungs since Joke-Andalan and most haven't listened. Now, after a few years of the sing-song appeasement journalism of the BBC's Charles Haviland and others, do we all finally get it? YOU CAN'T GOVERN WITH A RIGID IDEOLOGY. The American Repuglicans will be the first to confirm this, I'm sure, but Nepal, what were we thinking? At every turn, Prachanda kept dropping bombs that he wanted to govern with an iron hand and turn our country into a Communist autocracy. Is it finally clear to all that we've given this idiot one chance too many?

The symolic hard-line control move of sacking RNA supremo General Rookmangud Katawal smacked of Communist arrogance and started the ball rolling downhill for our government. In response, the UML quits the government, the usual street protests ensue, President Ram Baran Yadav goes against the PM and tries to get the General to return; and finally, Prachanda--sensining a government in flames--turns tail and jumps ship. Bravo Fierce Fleeing One!

So where does that leave us? The upheaval caused by tampering with the military shows who is really in charge in Nepal. In fact, the RNA is the ONLY entity keeping our beloved country from dissolving into failed-state status.

I wasn't kidding when I said to "start the countdown." In fact we probably should have started the countdown when the usual gang of political idiots, plus the King, held their not too secret meetings with the big shots in Delhi.

Next up: Koirala and the other old fools will usurpt government control until the military initiates a formal coup and takes over.(You didn't think they were beefing up their forces over the last few months just for fun, did you?) Tours and garbage on the grounds of the Royal Palace will end soon as King G. will only be too happy to move back in to that ugly bus station looking facility and supervise the education of his King-to-be grandson.

All of this because we were too lazy to care in the first place.

-=blogdai

"People's Federal Democratic National Republic"

2008-11-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

Thats a mouthful for sure.

Those brilliant Maoists have been banging their heads together for six days to try and mend a catastrophic rift in their party. It seems most of the hard-liners want to announce an all Communist "People's Republic" immediately; while Prachanda wants to go a little slower so as not to throw the country back into chaos. After what blogdai can only assume to be and excruciating application of sheer brainpower, our boys in red have decided to call Nepal the "People's Federal Democratic National Republic." Just think of the expense in stationary this will incur! PFDNR Nepal.

What this title tells us, just by looking at it, is that the Maoists are still deeply divided and deeply factionalized. it's as if the Maoists threw every point of contention they had into the title, not caring if it worked or even made sense. Nepal is now the "agree to disagree" nation from its title.

Maoist honcho's called this new title a "synthesis" of party policy documents. blogdai sees it as an "emulsion:" hurredly mixing together things that don't belong.

Imagine if we left the Maoists to rename our popular Kathmandu watering holes:

Fire and Ice Pizza would be: "Cold Firey Hot Pizza Ice"

Tom and Jerry Pub: "Jerry's Pub with Tom's Name but mostly Jerry's unless it' Not"

Yin/Yang Bar: "Yin or Yang both at once with no balance or compromise Bar."

Let's break down this new title and look at it. Both the words that are used and their positioning tell us quite a lot about what went on in that Maoist meeting.

People's

Only ideologically totalitarian or Communist governments use this word to describe their country. The fact that it occurs first in the title tells blogdai that the hard-line Communist ideologues in the Maoist party holding sway. It also shows that every Maoists eventually wants a Communist Nepal.

Federal

Means a type of representative government; the type that no Nepali can adequately describe, but is supposed to limit the chaos of pure democracy by letting elected representative speak for the majority of people in any given district or "federated" sub-unit of a nation. It is the second term used in the new Maoist title and probably sits there to appease the NC and UML.

Democratic

Dead in the middle of the new title. It is in the weakest position for emphasis--almost an afterthought. Maoists know that if you use any variation of the word "democracy," to describe yourself, whether applicable or not, the U.S. will leave you alone, the world media will fawn all over you, and foreign aid will keep arriving. It's a lot like all of those ridiculous military medals that despots like to create and wear on their uniforms: No real meaning but gives a good impression.

National

A poor thinker's stab at national unity. Mainly, it's just the Maoists way of saying that they've finally made it to the big leagues. No factionalizing, they tell us, "we are now a national brand." Thanks to Ian Martin and James Moriarty.

Republic

If you read the new title quickly, you find that Nepal is actually called a "People's Republic" Notice how "People's" and "Republic" frame all other words? They are the two most strategically placed words in the title. Republic, next to Federal and sometimes Democracy, is unnecessary and redundant. All three terms share concepts and mechanisms.

This new title shows what can happen when a room full of hog butchers begins to squabble. We get nothing approaching compromise, but we can infer quite a lot about the Maoist's intentions from the mish-mash of a title they want to slap on Nepal: We are on our way to a Communist state.

-=blogdai

President Obama and Nepal: What to Expect

2008-11-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

It's done, finally. What a long haul for those poor Yanks. As former British Prime Minister Tony Blair once said: "America eventually does the right thing." Too bad it took eight years of the "wrong thing" before Mr. Blair could be proven correct.

What will an Obama presidency mean for Nepal? Let's have a first look.....

It's the economy, stupid---------------------

The American economy is going through a major shit-storm and threatens to sink the world economy as it goes down. Obama's first priority will be to deal with this catastrophy, period.

A few things will come from this. Look for India to get very nervous as most of those outsourced jobs that Mr. Obama wants to bring back to the U.S. are jobs that have been stationed in India over the past decade. Nepalis working in phone service centers in Bangalore, say, should explore the job market now and keep all options open.

Foreign Aid Revamp----------------------

Obama has the rare perspective of being someone who has actually lived in countries that were direct beneficiaries of U.S. foreign aid. Unlike Bush, Obama knows that arrogant U.S. aid policies that simply throw money and staff at underdeveloped countries are bound to fail and must be revamped. Remember the economy? That big gorilla pulling down every plan and every program? Well, the economy, and more specifically, the need to reduce spending, will combine with Obama's knowledge of how aid actually works to form one of Obama's oft repeated budget strategies: "Pay as you go." Nepal, gone are the days when USAID writes a blank check to some clueless minister. If you want to scam the system like before, your best bet will be to try and squeeze money from the UN. Obama will apply an more "incremental" form of aid to Nepal: show initial progress on a program and funding will come for the next phase and so on. Get ready for half of your Gross National Product to arrive with strings attached from now on.

Prachanda and Politics--------------------

The Maoists won't fool Obama. His step-father was detained by a military coup in Indonesia and Obama has seen plenty of insurgent groups masquerading as representatives of "the people" only to pull a bait-and-switch and fall back on their outdated ideological archetypes. Obama is also aware of the misuse of the concept of "democracy." He seldom uses it. At the one spot in his acceptance speech where the term would have fit nicely, he chose the word "freedom" instead. So, the simple use of the term by a regime will mean nothing to the Obama administration unless it is backed by true reforms and a committment to citizen self-determination. He'll punish any Maoist back-sliding by freezing foreign aid; A suggestion proposed by former U.S. ambassador Ralph Frank during a peak period of Maoist activity in 1998.

Fireworks in Pakistan---------------------------

Mr. Obama has made constant statements regarding his desire to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq and go after Osama Bin Laden in the mountains of Pakistan, should evidence support such a move. Since Kathmandu already has a direct flight from Karachi, look for our Capital to play host to a lot more pissed-off and demoralized Muslims looking for revenge. There are already some rumblings about an Al Quaida cell stretching its wings in our fair valley, so look for Kathmandu to evolve into more of a refuge for those of a "plotting" nature.

India---------

Hard to read this one. The Obama administration will get a security briefing on Nepal that will basically say that India, as a staunch U.S. partner, has the best insight in the region and to trust New Delhi's Judgement, BUT, India is spending up U.S. goodwill and may not call the shots for much longer. Bush's disasterous nuclear proliferation give-away policy towards India is something Obama has bristled towards in the past and will probably manifest itself as a "trust but verify" relationship with New Delhi in the future. Obama knows India pulled a fast one on Bush. It won't happen again, so any opinion or suggestion coming from New Delhi on how best to handle Nepal and the region will be scrutinized.

Human Rights------------

Obama's is a pro-Tibet, anti-repression administration. They will not simply tolerate abuses in order to keep stability in any given region. Look for harsh reprimands and yes, more aid conditions, Nepal, everytime you kow-tow to China's demands for Tibetan imprisonment and/or repatriation. Pay attention to your treatment of Bhutanese refugees as well. Your precious foreign aid will also be held up if the army goes haywire and kills a bunch of Madhesis.

Don't think, however, that the Americans will look down upon any defensive move you make. Obama was the first candidate to imply that Georgia had no business straying opportunistically into splittist areas. It would be similar to say, Sikkim deciding to break away from a repressive India and join Nepal. Remember again: self-determination is the key. If you want to keep the U.S. gravy train flowing to Nepal, don't mess with innocent people trying to live their lives.

-=blogdai

Army Integration: A Change of Heart

2008-10-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

---Sun-tzu

Ol' blogdai has had a change of heart regarding Prachanda's big push to have Maoist combatants integrated into the Nepali army.
I say, "let em' in!"
Draw them out of the woods and villages and offer pay, training and discipline. Follow it up with a stern law against armed groups terrorizing villagers. After integration, no extortion, armed bullying or cooercion by any group claiming to be Maoist would be deemed lawful, as there would be no need for such groups-- only the Nepal Army.
Integrated Maoists won't need to raise money anymore and they won't need to force villagers to attend rallies. Without their oppressive presence in the villages, Maoist propaganda and ideology cannot spread.
The reality is, offering the Maoists a job in a real army would, let's face it, amount to a high-security form of cantonement. Something that Ian Martin and his ridiculously uniformed concepts never could have achieved.
Do the Maoists actually believe they would be accepted into the Nepal Army as equals? As "brothers in arms?" Hardly. What we would see would be the gradual sidelining of the poorly-trained Maoists, if not outright hostility and abuse, at the hands of Nepal's professional soldiers. Perhaps a fitting end for those who have killed and abused innocents in the past.
Ram Poudel and whats left of the Nepali Congress are dead opposed to the idea. Is there any wonder? The Maoists are the only real physical force the NC can allign with to press their demands. Integrating them into the Nepal Army would take away a key political pawn for Girija and his newly rabbled party. They would no longer be able to make the threat of another deal-with-the-devil Jana Andolan. The integration of the Maoists into theNepal Army would render the Nepali Congress toothless and impotent. Frankly, Girija's screaming little NC student wing just doesn't have the power to influence Nepali politics on a national level like those big-bad Maoist murderers did during Jana Andolan.
So fully integrate the Maoist, says blogdai. Give them a hot meal and a hearty bonus just for showing up at their local army post. Give them clean and snappy uniforms and teach them to march.
Maybe, just maybe, this will dissolve the worst cancer to infest human lives in Nepal's history.

-=blogdai

A New Prime Murderer

2008-08-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

Unwilling to be contained any longer, new PM Prachanda's plan for Nepal balloons out and escapes from the side of his head.

A good title for Prachanda's biography: "Killing your way to the top."

Take a good look, Nepal. This is what you get when you don't pay attention to National politics.

Charles Haviland of the BBC and others gushingly say this election of Maoist strong-man Prachanda to the Prime Ministership paves the way for the creation of a "democratic government." How woefully uninformed. I especially love it when people like Haviland breathlessly chirp that the Maoists have "wide support in the villages." Dear God. They have wide support because people don't want to get killed for not supporting them. Hey Charles, if they are so well loved in the countryside, how come the poplulation of Kathmandu has tripled over the last 5 years? The capital city is swollen to the breaking point with refugees from the countryside. I guess they need a little break from all that "wide support" they're giving the Maoists, right?

Give him his due, Prachanda's may be the biggest political genius of all. He's found the one thing that unites Nepalis into a Nation: FEAR.

Hopefully it will be short lived. In what could be the perfect corner for "The Fierce One" (who incidentally didn't look so fierce with all those flower Mallas strangling him) to trap himself, Prachanda can no longer run back into the woods and hide. He's got to perform now. His biggest tool had always been the threat of "taking to the streets" in protest when things didn't go his way, now he will be forced to find political solutions to difficult issues or risk being labeled as yet another weak and ineffective Nepali Prime Minister. And don't think those vanquished politicians are going to sit quietly. They've got plenty of skill and power and will be looking to form any wedge they can in a Prachanda government.

The good part:

With any luck, the trappings of power and world attention will dilute Prachanda's violent and radical tendencies. Blinded by the light, blogdai hopes. He looked a bit overwhelmed by his victory so let's hope he stays overwhelmed by all the world attention and doesn't drop the repressive Mao hammer on the people.

Also, a Prime Minister as volatile as Prachanda will give Nepal what it sorely lacks in government: a true system of checks and balances. The RNA will keep its distance and monitor developments critically from now on. They're already an independent lot and won't tolerate Prachanda's continued insistence that Maoist fighters be integrated into the National army. Our army boys will be only too willing to step into the fray should Prachanda trigger a Communist ideological melt-down.

Next, new president Ram Baran Yadav genuinely seems to be a man of integrity and personal conviction. Forget his claimed "crisis" in Nepal; Yadav blatently snubbed the Chinese and their invitation to the Olympics. His very election threw the Maoists into a tantrum whereby they threatened to not form a government. He'll be no rubber stamp for Maoist plans, that's for sure.

The best part is that Girija is officially GONE! blogdai can barely contain the political joy at the prospects. Plus, Deuba, Makune, and Oli are relegated to the status of opposition party. As we said in past columns, if the Maoists can do nothing else right, we owe them some form of thanks for removing these greedy idiots and obstacles to progress from the halls of power.

The bad part:

I can see it now, YCL cadres seizing suites at the Radisson and demanding free room service.

Maoist cadres running wild in the villages sparking retalliatory killings and looting at will.

Prachanda's penchant for seizing property could take on grand proportions in Kathmandu.

The world community determines Nepal to be a rogue state and drastically curtails foreign aid.

Too many of these scenarios to list, I'm afraid....

The bottom line is: The new leader of Nepal has more blood on his hands than all the Rana kings combined. Our pain and suffering will be on the ground and in the villages, not in the halls of government. We are in for more turbulence, not less. When will we wake up?

At least we got rid of Girija.

-=blogdai

No Summit for China

2008-08-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

China's alleged torch summit of Everest, complete with no bearing for verification, a casual lack of exertion on the part of the participants, and moist breath with no rime ice.

In light of the new information being reported on the wires about Chinese olympic "ethics," such as the reversal to allow journalists unfettered access to the internet, the blatant forging of 14 year old gymnast He Kexin's olympic application so that she appears 16 and thus, within olympic rules; and the increase, rather than decrease of stringent clamp-downs on all manner of dissent; we here at blogdai feel its time to report on a story we've been working on for a few months now. Most of you know of blogdai and June's repulsion at Chinese bullying, so we have been very careful to verify sources, interview those present, and intensely study all film footage involved so as not to present the facade of impeachable bias against the Chinese. So, after almost 2 months of research we here at blogdai have concluded:

China faked their olympic torch run to Mt. Everest.

We have friends who were among the first to summit Everest after the climbing ban was lifted. Their comments help inform this report. Plus, we've interviewed climbers, famous and lesser for their opinions and their startling insights.

Some observations supporting our theory:

----No "money shot." All photos taken are from close range making verification of the summit difficult. Most, if not all expeditions take the photo proof shot, regardless of weather. Proof lies in showing a recognizable land feature or peak who's perspective in a summit photo proves the altitude and angle that confirms a successful bid. The Chinese offered nothing more than close-in shots. Even an "immediate space" shot was not available (at least none that we could find) to verify the approximate dimensions of the summit area. Also, there was no apparent evidence of the old, faded prayer flags that mark the summit and have been known to stay in place for a few seasons or more. Prayer flags in Chinese photos stand alone and look newly placed.

----China's dubious ascent in 1960. They've done this before, apparently. Sketchy verification of a summit bid in 1960 is still in dispute in some climbing circles. They claimed to have climbed it at night so verification was difficult. Hmm.

----The claim of "mysterious lights" near the summit. Hard to buy since Nepal maintained armed guards from camp II upwards on the Nepal side to prevent anyone sneaking up on the Chinese. What were those "lights" then? Perhaps a loose-lipped expeditioner was seeing members of his own support team near the much lower level that they were actually reporting from.

----Chatter boxes. Through the summit torch lighting ceremony on Youtube video, women climbers are heard chattering away in the background with out a hint of the exertion expert climbers feel at the summit of Everest. They are talking in long, single-breath sentences. Ask anyone who's summited Everest and they'll tell you it's not a place for a monologue. Short, clipped sentences are all most can manage at that altitude.

----Moisture. No one we've spoken with who has summited Everest has ever remembered there being fog-like moisture coming from a climber's breath. They few times moisture has been present in the atmosphere near, but much lower than the summit, other phenomenon present themselves as one of our experts mentions below:

The one thing that struck me funny about the footage; if you watch it, you see peoples breath. In my 8 years on that hill, the air is too dry on top to see your breath that much. They were also not that iced up, if it indeed was a moist enough storm to see breath, they would have been covered in rime ice. They would have seen no other lights, as the military at camp 2 on the Nepal side made sure no one went above them.

Friends of blogdai at summit of Everest just a few weeks after the China's alleged summit. Peaks in the background give reasonable verification. "Game's Over: Free Tibet" banner was a nice touch.

---- Chinese footage on Youtube showing a long line of climbers traversing a long pitch is not recognizable as a portion of the north face ascent of Everest and may be tied to a secondary peak.

----Climbers and blogdai contributors who were among the first to summit Everest after the alleged Chinese bid report no new flags, momentos or any evidence that the olympic torch ever reached the summit.

----By their own claims, the Chinese torch bid was doomed to fail simply by their planning hubris. A quick, alpine-style ascent is a sure recipe for failure on Everest (Unless you are Reinhold Messner) Our blogdai consultant was waiting to summit from the Nepal side during this time and filed this dispatch:

The (Chinese) truly (expletive) themselves with an elementary mistake, by the sounds. Drop your camps in the windy spots, don’t leave them up unattended to get ripped apart...

_____________________

So, blogdai has a request: climbers and anyone who knows, chime in here. Thousands of you were in the Khumbu at the time of the Nepal ban and the Chinese attempt. We want to hear from you. In the interest of fairness, we will give first priority to those who can offer definitive PROOF that the Chinese actually made the summit of Everest with their damn torch.

Even more, blogdai opens up the discussion to anyone with an opinion on this. Get informed first. Google "China Everest Torch" or anything similar; go to Youtube.com and watch all the footage you can on the Chinese bid and report your opinions here. Good luck and good hunting.

-=blogdai

China goes back on its words

2008-07-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

Like a commenter said, should anyone be surprised about this? China has decided to reverse its pledge to offer complete media freedom, and will censor the Internet used by foreign media during the Olympics.

Sorry, Sun Weide, your so-called "sufficient access to the Internet for reporters" is not sufficient. China had pledged to offer complete media freedom and China has an obligation to keep its words. China has gone back on its own words on an international stage. China has slapped itself in its own face.

China prohibits reporters from accessing sites regarding "Falungong spiritual movement". What is China so afraid of Falungong for? Falungong is just a type of exercise while promoting truth, compassion and tolerance. Like Tai Chi or Judo, Falungong has its philosophy that comes with the territory. It is beyond the free world why China has been convinced that Falungong will create a "movement" that will overturn the corrupted Chinese government. Is Falungong promoting everything that China government is not? Why the paranoia?

The spokesman said that there were other unspecified sites unavailable to journalists. Let me guess, those sites couldn't have anything to do with the themes of "Free Tibet" or 1989 Chinese government massacring students, could they?

China completely disgusts the free world. This Olympic Game has been way over China's head. While China is boasting this August 8, 2008 (8.8.8) Olympics as its demonstration of its powerfulness to the world, the world sees a 666 instead. You heard me. China is nothing but a nasty BEAST for its notorious human rights record. China government has blood on its hands from almost every family in China. It is a shame that China seems to be the only member in the international society that does not understand how horrific China's human rights record is. China will not get away if it's using this opportunity to crack down on Tibet. Free world, don't let it happen in front of our eyes again like in 1989!

This is the report:

China will censor the Internet used by foreign media during the Olympics, an organising committee official confirmed Wednesday, reversing a pledge to offer complete media freedom at the games.

"During the Olympic Games we will provide sufficient access to the Internet for reporters," said Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee.

He confirmed, however, that journalists would not be able to access information or websites connected to the Falungong spiritual movement which is banned in China.

Other sites were also unavailable to journalists, he said, without specifying which ones.

Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium

No Maoist Gov't. Next up: No Constituent Assembly

2008-07-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

U-turn quitsville. Today the Maoists decided not to form their government.

The Maoists hit the brick wall that is called Nepali politics. Political mud slowed them to a crawl.

Pity. They had such high hopes. Prachanda, ever the ideologue, felt he could turn his coerced election victory to some sort of etherial mandate whereby Girija and his goons would simply welcome the Maoists into the government as conquering heroes and give them the keys of power.

Not a chance.

Ever wonder why, after years of steadfast refusal to hold elections, Girija finally relented and let elections be held? He was told by his leash-holders in India that the Maoists would never come to power, win or lose. Just deny them everything and hold out as long as you can, and eventually the old impatient communists would give up. And they did!

Today, Delhi officially recommeded Girija be appointed (not nominated or elected) Prime Minister once again. How neat and tidy.

So, where does that leave our beloved new Constituent Assembly? blogdai mentioned over a year ago that the mere election of a Constituent Assembly(CA) would be worthless in a country where politicians decide who has the power and what parts of the Constitution are convenient enough to be obeyed. There was never any provision for enforcement of CA power as a balancing body. Essentially, according to the rules that exist, the CA can meet and determine whatever they want and the Parliament is under no practical obligation to listen to a word they say. No wonder Girija was all in favor of electing this new and august body!

The CA will be marginalized just like the Maoists and business as ineffectively as always will rule the day once again.

Shoot Girija. We need a REAL revolution

-=blogdai

Blogdai the (Temporary) Maoist

2008-06-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

Seen enough yet? blogdai has.

Girija has hung on stubbornly to his Prime Ministership against the will of the Maoists and against the will of the (coerced) voters.

Now he threatens us with the horror of saying his Nepali Congress Party will not participate in the new government, sniff, sniff. blogdai thinks that's just like Charles Sobraj threatening to not babysit for your child.

Apparently, the cloyingly single-minded badgering of Maoists politicos has begun to work its magic. Old Girija may have just had enough and may, just may step down shortly.

Prachanda will have succeded in doing what no other entity (violent or otherwise) has been able to do: pry the immobile Koirala barnacle away from the hull of the Nepali ship of State.

Why stop there? How about sending in a few hundred YCL morons with lathis to smack down all the other politicians who, since the elections, have done nothing but squabble and grind government to a halt.

These old parties with their immobility are like a rat that keeps having babies and just won't stay out of your kitchen. Hard to catch and even harder to get rid of.

So, blogdai says: let's all join the Maoists for a while. Let them do all the necessary dirty work of eliminating the entire diasporic community of crooked and inept politicians.

blogdai is willing to look the other way and ignore Maoist murders and atrocities for a time. Let's let Prachanda's poisoned rats infect our political system and clean out the whole thing.

When it is all done, we'll bring the Maoists to justice for their crimes; but why stop this wonderful political momentum of theirs if it wipes the governmental tables clear of the old guard?

-=blogdai

American Strategy

2008-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

(Left) In a clear demonstration of American strategy, Ambassador Nancy Powell and two well-dressed YCL cadres return to Tribhuvan Airport after a whirlwind shopping trip to New York City

What gives?

The Maoists appear to steal an election at gunpoint and the Yanks welcome them with open arms?

A few explanations are in order, says blogdai. American policy, as blundered by George Bush and Co., can be summed up briefly and simply:

Any process that calls itself "democratic" should be viewed as an American foreign policy victory.

Maybe, to a small extent, they're right. Regardless of whether they were forced at gunpoint; and regardless of the fact that they were coerced and manipulated into a polling process that almost no one understood, Nepali citizens turned out to vote. At the very least they learned that their choices, coerced or not, can influence Nepal's political climate. This bodes well for the future.

The value of elections is just now starting to sink in with Nepalis. It would have been worse if the Yanks, Indians, Girija or whomever stepped in and nullified the process. What faith in the system would the average rural Nepali be left with in that situation? Most world bodies did not care for the resulting Maoist victories yet the respect shown to the election process by letting the results stand leaves a permanent impression on the average voter. Remember, faith in the electoral process, and ultimately democracy, lies in how well we all tolerate decisions and choices we don't like. It's easy to be a winner, it's democratic to take your losses with dignity.

So, Nancy Powell and the various U.S. State Department underlings are all talking with the Maoists and dangling the carrot of removing them from the Yank list of terrorist organizations. Watch for the following strategies to take hold:

--Prachanda will be swept up in a tide of diplomacy and increased foreign aid to the point where he is ideologically neutered and becomes just another greedy Nepal politico. Assimilation through dilution.

--You'll see no "ideological support" during this time. The Maoists will be pushed into playing by the rules. To assist in this, no new arms will be sold, given or shipped to this Maoist regime. The Yanks, just today, grilled Prachanda on how he plains to contain his YCL thugs.

--The Maoists may just blow it in front of the world's eyes. This would confirm to Nepalis, in the most concrete of terms, that we all knew the Maoists were a bad choice yet we respect your right to elect whomever you please--further demonstrating the principle pillar of democracy: protect elections uber alles.

--Prachanda has served the purpose of cleaning the political house. Girija and his inept administration have been maddeningly frustrating to work with from a competence and capacity standpoint. The Maoists will be no better, but the Yanks can now hope for a better day.

-=blogdai

China Censors Writers

2008-05-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

After launching tens of thousands of netizens to flood the blogs on Tibet issue all over the world to assert that Tibet was, is and will always be China's, Beijing exercised censorship on their own columnist who called out the government to "allow more media freedom in covering the Tibet riots and to review its policy on Tibet" by firing a renowned Chinese columnist Zhang Ping.

I am reminded of all these angry netizens who cried foul about the news reports from CNN, BBC, and Fox News. Weren't they glad that there was actually someone, a Chinese with conscience, that they could fire? This renowned Chinese columnist Zhang Ping, I suspect, is not alone with such opinions that China should allow more media freedom and review its Tibet policy, among the Han Chinese, who mostly do not have the access like Zhang Ping's to voice such opinions.

It is ironic that those who accuse western media of being biased are doing exactly what they are denouncing: silencing the opposition by calling Zhang Ping a traitor and firing him. Those netizens' real agenda is to stop the western media from reporting the facts that they don't want the world to know. It is not the truth that the netizens care about. What frustrates the Chinese Communist Party hacks is the resistence of their propoganda, from conscientious reporters and columnists, like their very own Zhang Ping.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A renowned Chinese columnist has lost his job at a magazine over commentaries on unrest in Tibet which did not conform with the official line, a watchdog group and a source with knowledge of the dismissal said on Tuesday.

Zhang Ping, who writes under the pen name Chang Ping, was sacked as deputy chief editor of the Southern Metropolis Weekly magazine, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said.

The group said in an e-mail Zhang's departure was "because of his editorials about Tibet", including the controversial piece "How to find the truth about Lhasa?"
"We deplore this unfair removal of a well-known member of the liberal press," the statement said.

Zhang declined to comment when reached by telephone. The source, requesting anonymity, confirmed the sacking but declined to provide further details.

Violent anti-Chinese riots broke out in Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas in neighboring provinces in March, with mobs killing about 20 non-Tibetan civilians, the Chinese government says. The Tibetan government-in-exile puts the figure at more than 200, most victims of a subsequent crackdown.

The crackdown led to protests by exiled Tibetans around the world and a troubled international leg of the Olympic torch relay for the Beijing Games in August.

Zhang's articles were published mainly in his magazine's sister newspaper, the Southern Metropolis Daily, and called on the government to allow more media freedom in covering the Tibet riots and to review its policy on Tibet.

The commentaries drew an angry backlash from a large number of Internet users, who accused Zhang of being a traitor and downplaying the violence by Tibetans as well as the perceived anti-China bias of Western media.

(Reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim; Editing by Nick Macfie)

The Big Double Dynamic

2008-05-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

The dust has settled on our election now. The votes are all, or mostly, counted and it looks like we can draw some conclusions beyond the obvious fact that the Maoists won a lot of seats. We can look at the dynamics of a successful grass-roots campaign, versus the inertia of the status quo as an opposing dynamic of its own. Both lead to a Maoist victory and both required each other’s presence to insure a Maoist victory.

The Maoist Dynamic

We’ve had a group that has coerced, preyed-upon, influenced and generally been seen on a day to day basis by villagers in all corners of Nepal during the last 10 years leading up to this recent election. Essentially, when one relates this 10 year siege to the state of mind of the average Nepali voter going to the polls for the first time, they have essentially survived, what rightly can be termed as the “Campaign from Hell.” Call it whatever you like, the Maoists were out in the villages for the last 10 years campaigning for eventual votes simply by their brutal presence. So, if we couple that with a populace that has no idea that voting is supposed to be a sacred, individual and private act; but instead lives in fear that a Maoist might be able to discern the voting choices of each individual, it is not hard to see how Prachanda and his goons triumphed. Even simpler, how would the Maoists retaliate towards villagers in the instance where an opposing candidate won, and wouldn’t such retaliation be on the mind of each voter as they entered the polling place? Simpler still, how does anyone win an election without a platform or set of initiatives? Go ask a Maoist. They seem to have figured it out: it seems to have a lot to do with satationing armed cadres at voting centers and beating up opposing candidates.

The Non-Dynamic Dynamic

Ego, hubris and just plain ineptitude categorized the second enabling dynamic in the Maoist’s victory. When, during the last decade, has Girija Koirala and his greedy congress given any serious attention, much less aid and governmental hope to rural citzens in Nepal? No, the government has focused, rather lazily, on maintaining its weak concensus among those in the Kathmandu valley. As evidenced by the polling numbers, the few UML and NC victories tallied came in districts either relatively close to Kathmandu or those whose “favorite son” politician came from the region. It is this ignorance of the needs of an entire country of voters that turned the populace away from Girija and the like. Would a rural voter, who may genuinely like, say, a UML candidate in his district risk voting for that candidate when there has probably been not one whimper of government attention—and more importantly—protection or even an adequate government presence to back up that vote? The Maoists have been out in the districts and the voter knows Maoists cadres can reward or make one pay for their choices on a daily basis.

A simple grasp of democracy would have told these government fools that one vote in Rukum carries the same weight as one vote in Kathmandu.

Compound this with the fact that Girija has avoided elections over the last decade, leaving voters confounded and open to manipulation due to their inexperience, and you have a government-created recipe for inaccurate voting and fraud. Crying after the deed is done about voter fraud and Maoist manipulation Mr. NC politician? Well, go cry in the mirror because you helped create this scenario through your ten years of arrogantly dismissing the electoral process.

Where does that leave us?

Maoists can’t govern. They don’t have a plan for governing. They only have an ideolgy—and a failed one at that. Prachanda is looking way past the actual significance of his victory and has his eyes on the prize of running the entire government as its Prime Minister. He and all Maoists still, unbashedly, proclaim Nepal will eventually become a Communist state. They’ll paint their shiny new car a nice Communist red and clean it every day. They’ll keep polishing this red finish and ignore the fact that the wheels are falling off. Excuse me, Mr. “Fierce One,” but can you describe your plan for national infrastructure repair and expansion over the next few years? You get my point.

This may just work in Nepal’s favor. Sometimes it takes a rat to remove a rat. Prachanda has done what no sane and rational political thinker has been able to do: Eliminate Girija’s grip on power and remove most of the festering, corrupt political minions from government. Ideally the Maoists are an interim step towards a healthy Nepal. They’ve done the dirty work. Next, when it becomes clear that the Maoists have no clear plan for governing, the will trip themselves up and be out of power. Blogdai gives them two years, at most, before they either dissolve or are forcefully removed . But, untortunately for now, we are stuck with them.

Liken it to a screaming child on a holiday road trip that cries so loudly for Mommy and Daddy to let it drive the car that they eventually give in. Naturally, having no skill, the child drives the car over a cliff and the entire world sees that this child has no business being anywhere near and automobile. Same thing will happen if Prachanda gets behind the wheel at Singha Durbar. With a child driving, foreign aid will be drastically curtailed (even now the Asian Development Bank is delaying their $60 million aid package until this new government proves itself), and big governments will seek to change the situation. Even India is nervous. Unless he builds a concensus and allows for dissenting, non-communist, ideas and planning Prachanda’s government will collapse in short order.

Add that to the fact that the Young Communist League thugs are becoming bolder with this victory, infuriating villagers to the breaking point, and you have all the ingredients for a popular revolution.

Only this time it will be a REAL Jana Andolan.

-=blogdai

Blogdai Interviews Kadfly

2008-04-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

Who is Kadfly you ask? None but a single young traveler who happened to be in Lhasa when the uprising began. Kadfly's photos were the first and most definitive account of events on the ground during that turbulent time. His reporting of the situation in Lhasa on his blog trumped any official Chinese attempts to stifle coverage. He's been hailed as brave, threatened, applauded and cursed simply for being willing to give as unbiased account of the Lhasa riots as he could. He speaks directly to blogdai below. -=BD

(Above)Police at the Lhasa riots. Photo by Kadfly, NOT the BBC, NOT Reuters, NOT CNN, and NOT The New York Times

Hi Blogdai,

I forwarded your questions to my kadfly e-mail to verify my identity since I post about this e-mail address in this post (along with why I no longer have access to the photos on my SD card). It is also for my own purposes as I would like all blog-related correspondence to now go to this address. (Kadfly@gmail.com) If you need me to make a post or something on the blog to further verify my identity just let me know.

I will try my best to answer your questions below:

(blogdai questions in bold)Much has been made of the Riots in Lhasa. Both the Tibetan and Chinese versions differ significantly. What, from your first-hand observations, started the whole thing and what seemed to be the greatest instigating factor?

It seems the protests by the monks in the days leading up to the 14th led to a response by the Chinese and this response in turn led directly to the riots. The whole thing on the 14th really seemed to kick off with the blockading of the Ramoche Monastery: this seemed to infuriate ordinary Tibetans and the riot began minutes after the Chinese police were dropped off on Beijing Donglu to close the alley leading to the Temple.

Which media side seems to be the worst at fairly representing events as you witnessed them?

I haven't been that exposed to what the Chinese media is reporting, to be honest. But the photo cropping allegations (CNN and the trucks being stoned) and the use of pictures of police brutality from Nepal to illustrate stories about what was happening in Tibet does make me believe the Western media has not tried particularly hard to fairly represent the event. But as I said, I'm not aware of what the Chinese is doing so I cannot really compare the two. That said, I do hold the Western media to a higher standard than their Chinese counterparts, for obvious reasons :P.

Your photos have been picked up (uncredited) by the BBC, CNN and the front page of the New York Times. Some media renderings show only partial aspects of your photos which may imply a meaning that differed from the original photo. What is your opinion/experience with the Western media's use of your material and coverage of the events in Lhasa?

My main concern is how the Western media decided to completely ignore the violence of the protesters and concentrate on the resulting crackdown, which I actually had not witnessed. They used the police shields photo as a sign of Chinese strength, for example, without pointing out that seconds after the photo was taken the Chinese police actually fled for their lives.

As you may have observed, the Olympic torch relay has become a public relations disaster for the Beijing and International Olymice committees. Your coverage of events in Lhasa differed from the official Chinese version of events and may have been a significant catalyst in the torch demonstrations we see worldwide today. Did you ever have a sense of the importance your live coverage of the riots would carry in terms of world events today?

No, and I still don't think it has been very important, to be honest. I think all of this would have happened with or without our photos. Tibetans know this year is their chance to really force the issue.

There are many theories that ethnic Hans were just trying to work and make a living in Lhasa and that the real obstinance resided in the PCC and Chinese administration in Tibet. Do you think such a two-tiered Chinese presence exists in Lhasa?

I really don't think I am familiar enough with Lhasa or Tibet more generally to comment on this. But I think it is plausible: I met an ethnic Han person from Singapore who ran a coffee shop in Lhasa, for example, who I sincerely doubt is trying in any way to crush Tibetan independence. Similarly, I met an ethnic Han person from Hong Kong who was looking to start his own company in Lhasa who would regularly laugh at the official Chinese coverage of the riots.

Internet access was heavily scrutinized during the riots and the Chinese government has threatened to block all connections during the olympics. Did you feel watched or scrutinized during the times you posted to your blog from Lhasa?

At the Yak Hotel we first uploaded photos via the public internet room. A man (I think one of the managers of the hotel) came into this room mid-afternoon, yelled at the girls who worked there for letting us use the computers, and went to each computer and turned them off without saying a single word to any of us. But for some reason (they probably just forgot) they left private internet connections within rooms open so once we had a laptop we were again free to upload photos. As time went on I often felt like people might be listening to my cell phone or reading my blog postings and e-mails but I think this was paranoia more than anything. The internet police were definitely not trying very hard to shut down either internet connections or the cell phone network.

Tibet is scheduled to reopen May 1 to tourists. What will they find in Lhasa?

Some ruins, troops/police still in the streets but life as usual other than that is my guess. This has basically been the situation since March 18th, from what I hear.

Your blog received hundreds of postings during your stay in Lhasa. Many posters were angry pro-government supporters. Have you received any further or secondary contact from Chinese officials or supporters since your departure from Tibet?

No. All contact with those who read my blog who I do not know personally has been limited to the comments section with the exception of you and a few journalists.

Did you receive any other significant contacts, invitations or acknowledgements from your coverage?

Only from you :P. I will be receiving some portion of $2800 US from Reuters (a portion is going to our journalist contact who brought my blog to the attention of the major news agencies and negotiated on our behalf) which I will be donating and I have been interviewed by some media outlets.

How was the border crossing into Nepal? We understand security was stepped up significantly, is this true?

No, actually. Security may have been beefed up before the 20th or after (the day we arrived in Zhangmu) but crossing that particular day was extremely easy (and there were no extra officers than was necessary). Everyone in our group was hiding their memory cards and the such but it was completely unnecessary. The Chinese customs people appeared bored if anything and didn't even ask if we had come from Lhasa. It couldn't have been any more ordinary except for the journalists on the Nepalese side.

The world seemed quite taken by your coverage. Perhaps it was because you came off as a concerned traveler who was just caught up in the moment. Do you have any plans to re-visit Tibet? What, if anything, can you tell us about your immediate furture plans?

Yes, I would love to revisit Tibet. I don't have any plans at the moment but I know I will return. I will be finishing my trip in India and flying home at the end of the month.

Good, bad, indifferent or otherwise, is there anything you would like to add?

Not at the moment, but feel free to ask more if you need to.

Hope this helps,

Kadfly

Blogdai's Endorsement for Prime Minister

2008-04-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Well we did it. We actually held a kind of, sort of, election. All in all, it was a brave effort. Hats off to the average, and especially rural, citizen for braving all manner of obstruction and intimidation to cast a vote.

(Above) Bhoj Raj Pokherel, Election Commission guru smiles

while man on left tries to figure out Nepali ballot

system.

Girija tried to avoid elections and was successful for 10 years, Ian Martin tried to bungle the security, the YCL tried to kill them, Madhav Kumar Nepal tried to cheat them, but in the end, elections were held; and one man, kept his cool and pulled off what was thought to be impossible: Any kind of National initiative.

Who was this man that, for at least one day got all Nepali's to think about their country all at once? It was blogdai's nominee for the next Prime Minister of Nepal:

Bhoj Raj Pokherel

Pokherel has suffered long with this election process. blogdai remembers last September when our man pleaded with Girija for the proper materials, training and funding to pull off the scheduled November election. He chastened the political parties for their ineptness and disregard for the preparations necessary. Alas, those elections never happened, but Pokherel held his head high.

This time around, thanks to international pressure, Pokherel had all the endorsements he needed. Still, it was a daunting task. Prepare all precints for voting, print the necessary papers, establish voting and campaigning guidelines, and provide for the security of voters. As far as we know, he did it all.

When was the last time (ever?) that we witness a Nepali politician actually get his hands dirty and solve a problem on a national level?

On the other hand....

----60 precincts are petitioning for a revote for various claims of unfairness and more will follow.

----Attacks and widespread intimidation were reported at many precincts.

----Strong Maoist showings are already being contested by the major parties.

He did his job successfully: a rarity in Nepali politics, and for that, he should be congratulated.

Election Hangover

It looks like the Maoists won 11 of 21 Constituent Assembly (CA) seats. Considering that they've claimed outright that they will keep going until a Communist state is established, we should all fear that this Maoist victory will embolden Maoist politicians to be bullies in parliament; and, worse, embolden YCL thugs in the countryside.

The Nepali Constitution does not specify the exact power exchange or balance between parliament and the Constituent assembly. Look for seasoned politician to manipulate the CA agenda. We've already heard Girija say that the first duty of the CA is to vote the monarchy out. WHOA! Look who's setting the CA agenda and the result already?

Beware of the follow up. International observers are cooing over the success of the polls. They'll all go home and get job promotions, fine. But, the devil is in the details. Re-votes and disputed counts will keep us busy for months. Plus, who will insure that the CA does not succumb to the same cronyism and corruption that has infected parliament. And, biggest of all, what will insure that there will be regular periodic elections after this one? Everyone knows the government was pressured into holding these elections. Will the world community be around to pressure them in the future?

Prime Minister Pokherel would solve these problems in a heartbeat, I betcha.

-=blogdai

Another Slap in China's Face

2008-04-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

Japan says no to Chinese torch guards

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will not allow the squad of Chinese flame guards to intervene with the Beijing Olympic torch's progress when it arrives in a Japanese city this month, the national police head was quoted as saying on Friday.

"We should not violate the principle that the Japanese police will firmly maintain security," Kyodo news agency quoted Shinya Izumi, head of the National Public Safety Commission, as saying.

...
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said Australia, not China, would be the one to provide security for the flame when it comes to his country. (More...)

This unprecedented "flame protection squad" consisting of some 70 members of China's People's Armed Police, is described as "a phalanx of large and physically fit Chinese men in blue-and-white track suits...trotting besides the torch along its ambitious global torch route and turned off the flame several times in Paris earlier this week".

So this is the way China answers to the global protests toward its poor human rights record and its violent crackdown on Tibet. Money has been poured into this Chinese Olympic propaganda but the world is not fooled. Japan and Australia have stood up to China's ridiculous scheme of "flame protection squad". This is the start of a global movement in accord against China's violation of human rights: the violent crackdown on Tibet, the brutal persecution of Fa lung Gong members, and the bloody slaughter of students on the Tienanmen Square. China government has blood all over their hands and the world is demanding China to stop!

Bravery and Elegance

2008-04-08T23:29:00.001-07:00

"So well planned. So well thought out." - CBS News

"A stunningly bold protest for the world to see." - CBS News

"Tremendous amount of skill. Obviously it's a dangerous operation." - Golden Gate Bridge Manager

"Oh, this is unbelievable! I just can't believe this!" - Tourist from Indiana

"We are in solidarity with the Tibetan people." - Laurel Sutherlin, one of the three heroes

Thank you, Laurel Sutherlin, Duane Martinez, and Hannah Strange. We are with you. We are with the Tibetan people. China is at odds with the rest of the world for its oppression of the peaceful Tibetan people for nearly 60 years. Time to come clean, China!

Click picture to see the CBS video

Salute Protester Heroes

2008-04-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

(Click the above to see the 2 CNN videos back to back. Awesome!)

(Video: Work destroyed. Heroes arrested. The message is out!)

Thank you! Golden Gate Bridge Three Heroes! You have brought the attention to the entire world!

The heart-wrenching daily reports on Tibetans' risking their lives to have their voice heard.

The condemnation from all over the world on China's crackdown on Tibet.

The dilemma why the Chinese People's Liberation Army has used weapons on the peaceful Tibetans since 1950.

The ardent protests against China's crackdown on Tibet in every major city in the world.

The Chinese Communist Party's hacks rear their ugly heads and flood blogs with half-truth and outright lies.

But the truth can not be silenced.

The Western world continues trying, in all earnest, to show China that human rights need to be respected and Tibetans are entitled to their opinions. Passionate bloggers all over the world rigorously debate with the CCP hacks and only find that they are not sincere, not logical, and they do not hesitate resorting to name calling.

These are the typical hacks' rhetorics:
-Tibet was, is and always will be China's.
-Why is US invading Iraq?
-Tibet is China's internal affair, mind your own business at home.
-How about the US Civil war? You didn't allow division, did you?
-How about US invaded American Indians?
-Tibetans are well treated with financial and educational opportunity better than the Han Chinese.
-Tibetans are taking vacations on the beach.
-Tibetans steal.

Conclusion of their excuses: How dare the Tibetans! How dare the Western world! How dare anyone think differently from the China stinky oligarchy!

It comes down to this moment of the heroes climbing on the Golden Gate Bridge to raise banners drawing attention to China's crackdown on Tibet.

My tears of awe, respect, joy and admiration burst out for these heroes. Thank you heroes for risking your lives to carry out such a beautiful, well-planned action. From the design of the banner sizes and materials, the calculation of the wind speed, the physical training of climbing on the Golden Bridge Cables, the timing, and the well-articulated interview you gave to the reporter. You have done such a wonderful job. Your brave action goes down in history as credit for the eventual Tibetan freedom. You will be forever celebrated as the Golden Gate Bridge Three. You shocked China. You awed the world. Thank you. You are beautiful.

About the Golden Gate Bridge Three heroes:
"The three who ascended the cables are all experienced mountain climbers."
"Ginger Cassady, spokeswoman for the group, identified the climbers as Duane Martinez and Laurel Sutherlin, both men of Sausalito, and Hannah Strange, from Oakland. She said the protest, which began about 10 a.m., was timed so it didn't disrupt the morning commute."

Blogdai's Big Election Primer

2008-03-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to think the Maoists and Party politicos agreed to hold Constituent Assembly (CA) elections simply because--in the back of all their minds--they feel confident they can manipulate voters, polling places and results to their individual liking.

Well, after almost 10 years of dodging the issue, it looks like our boys in Parliament may just hold their Constituent Assembly (CA) election.

One wonders why now and why it took so long. blogdai opines that the disappearance of any form of National election over the last decade in a supposedly democratic Nepal was the result of too much citizen apathy, which gave Girija and his goons a free ride on the table of corruption. We didn't really care and the politicians were not about to offer any encouragement. So what if voting in a free election is the single most important duty of any citizen in a democracy.

Surprisingly, the international community and all its minions finally got something right. The reason Girija is holding elections is that everyone from Mukherjee to Jimmy Carter is telling him that he and his government are worthless if they don't pull this off. So, after years of pressure finally coming to a head, we may, just may get CA elections.

But that's where the trouble starts.....

---Madhav Khumar Nepal and his cronies are already manipulating the process in some districts by offering (unspecified) benefits to those who vote UML.

---Never to be outdone, Prachanda and his thug wing: The Young Communist League (YCL) are beating up UML cadres and disrupting legitimate political rallies. Prachanda himself says that he will be the leader of Nepal regardless of the outcome of the election. Great.

---Ian Martin, always eager to prove his relevance, maddeningly says that the security situation is good and that the Army, the one group capable of keeping order at the polls, is not necessary for security. Ian will not be able to pathetically beg for his job like he did a few months ago if he is found to be responsible for the almost inevitable security problems that will arise during this election.

--- Madhesis--ever in India's pocket--have already started their new disruptive agitation. They seem to be losing passion and steam this round: New Delhi must be very disappointed.

Post Election Scenarios

blogdai can almost guarantee that these elections will be disputed. Everyone that doesn't win something will bitch about it. That's Nepal. That's what happens when you don't know about the give and take of democracy. That's what happens when the only way you know to get social results is to take to the streets in protest: Thanks yet again, Girija Babu.

And take to the streets they will. First, Prachanda will rally, riot or whatever claiming he and his goons rightfully won the day. Then, student cadres of the NC and UML will take to the streets claiming YCL thugs intimidated voters and the whole election is a fraud. Finally, let's not forget that the Tibetans have promised to start their anti-China agitations up again the day after elections. A nasty time, that, as the Olympic torch will be passing through Delhi and supposedly crossing everest a few weeks after.

Can we even be assured of any kind of accuracy in these elections? In Kathmandu, mock elections were held in woefully inadequate numbers; and what did we learn from such exercises? We learned that a majority of those wishing to cast their first ballot in years were not able to comprehend either the choices or the mechanics of casting a vote. How representative of the will of the people this election will be!

This leaves cadres, politicos and party operatives to cast or help cast votes. With only a token presence of election monitors from the world community (do you think any one of them will observe a polling site in Rolpa?) there is nothing that will substantively check widespread voter coercion and electoral fraud.

Messy old democracy getting it's wings? Don't fool yourself, we're far from that.

-=blogdai

Internal Affairs

2008-03-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Nepali police defending Chinese sovereignty in Nepal.

Take a good look citizens of Nepal. You don't have to look far, it's right in your backyard.

Watch the Tibetans.

There's violence in the streets of Kathmandu. Fifty years of repression and unequal treatment has come to a head and more violence will be on the way.

There is no sinister Maoist force holding a gun to the heads of these people; no trumped-up sense of revolution being brokered by career politicians trying to save their wealth.

No, these are real people who have had enough.

What blogdai wants you to see is how people unite under adversity and begin to take charge of their own lives and futures.

Go ahead, take a good look.

Many Tibetans in Nepal have become quite wealthy. They are often astute and cunning traders and can generally run circles around their Nepali competitors in the restaurant and small hotel industry. The just WANT it more than the rest of us.

But there you see them, rich and poor, taking to the streets in protest of China's infantile and punitive policies that fail to recognize either Tibetan culture or Tibetan identity. They have much to lose as Nepal, for the most part, has been good to them.

When we see the anguished faces of those Tibetans, it is clear that they are each at a stage where personal heartache and a relentless lack of humanity become such a burden that one is compelled to act, even at great risk, above and beyond the preservation and maintenance of daily personal needs.

It is a desperate plea for self-determination. It is the real road towards autonomy and ultimately democracy.

-----

If we in Nepal had a government that actually understood the nature of democracy, we would support these Tibetans in their struggle.

But what have we instead? During the demonstrations, Chinese representatives had a complete free-hand in imposing their will on our hapless and totally-for-sale politicians. They threatened to cut off the Chinese bribe machine. They made our democratic politicians swear that there would be no "anti-Chinese" activity on Nepali soil. Our government, through its weakness, is standing aside and allowing a repressive regime to run its affairs in our country. How courageous! How democratic!

Excuse me? Isn't Nepal still a sovereign nation? Am I to understand that we are now supposed to repress free speech spoken against another nation on our soil? So now, whenever a stupid Indian actress says anything bad about Nepal and we riot in the streets are we guilty of "anti-Indian" activities? I get it. I can come to Nepal from any country in the world and totally trash the political and cultural fabric of the nation and it's ok as long as I don't say anything bad about my own country in the process. Fun!

I guess Nepali democracy involves just sitting around until another country tells you what to do.

-=blogdai

(If you are interested in helping Nepal's Tibetan community and can devote on-the-ground time towards their assistance, contact blogdai at blogdai@nepalimail.com)

Madesis: A Larger Issue

2008-02-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

Madhesi woman looking towards India for instructions on what to do next.

When the April elections do not occur, Girija will blame the Madhesi conflict. Consider Sher Bahadur Deuba in the past. He blames Maoists, students, royalists and just about everyone but SPA everytime the government bungles an election attempt. Take his utterances as a barometer of parliamentary philosophy: you can always point the finger at some other group to cover for your incompetence.

One Madhes? What does it mean really? Do the Madhesis think they can go it alone as an autonomous region? There is NO group in Nepal that would take such a stand simply because a government is not funtioning--Nepalis just generally don't care enough about government to jeopardize their daily lives by proclaiming independence and issuing demands.

What can it mean then? blogdai thinks the Madhesis have some powerful friends as motivators. Never one to dismiss a conspiracy, blogdai has noticed an upswing in Madhesi agitation and demands since Constituency Elections started to be taken (relatively) seriously by the government.

Hmmm. blogdai smells a rat. Let's digress, shall we? Constituent Assembly elections, if they are successful, are a sure path towards greater national unity and independent government thought. Hmmm again. Who, as we've mentioned many times in the past, would cringe at the thought of an independent-thinking Nepal? Who would much rather see an unstable Nepal and who has the ability to instigate instability through indirect support of the Madhesi movement?

That's right, children, India!

The bottom line is: the Madhesi movement has probably received some big promises from big brother in New Delhi. No tribal or ethnic group in Nepal would be this bold otherwise.

India's former tool of the trade: The Maoists are now untouchables on the world stage and Prachanda has shot his babbling mouth off one too many times against the Indian government; so now, blogdai believes, Delhi is chipping away at our southern border through the agitating Madhesis. Their demands are impossible and one can only see a desire for confusion and chaos in their dealings with the government. If you are seeking a representative voice, why ask for postponement of an election process that would give you that voice?

From nepalnews.com:

It is learnt that though the government and the UDMF were close to striking a deal today morning following discussions that started from yesterday at 9 pm and went till the wee hours of the morning, it couldn’t happen because the latter started shifting the goalpost from greater autonomy by declaring entire Madhesh as “one state” to further amendments in the interim constitution and postponing the election in a way that they would be able to take part in it.

If the Madhesis were serious about National unity and fixing not only their own problems, but those of Nepal as a whole, they wouldn't be striking out in their own Quixotic direction. If they don't want to be a part of Nepal, what do they want to be a part of?

Think it over

-=blogdai

The Big Column

2008-02-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

Lots of backed-up stuff here at blogdai. Our security system check -n- purge is complete. Now, back to the fun stuff. Trouble is, we've got so much of it, we don't know where to begin. So, after much debate among our writing staff, we'll just sum up the ideas. -=bd

Boyz in the Hood

Home boys clock-wise from left: Baby "Notice -Me-Makune"; Jess stoopid Dr. P Maoibadi; Baby Babbling Mao; Stale Prince "Do Nuffin" Girija; Massa "G" Hisself; CE (cancel elections) Deuba G.

Tired of all of them. blogdai is sick of these thugs running their mouths off in the wrong direction. Deuba doubts everything and quits at the first sign of anxiety; Makune spills the beans on every plan with his impecably bad political timing; The bozo Mao-brothers throw wrenches into every positive development; even King G. can't seem to run his own coup.

Sweep em' away. Any Nepali, repeat ANY Nepali could do a better job governing the country.

Girija Shows His Hand

Yes, Jana Andolan was designed to "restore democracy" to Nepal. What a laughable farce. A few years down the road and what does the old man want to do before he keels over dead? Discretely pass the Prime Ministership over, without an election or public input, to party gal and daughter Sujata. (We predicted it here 2 years ago!) Anyway, long live the spirit of Jana Andolan: where the people's voices are heard by not listening to them at all!

Watch the old man finally give up his long career in crooked politics shortly. He's done. Nona Koirala, the only brain and advisor in the family, is dead and ol' babu just doesn't give a shit anymore. Let's hope he gets out quickly, before he can do any more damage.

Sujata Days

Fashion memo to Sujata: Never allow yourself to be photographed with a hangover.

Her time has come all right. blogdai hated to be right with this prediction but it looks like Sujata Koirala will inherit the Prime Ministership.

blogdai knew it was in the works a few months ago when Suji went on her comical "book promotion" tour of India. She was apparently hawking a Girija biography, but blogdai knows she was making the political rounds in Delhi and shoring up her support and connections.

Pathetic. Apparently there was no real interest in a Girija biography in India. blogdai can only surmise at the possible titles for such a tome:

-Girija Koirala: "A life in the Cookie Jar."

-Koirala: "I am not my brother's (legacy) keeper."

-Girija Koirala: "I made millions in politics and so can you!"

-"Making Autocracy look Democratic:" The Girija Koirala story.

and so on...

Super Maoist and Babu Boy

Little Babu continues to rant. Calling Sujata's rise a prelude to a "democratic coup," whatever that means. No matter, Babu Ram just loves to hear himself talk, it makes him feel smart. Forget the fact that he makes absolutely NO sense. Sense or sanity has never been a prerequisite for Maoist leadership.

And Dear Leader Prachanda. Now he's threatening (again) to re-start his full scale revolution if CA elections are "manipulated." We've seen this pattern before. If he can't coerce the results because the RNA is guarding the polls, he'll claim manipulation. So what. let him go.

If the Maoists had any kind of large scale ability they would have made their move on government by now. Their voice is becoming more marginalzed by the day and Nepali's are sick and tired of the YCL. Stick a fork in him, he's done.

-=blogdai

News Flash

2008-01-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

BANESHWOR: A much anticipated strike against spiking petroleum prices fizzled today after just a few moments as protesters ran out of fuel to light incendiary devices and old tires.

It seems that none of the protesters in the crowd could afford enough petroleum to keep the whole mess ablaze.

It was reported that much confusion and, eventually, silence ensued as the mob pondered what to do next.

Deep thought continued until, at last, the protesters settled on an old favorite and began again; STOP THE KING'S REGRESSION AND RESTORE PARLIAMENT IMMEDIATELY, was the new chant as the happy, renewed scrum made its way through the streets.

-=blogdai

Dumb, Dangerous and Determined

2008-01-20T16:21:00.000-08:00

Who's the bigger fool? Prachanda and his strict adherence to a failed ideology or we Nepalis who allow him all the room and permission he needs to take over the country?

Prachanda sees CA elections as an impending Maoist "final victory" and is training his cadres, for whatever misguided reason, for the elections. blogdai's guess, and this is what we've been saying since 2003, is that the only reason Maoists even CARE about a CA election is because they feel they can influence the result in remote areas and gain a majority by coercion.

I also don't understand why no one has really picked-up on blogdai's almost constant assertions that the Maoists never intended to work with a democratic government. They only use Koirala and his moronic apes as a learning device for a probable Communist takeover. Prachanda is playing out the old axiom of "keep your friends close, your enemies closer" to a tee.

So evident is this that the biggest election saboteur of all, Sher Bahadur Deuba, now says that if a good and credible election is not held, Nepal is in for a world of hurt under Maoist/Communist leadership. blogdai agrees, although Deuba is largely responsible for the lack of elections and needs to be slapped silly and put out of government immediately.

In a perfect world, blogdai would have Prachanda and the Maoists destroyed: violently and permanently. However, in the UN world of which Nepal is a part and people like Ian Martin have influence, appeasement and accommodation rule the day. So, under such a scenario, the only way to save Nepal from certain, repressive, Communist rule would be:

SEND INTERNATIONAL MONITORS INTO NEPAL FOR CONSTITUENCY ELECTIONS IMMEDIATELY. GIVE THEM POWER TO NULLIFY ANY VOTING RESULTS THAT APPEAR COERCED. BAN MAOIST PRESENCE AND INFLUENCE FROM ALL POLLING STATIONS.

You hear that Ian the Meek? Do something useful for once and save a country, will you?

-=blogdai

The Summit of Class

2008-01-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Sad day here at the offices of blogdai.

Sir Edmund Hillary, first to ascend Everest with His lifelong friend Tenzing Norgay, died today.

I think it was his time.

The last I saw of Sir Ed, he was in Kathmandu making an appearance at the Marshyangdi Hotel. He looked frail and moved slow; but his love for Nepal and the Sherpa people was always evident.

He was class. He was a pioneer. Yes, perhaps the whole "Everest experience" was becoming too cheepened for him--he spent his last years lamenting the commercialization of the ascent, the ridiculous tricks and stunts performed from its summit, and the increasing disregard for the environment and people of the Khumbu by money-engorged adventure tourists bent on nothing more than having the best story to tell at the first cocktail party they find on their return home.

Imagine what the ascent must have been like in his time. Good, credible experts were dead certain that the human body would "explode" at altitudes above 20,000 feet. Mallory had mysteriously failed from the North. There was no sophisticated gear and only an unreliable, primitive oxygen delivery system that, we understand, Sir Ed shunned until it was absolutely necessary. Standing on top, in typical Kiwi modesty and understatement, he looked at Norgay and calmly said: "It looks like we've knocked the bastard off." (Or thereabouts)

Contrast that with today where we have, what amounts to, spoiled brats with latte's and internet connections all the way from Gorak Shep to base camp. Don't get blogdai wrong here, you can still die on Everest and it's a very dangerous mountain sure, but it's power is diminished when you have a stud Sherpa hauling your ass up the Hillary Step on the back of a short rope.

I understand from the climbing community that Everest ascents are becoming a bit of a Tiffany joke. Throw enough money at the expedition and you get your summit. blogdai has no respect for such disrespect of culture and nature. Idiots with money and their Gore-Tex boldly going where every rich man has now gone before.

blogdai friend, two time summiteer of Everest, and a Kiwi, Jamie McGuinness shares Sir Ed's anguish over what has become a cheap carnival on Everest. In the space of one year, Jamie supervised an Indian girl as far as possible up Everest so she wouldn't lose face in her petty little village; and photographed the French touching down, illegally, via hellicopter, on Everest's summit.

Forget these idiots, and I'm sorry for dwelling so long on them. Let's look at the positive. Let's celebrate the life of a real explorer and a real human. Sir Ed never once waivered from his commitment and support of Nepal.

Hillary schools are a beacon of efficiency and offer one of the highest standards of mass education in Nepal. The Sherpa people--most people in the Khumbu--are among the most prosperous in Nepal due to the efforts of Sir Ed's Himalayan Trust. Whenever you are in Kathmandu, give a visit to their offices in Dilli Bazaar. Stop in, say hi to Ang Rita Sherpa, if he's there, and leave a donation. The money will not be wasted. If you can't do that, look up or mail a donation, on Sir Ed's behalf to:

Himalayan Trust

P.O. Box 224

Kathmandu, Nepal

email: himalaya@trust.mos.com.np

Rest in peace Edmond Hillary. You were and are one of a kind.

-=blogdai

Blogdai's 3rd Anniversary

2008-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well we've made it through yet another year. Funny, but if you see, scan and analyze events in Nepal as much as blogdai, you would know that events begin to show a pattern of repetitive predictability. Some of the most predictable are:

--Girija or someone in government promising some event will happen "soon" or "in a few days," which blogdai always interperets to mean: "no way in hell will this ever be accomplished."

--Some screaming little boy YCL cadre will kill or beat up some politico out in the field and Prachanda will assure everyone that "they will be disciplined." blogdai interperets this to mean: "As long as they beat people up, we will be taken seriously, so no change in that regard, thanks for the publicity."

--"High Level" or "All Party" meetings will either end without addressing one single issue or not be held in the first place.

--Prachanda will threaten to "return to the streets" if government doesn't act on some Maoist friendly issue. When they finally do act, Prachanda throws obstacles in the way.

--If anything is ever agreed upon in any "meeting" it inevitably takes the form of either Royal ridicule and censure; or the enactment of reams of meaningless clauses designed simply to insure the future stalemates that perpetuate this government's culture of ineptitude.

--Hours will be spent haggling over Nepal's status as a Republic without anyone being able to adequately define the concept.

SO, ol' blogdai is feeling wistfully wishful on this our 3rd anniversay. I wish we had a clean canvass on which a new political landscape might be conceived. To this end, blogdai's fancy drifts towards a simplification, and end to this mess.

Let's all make big wishes and blow out the candles on blogdai's cake: candles that have been burning for far too long:

Candle #1: Ian Martin: Gave relevance to a rabble of a Maoist movement simply by recognizing them as a legitimate group. As the voice of the UN in Nepal, this boosted Prachanda's stature exponentially. Clinging to his hopeless cantonment policy. (Are there any Maoists still living in these?) Complete lack of knowledge and preparation showed during his ridiculous attempt to "count" Maoists and their weapons. You can't do anything on such a wide national level given Nepal's geography, Ian. Much less count on "good faith" from a bunch of murderous disparate gangs. Amazingly pathetic round of begging to keep his job in Nepal last month. Ian visited Girija, Makhune, even Prachanda in an attempt to plead for more time for his UNMIN. He got it, but his time is about up here on blogdai. So, Ian, we officially BLOW YOU OUT........

Candle #2: Girija Prassad Koirala. We've said it all here about the obfuscating old man. What occurs now to blogdai is the tragic loss of Nepal's potential in the world during the last 10 years under Girija. He chooses to be an imperious rock and obstacle to change. Think of the innovation, progress and growth that more than probably would have blessed Nepal had virtually anyone else been at the helm of government. He's as autocratic as any dictator. He won't hold elections, he won't tolerate dissent and he only appoints family members and cronies to political positions. No use giving him a crown, he'd just sell it off to the highest bidder in India like he has with everything else he's touched. Well now, you old reprobate fossil, we here at blogdai officially BLOW YOU OUT.....

Candle #3: Prachanda, head of Nepal's Maoist rabble. Has never once offered either a compromising position or the hope that he would want anything less than absolute communist domination of Nepal since he joined the interim government. Always threatens and always speaks in moronic hyperbole. Relations improving with the U.S. he says? What were you smoking, Fierce One? Said ambassador Nancy Powell. He's a fool and a thug and his time has passed. So, Dumb One, you are now officially BLOWN OUT.....

Ah, that felt good. blogdai, ever the optimist, still clings to the notion that wishes do come true.

-=blogdai

Turning the "Table"

2007-12-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, blogdai has to get this off the brain once and for all. I don't know how long, politicians, pundits and media people have been using the political term to "table" in the exact opposite meaning from which the term was derived. Stop it already. It makes us all look like third-world goons. Just this week Mercantile published:

The government has tabled a motion in the parliament seeking amendment in the interim constitution to incorporate a new timeline for constituent assembly polls.

Look, by definition, to "table" a motion means to cease discussion and end further debate on an issue.

In Nepal, we seem to think it means something like dropping an idea on the table like a plate of dhal bhat so that we can adopt it.

If you want to be treated like a legitimate media or political entity in a democracy, get your terms right.

Well, that was a relief to finally get all my cards on the table. I hearby table this discussion.

-=blogdai

"Decisive" meeting this Friday?

2007-12-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

Don't count on it. Our bungling boys of bereft babbling plan on a "decisive" meeting in Baluwater to resolve a year's worth of compound ineptness. ENOUGH already. Not only will nothing be accomplished, there most probably will not even be agreement on the topics of discussion.

This is the easiest prediction blogdai has ever made: Tomorrow's meeting will

END INCONCLUSIVELY for the average citizen desperate for leadership.

Nothing of any significance or relevance in rebuilding Nepal or caring for its people will be on the agenda. Looking at the tentative list of topics, one sees selfish, greedy and completely out of touch political posturing. It's like fighting over the deck chairs on the Titanic. Among the worthless issues for which only these clueless baboons would care if there were "decisive" action are:

1. Adding additional constituent assembly "seats" in order to accommodate proportional representation. Meaningless since elections will be postponed as long as Girija and the NC run the show. Plus, the Little Elf, Madhav Khumar Nepal has already made it his most recent shout for relevance that proportional representation would divide the country into ethnic factions. Maybe to you, Elf, but did you ever think that real, elected proportional representation might just give the Madhesis and other groups legitimate faith in the electoral system and a renewed willingness to play by the rules? Probably not, since you can't see beyond the politics of greed and self-interest.

2. Maoists demanding more important seats in congress plus a bunch of high-profile portfolios like Home, Finance and Defence along with a Deputy Prime Ministership. Basically, they are asking for the entire government of Nepal. It'll never happen. Watch Prachanda walk out and threaten a new agitation. How long are we going to nurse-maid these terrorist bums? They are a cancer to Nepal and bent on nothing short of complete communist, ideologically uncompromising rule. Thank Ian Martin for keeping them relevant this long. Wipe them out says blogdai; do it now.

3. Merger of the NA and the Maoists PLA. Laughably pathetic. Do you think the army just concluded its arms-shopping visit to India so that they could supply their future Maoist "comrades in arms" with some shiny new guns? Not a chance. That meeting in Delhi was tellling. The NA is pissed, fed-up and seeking more arms to kick some Maoist ass. Hey, we're all tired of this charade. Lock and load fellas.

blogdai is impressed with either the political stamina or outright apathy of the average Nepali, I can't tell which. How long are we going to let this continue? New leaders are everywhere. Do you need a revolution road map or something?

Get to work and get rid of these bums now. If you don't you have no right pretending to be a sovereign nation.

-=blogdai

Nepal Blogs: What's the Point?

2007-12-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

The point is, information and ideas are spread where none had been spread before.

We see echos of our thoughts in the words of Nepal's journalists and politicians. The simple fact that there exists a body of Nepal bloggers out there gives support to all with like minded opinions and provides good argument towards those who consistently miss the point. (Do you hear me, main stream media?) AP, UPI, Reuters, Bloomberg and virtually all other relevant wire services research and check their stories by accessing related blogs.

Every thought, every word, every argument a Nepal blog puts out can be picked up by anyone in the world curious enough to Google: "Nepal blog."

Don't discount one word of what we do here at blogdai and at other sites. WE DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Over the past 2 years, blogdai's columns and comments have drawn personal e-mails from the U.S. embassy in Nepal, the Nepal Royal Palace (through I.P. back search), the U.S. State Department, the BBC, The Economist, those phony idiots at the International Crisis Group, The World Bank, the Gates Foundation, and a few cryptic messages from individuals claiming to be from various levels of Nepal's Maoist heirarchy.

blogdai (and blogdai's friendly rival: Dinesh Wagle) account for roughly 30% of all web-search traffic hits seeking Nepali chat, politics and current events. (blogrankings.com; Technorati; blogshares compiled data with a few others).

Nepal blogs are playing a large role in opening up discourse, freeing the Nepali mind to openly criticize, and introducing, if not educating Nepalis to world opinion about their country and its political status.

This is particularly important in Nepal where politicians, Kings and Maoists had, for years, relied on an insular cloak of national isolation to enact and realize policies and practices that were contrary to acceptable world norms and human rights standards.

If it were not for the issues addressed here at blogdai, I am sure some individuals in Nepal's political arena would feel hard pressed to break what would be perceived as new ideological ground. We open doors here. We introduce and discuss ideas. Politicians (trust me) read blogdai and our arguments help to inform their opinions. Outside of direct political intervention, what more could the average blog reader and poster do that could be of more value?

So, hold your head high, regulars, anons and general posters. Your words are read by more people than you realize.

Keep it comming and keep it relevant.

-=blogdai

They Don't Know How to Govern, Period.

2007-11-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

They don't know how to lead, and they don't want to be put under pressure. They just want to return to the days when all they had to do was sit in their chairs and pretend to be important.

Their country is burning and they can't even sit down and discuss issuse that will determine their own political fates.

They have no idea what they are doing and never have.

In times of political crises like we see in Nepal today, real leaders sit down, lock the doors, and find a compromised solution to save their country. They do no take "recess" and they do not give up after one hour of mindless chit chat.

Yet another meeting has ended "inconclusively" today:

Top level meeting ends inconclusively

A top level meeting of the seven parties held at Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar Monday morning ended without taking any concrete decision.
During the meeting that ended within an hour the top leaders discussed about announcing a fresh date for constituent assembly election and implementing the proposals passed by the special session of the interim parliament, among others issues.
Although the meeting was expected to make headway in building some kind of political compromise, the Nepali Congress and the Maoists stuck to their respective positions.
However, the meeting was significant on one aspect as the leaders agreed to continue the ongoing dialogue for forging a consensus on holding the election by April next year while keeping the seven party unity intact.
At the meeting the Maoist leaders proposed a review of all past agreements and move forward with a new understanding.
The meeting came ahead of the regular winter session of the interim parliament that begins at 3 pm today. nepalnews.com ag Nov 19 07

People of Nepal: Get these idiots out of Singha Durbar NOW, while you still have a country.

-=blogdai

Stupid Political Quote of the Day

2007-11-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

Blogdai gets tired of giving Maoists attention. They don't deserve it. But I get equally tired from hearing blabbering Maoist leaders say things that make no sense. Prachanda has been spouting this quote for a while and it's time we called him out on it:

"Holding constituent assembly elections is impossible without announcing republic first."

So, if we follow all definitions of "Republic," Prachanda is saying that we cannot establish an elected representative government until we agree to call ourselves an elected representative government.

Who cares what it is called. Suppose Prachanda demanded we call ourselves a banana sandwich and said elections are impossible until we do so. Same damn thing.

Look, the terms Republic, Democracy, Feudal Fiefdom, Indentured Servitude, whatever, are terms used to describe political and social systems. They describe. You do not need to label your intended political system choice ahead of time as some sort of permission to hold elections.

If he's trying to imply that a Republic is a form of proportional representation and that some groups in Nepal are not proportionally represented, then, for God's sake, have a constiuent assembly election and let each of these groups stand or fall on their own merit to the electorate.

Let's do whatever the momentum of the populace tells us to do. Right now that momentum says to hold elections. If, through these elections we decide that we want to label what we've done a Republic, then good. Don't hold up these precious elections because some confused moron terrorist doesn't realize he's put the cart before the horse.

In any event, Nepal must evolve into whatever form of government an active citizenry decides. The key is participation. Elections are the single greatest means of getting people interested in changing their government. Perhaps a Republic will emerge from this process.... perhaps a banana sandwich.

-=blogdai

Clear-Eyed and Unbiased

2007-11-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

(We need more articles like this. Tobias Denskus is clearly an insider among Nepal's international foreign aid set; yet he breaks up the boys club of aid excess and ineptitude and screams that the aid emporer has no clothes. God, if we could assemble a think tank of individuals such as Mr. Denskus, solid action stemming from the identification of actual issues might, miraculously, be the new standard for aid in Nepal. -=blogdai)

After five decades of ‘development’ and ten years of violent conflict, Kathmandu has remained in a ‘bubble of innocence’, as one donor representative described the state of mind in a city that seems remarkably far away from ‘underdevelopment’, ‘poverty’ or ‘war’. When the people formed a democracy movement last year and demonstrated on the streets, few conflict advisers and inhabitants of the bubble were able to predict the political changes that were about to happen.

- By Tobias Denskus

One recent report on a conference in Brussels organised by a northern NGO and interestingly entitled ‘Nepal: Looking beyond Kathmandu-Challenges and Opportunities for peacebuilding from below’, had a cover page with pictures from Nepal (rural women with children–unrelated to the conflict and the conference) and a second page with pictures from the conference venue of a nondescript board-room-style meeting room, handsome European women and men and artefacts such as a data projector and video-conferencing equipment.

The French philosopher Marc Augé coined the expression of ‘non-places’ for such spaces without history or individual meaning that only exist to enable commercial interactions. In the globalised aid world such places exist in Brussels - or in the well-known hotels and resorts in and around Kathmandu where workshops are usually conducted. As long as such exchanges shape the debate about post-conflict societies, real social change for the majority of Nepalis seems further away than any election dates, a new constitution or accountable services in rural areas.

After five decades of ‘development’ and ten years of violent conflict, Kathmandu has remained in a ‘bubble of innocence’, as one donor representative described the state of mind in a city that seems remarkably far away from ‘underdevelopment’, ‘poverty’ or ‘war’. When the people formed a democracy movement last year and demonstrated on the streets, few conflict advisers and inhabitants of the bubble were able to predict the political changes that were about to happen. But they quickly shared their relief that the promising signs of the Maoist party joining ‘mainstream politics’, a forthcoming constituent assembly, and parliamentary elections would put Nepal back on the ‘road to development’.

Some donors were relieved that they could now continue with work they had planned before the violent conflict, and that the small Nepali elite in Kathmandu seemed to be willing to address the ‘root causes’ that have kept Nepal in ‘poverty’ for the past 55 years. A bright ‘post-conflict’ mirage was visible and donor amnesia quickly replaced reflective practice. Aid specialists from other post-war ‘non-places’ quickly arrived in Kathmandu to share their approaches, always stressing that they needed to be tailored to Nepal, of course.

‘Arms management’, ‘security sector reforms’, ‘transitional justice’ – the Fall 2007 collection arrived in Kathmandu straight from the peacebuilding catwalks in Europe without looking outside the ‘bubble’, or searching for stories in the remote villages of Nepal, asking local people about the future direction of their country. A former ‘conflict adviser’ of a European donor observes:

‘When I first attended the meetings of the conflict advisors’ group I was surprised to find them talking over simple and conservative conflict analyses and I immediately started to wonder whether these guys [all but one were men at that time] should know these things by now and before coming to Kathmandu’.

If I look at the amount of reports, briefings and notes that arrive in my email inbox, I find that a lot of the insights are not rooted in local realties or have emerged from interactions other than bringing a few people together for a workshop with flipcharts and red plastic chairs. Harmonising discourses and approaches may be in vogue in today’s ‘Aidland’, but, as this donor went on to comment, donor co-ordination in the peacebuilding community of Kathmandu seemed somewhat over-enthusiastic: ‘We had 400 meetings after the February 1 coup of the King in 2005. I knew more about what the Japanese and Americans were doing than about our projects in the field.’ The professional life-world in Kathmandu was also matched by the sheltered private lifestyle of most international inhabitants of ‘Aidland’, because the Maoist violence never reached the Kathmandu Valley.

‘Peacebuilding’ is almost always linked to issues of ‘governmentality’ – making ‘chaotic’ and ‘unsafe’ places fit for (neo)liberal democracy. Nepal is doomed to be a success-story of how a violent conflict can be transformed through peaceful, democratic means and adoption of the latest fashion in ‘peace-building’ and the international spectators in form of UNMIN staff or EU election observers have eagerly arrived in the ‘stadium’ in Kathmandu. Neither critical voices nor lessons learned from the failed development of Nepal, nor indeed the history of failed ‘peacebuilding’ interventions elsewhere, will enter the narrative of ‘success’.

Where Is He?

2007-10-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Possible picture of blogdai after eating a plate of "performance enhancing" dhal bhat.

Ok, I know where he is. He's recovering nicely in a local Kathmandu hospital from a recent cardiac "episode."

Prince Paras, that's who, and he's been ducking me for too long now.

Sorry old man about the heart problems, but blogdai's dear departed friend Prince Dipendra had the same issues. Dipendra was a kind-hearted soul and yes, he did love firearms. But diplomat and gentleman--to the end--he was.

What about you, pulchritudinously portly plethora of pathetic pathos prince P?

It's time you and blogdai had it out, once and for all.

In the spirit of Andy Kaufmann, blogdai offers you this wager: I will meet you anywhere, anytime for a wrestling match. Rules are up to you although I prefer no firearms. Either way, here's a proposal to think over while you are recovering.

-Wrestle, no holds barred, till submission or unconsciousness.

-If you win, I will cease all negative press coverage of you and your escapades on this blog--=not an insignificant proposal.

-If I win, I get Princess Himani. She needs a little respect in her life and I think it's only fair.

-King G. gets his grandson, if I win. After all, he's the future King of Nepal. Don't be jealous of this, but once you've killed an artist and shot up a disco, all your credibility is fairly well spent.

So, big P, are you up to it? Respond here and I'll pay for the airfare, anywhere in the world you'd like, for the match. C'mon, it'll be a hoot!

A little heart attack shouldn't stop you. Are you man enough?

-=blogdai

Blogdai's Favorite Quote

2007-10-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

"The current Koirala parliament will never hold an election for anything."

--blogdai July 2006

Our Government at Work: Inconclusively

2007-10-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Blogdai waxed nostalgic today. I just finished reading how yet another high level government meeting “ended inconclusively” and began to reminisce about how many times this has happened during the last decade under this government’s watch.

The more I think of it EVERYTHING that brings these corrupt idiots to the negotiating table ends inconclusively. In fact, blogdai is hard pressed to come up with anything over the past 5 years that this congress has been able to agree and act upon.

Haven’t we gotten the message yet? These guys are so incompetent, they can’t even agree on what day it is. All of us have known about this supreme "enactile dysfunction" for a while; yet, even when the world is watching-- basically giving them a clean slate so they can prove their worth-- these buffoons can’t seem get past their same old bickering ineptness. Bad timing seems to be the one hallmark that defines this gaggle of clueless idiots.

The Yanks, Euros and even the Indians are beginning to express their frustration publicly.
Even journalists are starting to realize there’s something rotten in Singha Durbar. Read M. R. Josse’s good article at http://newsblaze.com/story/20061020062844nnnn.nb/topstory.html for a better sense of how long this has been going on and the mounting frustration among journalists and commentators.

Anyway, back to my nostalgia. Just for kicks, I Googled “Nepal Inconclusive” and returned a whopping 33,800 hits. My, our boys have been busy.

Blogdai can’t list them all here, but here are a few just from the month of September and just from the Google news segment.

Nepalnews.com, Sept. 27: “ A meeting of the top leaders of the seven parties held Thursday afternoon to find a way out of the current political stalemate ended inconclusively. According to C.P Mailani, general secretary of the CPN (Marxist Leninist), the meeting held at Baluwatar lasted just ten minutes and didn't discuss any of the issues raised by the Maoists”

Washingon Times, Sept 19: “ An emergency meeting of the eight-party alliance was inconclusive, with the rebels sticking to their demands.”

Rising Nepal, Sept.16: “Referring to the meeting between the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist Chairman Prachanda in the morning, he said that the meeting was inconclusive. The Prime Minister kept mum on declaring republic and adopting proportional electoral system.”

Rising Nepal Sept. 12: “The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee…..remained inconclusive on the names of eight ambassadors at its meeting held Wednesday.”

By blogdai’s calculation, Girija’s new congress holds an inconclusive meeting an average of four times a month!

So, dear readers, I now issue a challenge to you all: Find just ONE thing that this new congress has accomplished for the good of Nepal and you’ll get special recognition and a free column to air your opinions here at blogdai. Just ONE! All they seem to be able to act upon are petty measures to punish the King, like yesterday’s removal of his guards. But punishing the King doesn’t count here. They could kill him and it wouldn’t improve a thing in Nepal. No, find me an edict, national directive, law, decree or anything that shows these corrupt fools are paying attention to the needs of citizens and you win!

Simple, right? Let's see. Give it a try.

-=blogdare

Mr. Flip Flop

2007-10-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

An new level of hubris and detachment, says blogdai.

Ol' Babu is at it again. If you'll all remember (will you please?), back when the "alliance" was young, it would have been a nice gesture for Girija to play along politically with a Maoist request and at least entertain the idea of forming a Republic. But no. The old man vehemently said that under no circumstances would Nepal go for a Republican form of government (See Blogdai: Sabotage!).

The old goat kept this staunch posturing up until a week ago. Now, like the limp pancake that he is, he's found some political traction in espousing the idea of a Republic. He makes comments like he's been in favor of it all along.

Without an inclination either towards his legacy or his political credibility, Girija does a 180 degree flip-flop and looks around and says, "What? What did I do wrong?" Fool.

Now it looks as though he's doing another flip; the de-facto type. This brand new long-time lover of Republicanism has now said that he will not go along with Proportional Representation under any circumstance.

Now wait a minute. Isn't the very definition of Repulican government proportional representation? So, Babu, you'd love to have a Republic just as long as it contains no Republican concepts? It's ok to have a Republic as long as the Mahdesi's don't get a voice?

Look for the old man to change his mind on Proportional Representation as soon as someone tells him what it means. In fact, someone should tell the entire parliament what it means to live in a Republic.

It damn sure means having elections more than once a decade.

-=blogdai

NC Unification Imminent! (Who Cares)

2007-09-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

Deuba and Girija prepare for another pointless round of their worthless dance.

Nice to see Girija a Deuba finally tying the knot. We should expect an announcement of Party unification "any day now," or as we've heard over the past years: "imminently," "by Tuesday," and "in a few days."

These guys want to unify? Who cares? Nepal is falling apart. This moot gesture shows where all Nepali politicians' place their first priority: Solidifying their political positions.

Let's see:

1. Kapalvistu is on fire and on the verge of a regional conflict.

2. Maoists have quit the government.

3. Mahdesi concerns and Terai violence have yet to be addressed.

4. We are nowhere closer to holding election this November than we were 10 years ago.

So, blogdai thinks it makes perfect sense to consolidate political power over all. If this is all our new government can accomplish, then Jana Andolan was a waste of time and we are all puppets. Blogdai says this idiotic reunification will not happen. The only reason I see for reunification is so that Deuba can posture and threaten to split the party again. All one has to do is look at the history of this Nepali Congress dance of fools to see where we are headed.

Factional infighting brought down girija's NC in 1994 and a formal party split made it official in 2002. Sound familiar?

Girija and Deuba play the split/unification game as some sort of brink inducing game to gain political leverage. They care not about making a good government.

Remember what blogdai has said before: Girija has neither the talent nor the desire to unify anything!

-=blogdai

Good and Bad

2007-09-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

A little movement in both directions today. First the good: Nepalnews.com reports that students are uprising and urging the Maoists to stay in government. Nice. This is the first time we've seen enough spine from the students to actively go against their counterparts in the Maoists.

Fed up possible? Tired of Maoists that never ever keep a promise? Sure these kids are in lock step with Girija, but it still takes balls to call out a Maoist and demand they toe the line. blogdai hopes this is a new trend in student fearlessness.

Bad news: Muslims. Riots in Kapilvastu have brought out a stronger muslim voice in Nepal. This voice is demanding protection. blogdai fears that with this new attention there will come more interference from muslim groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Know what happens after that? War on terrorism crap, that's what. Muslim extremists bring out a new set of priorities in the world's diplomatic agenda. Their presence also has a tendency of attracting Yanks with guns. Let's hope we keep these people quiet and give them the security they need.

The only problem is that Girija wouldn't know how to assign and implement a security plan even if it were attached to a bribe from Lauda Air. He's hopeless. For god's sake, die already, old man.

-=blogdai

Predictable Quitters

2007-09-18T17:40:00.001-07:00

Can we finally call Girija and the mob incompetent idiots?

The Maoists have quit in front of the whole world and now there's nowhere to hide. Everyone can now see that Girija has neither the talent nor the will to unite anything.

Once again people, there is no government and no cooperation of any kind in Nepal.

Watch the media mishandle the whole story. The Times, in typical British laziness, has already fallen back on old cliches: blaming the whole thing on the King's birthday party., more or less.

No matter what you read, believe the following:

--The Maoists were NEVER a part of government and NEVER renounced violence.

--The Maoists used the government process to further their own agenda and gain insight.

--The Maoists never surrendered weapons of worth or negotiated in good faith.

--No regime in Nepal has been as autocratic as Girija's. He refuses to compromise or negotiate.

-=blogdai

Blogdai's 3000

2007-09-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, actually about 3,400 as of last counting.

THE TIME HAS COME.

After quite an effort of gathering signatures and lists of prominent places, we here at blogdai are relieved to be through with the exhaustive effort of screening and verifying and are ready to submit our much touted, maligned, referred to, dismissed, praised, famous, infamous and much talked about LETTER.

For those of you who are new to the game, blogdai and 3400 of my closest friends and Nepal watchers are fed up with Maoists, Congress, Parliament and most officials named Koirala. To express this, we've constructed a letter to be sent to any relevant body stating our position. This campaign was initiated a few months ago (See: blogdai: Taking Back Our Voice) with the intent of building a groundswell of renewed participation in, and attention towards, the current political situation in Nepal.

Through the help of our vast readership, the LETTER has been tweaked, revised, edited and turned inside-out to arrive at the form presented to you in blue below. It reflects the language of our mass frustration and calls for very specific and strong measures that must be taken, in our opinion, in order to save Nepal from an inevitable downward spiral. blogdai submits:

To the Seven-Party Alliance and Maoist leadership

We, The Concerned Citizens and Friends of Nepal placed our trust in the Seven Party Alliance just over a year ago. It was our hope that the leadership entrusted with bringing Nepal into a new era of democracy and freedom through the Jana Andolan movement would use the spirit of last year’s demonstrations to re-introduce effective and competent governance to Nepal. Since that time we have been saddened to notice a return to the same style of ineptitude, corruption and political bickering that marked the previous 15 years under this same leadership.

Under your tenure of the past year, Nepal has begun to spiral downwards towards anarchy and the complete disregard for the rule of law; threatening not only Nepal’s sovereignty, but also the safe existence of the very citizens who entrusted you with their protection one year ago. It is because of this current untenable situation that we now must withdraw our support for your leadership and express our opinion of “no confidence” towards this Prime Minister and Parliament.

We also refuse to cooperate or give legitimacy to any force that uses brutality and coercion as a mean of furthering their agenda under the guise of restructuring Nepal. Be it Maoism or any other unbending ideology-based group, we further strongly object to welcoming such groups into government with their violent adherence to their own sense of ideological supremacy undeterred and unchanged by our constitutionally established rules for society.

We demand that Nepal’s Municipal Police Forces, Armed Police Force, Nepal National Army, or any legitimate national or international security force requested, begin operations that will directly lead to the restoration of law, order and peace in Nepal. These operations include but are not limited to: establishing the active presence of Army forces wherever possible, a commitment to fair adjudication of disputes and the active suppression and confiscation of all firearms displayed publicly by those not directly employed in Nepal's army, police or authorized security services.

Your failed leadership has contributed greatly to the present dire security situation in Nepal. As a result, we demand that an interim Government, composed of members from all major political parties lead the country until Constituent Assembly elections are held. Should these elections not be held as scheduled this November, it will be considered as a final confirmation of our “no confidence” opinion and result in our strong insistence that the Prime Minister and Parliament suspend operations and immediately refrain from further deliberations or acts of governance.

Concerned Citizens and Friends of Nepal

To give you just a bit of a sample of the types of places where our letter will surface, blogdai submits a partial list of sites to receive our LETTER. This is partial to prevent mass mailers from our numerous gremlins. This is about 10% of the total list:

(Nepal Monarchy and Nepal Army have “guest book” comments sections to which we shall submit individually)
feedback@mos.com.np, contact@nepalmonitor.com, editorial@thehimalayantimes.com, corporate@kantipur.com.np, :narayan@kantipur.com.np,prateek@kantipur.com.np,akhilesh@kantipur.com.np, subas@kantipur.com.np, kishorenepal@kantipur.com.np,pradumna@kantipur.com.np, finance@kantipur.com.np,kedar@kantipur.com., info@opmcm.gov.np,info@nepalembassyusa.org, info@cpj.org, info@nepembassy.org.uk,,, ,info@nepalconsulate.org.au,ne@nepalembassyegypt.com.,neberlin@t-online.de, britemb@wlink.com.np, info@nepalembassy.org.cn

Also, blogdai submits a sample of around 300 of our petitioner's names so as not to get too long-winded here. Sorry, e-mail tag names only. Even those have been shortened where necessary. Seems we have quiet a few devious posters here who would just love to get a hold of our lists. Sorry, spam someone else. We will submit full e-mail names to those official recipients who give verifiable names and requests. Independent verification by those with legitimate concerns can be accommodated. They MUST have an email address verified as coming from one of our selected recipients like those in green above.

comforts
;pattie2433
fear742
Shellbells512
Bogey0920
designerchick32
;lmscranton
;angela.sims;
janice.jenn;
Kat24545
kwindle
;kroelinger
Carl.Clar
Zabuk
cobraqb8;
wcomer
;jeebs16
.wagner.sr
dximg
;raysul
irongr
;hawktue
Stephanie;
andres
;traci.wagn
andrewsreid07
OneLittle
richsherman
;Pgustav
sl_c
Ale
;memo
lilliem
Yvette.Sm
;mmmdesig
LiNdSaY23McK;
nancylo
;vena10rr
xux
;petedo
thomas_p_bur
;pullen
;Aegent00
MREED3020
;garyredkathy.yea
chicagoc
LBurns8
billw
tigger68
CrRaAc
mikeyrux
omecinemas
mamaho
rmbradl
alejandrob
Dan.Br
donal
cafer
vryde,
njai
Jnel
nels,
msoren
jusmil6
macp
kvn
judiema,
chet.pers
erp
erproje
btabor
alan
Apimoi
Bubl
Cbotisat
DEWint
Diego
dnecraso
singy
sevangel
ezeport
Fallschirm
Flymo
Formers
Gretchenrol
Grani
Hammon
hanuma,
heidi
hernandezm
ibt
itbnan
jacquefi
Jennifer
Joebri
Jonri
Jor
Jwhitn
keven
keving2
kingdom
_ofn
lesismo
ludimilape
mad
Olimari
maugu
newwin
melanimike
.par
Mimuz
Mirana
msangu
NadjaSt,
Nap
nboh
ncw
nepali
pakipaulomia
PepeF
Elian
Rickmu
Flyg
shrl_v
stre
SUFFS
Jam
Jimaplin
mbea
dory
jbrow
chango
rmcomst
advfar
.groene
sherpaent
leon
shanson1
jampa
awes
bearbu
vaga
jam
jmadrigr
marcy.
Matt
Pjmcar
Talkwith
Brown
Petr
Trrapo
Michelho
Operalov
Kensma
Matthewjso
Sam
tenzin_y
abhina
,akrur
allen3_
sunwa
alzaman
bhunc,
bus
,joshuw
beejay
bushleag
cannibalzo
caub00
chawan
kamu lama
shivagu
me20
so
yozinda,
son
sherpa
ohmma
sotse
srajb
srija
_subb,
sujan
p sujans
sumee
summer
sundar
sundar
_suren,
tanka
pun
tank,
tash
i grg

Enjoy this first look, WE SUBMIT IN 24 HOURS!

-=blogdai

Monsoon Predictions

2007-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know how this little tradition started, but it seems blogdai issues predictions about the coming year during the monsoon season. This year is no exception. If you see last year's predictions, you'll know that we here at blogdai have an average to good accuracy with anticipating events of the coming year. So, here we go... -=BD

Blogdai predicts the following for Nepal over the next 12 months:

1. No Constituent Assembly elections will be held. Period.

2. Prachanda and the Maoists will be banned from government.

3. Girija Prassad Koirala will finally die.

4. The 7-party alliance will dissolve and government will fail.

5. Ian Martin will leave Nepal in disgrace, having accomplished nothing.

6. The Nepal Army will assert itself as a powerful third political force.

7. Paras will come out of hiding and do something stupid.

That's it. Can't think of anything else. Most of these are no-brainers, however. Oh, forgot, I usually have a wild off the chart prediction as a finale'. Try this.

8. King G. will abdicated and name his grandson King.

-=blogdai

Party at Blogdai's: Everyone's Invited!

2007-07-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome. Come one in, have a beer.

What's the occasion, you say? Why the festivities?

AMBASSADOR JAMES MORIARTY HAS LEFT NEPAL.

Praise be to Lord Pashupati. He's done. Gone. Never again to leave his cowardly, inept, poorly conceived and universally inflamatory opinions on Nepal again.

But enough of the past. Ol' Saint James the Timid never could bring himself to publicly commenting on the facts until he was on his way out. Dear God, all one has to do is Google Moriarty's public interviews over the last month to see that he's finally telling the truth: The Maoists are thugs and can't be trusted. Jesus, James, you wimp pansy, you KNEW this from day one. Hell, we ALL did. Were you so worried about getting a bomb threat from Prachanda that you conveniently tucked away your Maoist criticism these past years?

Save your own skin. Done like a true "China hand" as you proudly call yourself.

You pathetic idiot. Any, repeat: ANY level of preparation or remedial reading done on Nepal prior to your tenure would have told you that the Maoists have NEVER lived up to any commitment and have NEVER waivered from their desire for absolute power. NEVER! How wonderful that you finally realized this in your last two weeks of service.

So, the big result? You've dumped a heap of controversy on your new replacement, Nancy Powell. She, no stranger to controversy herself from her Pakistan years, will have to deal with the political fallout from your parting shots. Coward!

Lives could have been saved; international attention could have been more focused and stability could have been realized if you had only spoken up earlier. No, you had to bide you time, save your skin, and hope for a better future for yourself.

And, so sorry about your sour grapes over King G's snubbing. he played you like the cheap, inexperience fiddle that you are. This ain't the States, rookie; playing golf with the Prince does not guarantee Royal confidence. G. heard your reckless comments and wrote you off as the paper-pusher that you are. Is it any wonder that your counterproductive pro-party stance during the April disruptions angered G? So now, in another parting coward's shot, you pity the ol' King for not having any intention of forming a democracy? Excuse me? What do we have now, you fool? Greedy inept old retarded men blindly running into walls, that's what.

It was always an open secret that you had no love for Nepal. You pouted about your posting here so vehemently during your first years as ambassador that many of us thought you'd defect back to China, where you could win yet more awards for filing useless paperwork on time. (Google Moriarty's resume for facts on this)

So, good riddance you counterproductive fool and ineffectual career bureaucrat. Nepal can breathe a sigh of relief now that you are gone. You have obviously bided your time at the expense of the Nepali people hoping for a better posting- perhaps back in the China you love-and have saved all of your concrete, real diplomatic statements until they were safe from Maoist retribution.

BUT, OOPS! Blogdai's State Department contacts tell me that your career path is at its end. No more cushy postings and do-nothing ambassadorships for you, little Jimmy. You've screwed up one country and now it looks like even the Bush administration won't give you a chance to screw up anything more significant than Banghladesh. Nothing left for you but the cocktail party circuit. See you at the Haznar's?

The big tragedy is that you may be an envoy again. I'm sure the minute you land in Dhaka, you'll start with your sarcastic pouty remarks designed to, once again, piss everyone off. The bigger tragedy is that the Bush administration is so pathetic that they think you are the best man for any job in a south-Asian country. blogdai weeps at such a lapse in perception.

Anyway, thanks again, Jimmy, for your tenure. As the representative of the United States of America, your utterances gave hope to a Maoist ramble. Just any old public acknowledgement from you told Prachanda that he was for real. You've almost single-handedly elevated the stature of the Maoists in the world community.

Now get out of Nepal and stay out. blogdai's only lament is that you can't take that moron Ian Martin with you

-=blogdai

Panchayat II: "Guided Democracy"

2007-06-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

They're at it again. Our boys in parliament can't wait to destroy any form of citizen representation or fair election. Blogdai buddy Keshab Poudel outlines the new fiasco perfectly below . blogdai commentary in blue. -=BD

The second amendment in the interim constitution and passage of Constituent Assembly Members Elections Act, pushes the country’s political system to tilt towards a guided democracy in which basic elements of democracy like right to dissension, right to contest the election, right to choose and independence of judiciary are denied

By KESHAB POUDEL

With the introduction of new Constituent Assembly Members Elections Act and second amendment of Interim Constitution, Nepal's political system is tilting towards the form of a guided democracy where there is no place for the voice of dissensions, independent judiciary, right to contest the elections and right to choose. Just like in Panchayat days, people have only the right to vote.

After the passage of the Act, there are now only two classes of people - one who have privileges to vote and also contest the elections and others who are given only the right to vote. (Let's hear it for Nepal's new caste system. Thanks India!)

The article 45(2) has already made persons ineligible to be a member of legislative parliament who had stood against the popular uprising of 2006. Now the clause 19 (h) of Constituent Assembly Members Elections Act 2007 bars those (from contesting the polls) who were indicted in the report of fact finding commission constituted to inquire abuse of authority, loss and damage in popular uprising of April 2006. ("If you cannot tolerate freedom of speech for those you disagree with, you cannot tolerate it at all" --Noam Chomsky)

"The members of parliament passed the bill with a reference of inquiry commission report which is still secret even to them. Without knowing what is there in the report, they inscribed a restrictive provision in the act to debar the people. As parties issued the whip, members of parliament had to follow whip rather than their own conscience," said a political analyst. "As the commission report has taken a statutory shape, the common people have the right to know the content of that inquiry commission's report, which is now referred in the statute." (Aside from a total misinterperatation of the term and role of the whip, this is a classic, arrogant abuse of power designed to make the current constitution so convoluted and restrictive that constituent assembly elections will have little force. Girija, as blogdai has mentioned MANY times before, will never, NEVER allow any constituent assembly to reduce his power.)

This is not for the first time when Nepal has experimented the practice of guided democracy though. During the whole period of Panchayat, the constitution and laws, in one way or the other, had followed the practice of guided democracy placing certain clause in constitution barring the entry of other candidates who held dissenting views.
The second amendment of Constitution of Nepal in 1975 added many provisions to restrict persons from opposition. In the name of consensus, power to elect and contest the election were monopolized by a small group of people.
According to Article 38 (1) of the interim constitution, prime minister and cabinet shall be formed under the political agreement of eight political parties. The article makes it clear that political understanding means consensus among eight parties - Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Congress Democratic, People's Front, Nepal Sadbhvana Party (Anandidevi), Nepal Peasant and Workers Party, United Left Front and CPN-Maoist, which developed political understanding on November 9, 2006.
The article 45 (3) says the business of Legislative Parliament is conducted under political consensus. (Who's consensus other than Girija's will carry any weight?)

Back in Panchayat days, u nder a political organ of 'Back to Village Campaign,' a large section of opponents were barred from entering into the political system and the second amendment of Constitution of Nepal 1962, too, stressed for political understanding and consensus to hold all the business from village to central level. In a phase wise political nucleus called 'Back To Village Campaign,' selected persons solicited support for their views, mobilized the public opinion and emerged as the political force in the elected bodies from top to bottom. That was a form of guided democracy with all flowery adjectives.
Even after the third amendment of that Panchayati constitution –which took place following the great democratic exercise of national referendum - there was a restriction for opponents to contest the elections.
During the period, present vice president of Rastriya Janashakti Party Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani's nomination was rejected on the ground of selecting the candidate with consensus. Scholar like Dr. Lohani was barred from politics to allow semi-literate and illiterate in the politics.

In that old constitution, according to article 35(C), in order to become a member of the National Panchayat, a person had to be a member of a Class Organization or professional organization pursuant to the provisions of article 67 b which said membership of any of the class organizations or professional organizations as determined by an Act shall be compulsory in order to be elected as a member of local Panchayat or National Panchayat,

Similar provision is now added in the act. According to the clause 19 of the CA Elections Act, one shall be ineligible to contest the election of CA if indicted in the Rayamajhi Commission's Report. Similarly, political parties which opposed the Popular uprising of April 2006 are also barred.
People can be barred from contesting elections on the basis of their ideology and views. Political parties have to express complete faith in Popular Uprising to get party registration for the elections.

"People of Nepal have been granted a new form of democracy which is appropriately termed as Loktantra. The essence of this democracy is that the people have been declared as sovereign but they have been deprived to choose a representative of their own choice following the second amendment, of the interim constitution," said the political analyst, who closely monitors political and constitutional development.

According to preamble and article 2 of the interim constitution, the sovereignty of Nepal vests upon the people of Nepal . It means the people have given right to choose his/her destiny. However, the new act restricted the right of individual to contest the elections. Nobody knows the logic behind this restrictive provision to deprive persons - who are not prosecuted in the court and convicted by it.

"After all why they needed this stringent clause to debar a person to go to the people and compete with others," said the analyst. "The essence of democracy as it is universally understood lies in a right to dissent as well as choose a form of government- which means right to vote as well as right to contest the elections." The interim constitution which was promulgated on January 15, 2007 already had some provisions to deny the right to differ as well as right to get elected. With the experiences of past few months, a fear psychology has haunted the leaders of present and inclusion of new article to abolish monarchy through amendment is the result of that. As the army has been quarantined from the command of the King and no role has been left for that traditional institution, there was no reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstructions from the king to accomplish the task of contesting the constituent assembly except some invisible machinations but political leaders are still afraid of the King. (Finally! A bit of insight. This analyst has hit the nail squarely on the head. There is absolutely NO impediment for holding elections. Why the delay? Are our boys too busy whipping up legislation to punish the King? They seem to be able to accomplish THAT task efficiently.)

"Committed Judiciary"

One of the most objectionable articles in second amendment is regarding the legislative examination for the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court. In article 155, a new word is added making parliamentary hearing necessary for the appointment of judges of Supreme Court. Whether it is just coincidence or some link, these clauses were added just under the strong insistence of CPN-UML leaders who proposed these things following their highly publicized visit to India . (This completely destroys an independent judiciary and its ability to check Girija's run away power grab)

Enough damage has been done during the last one year to the independence of judiciary as well as the court by a series of humiliating orders and ordeals. This latest clause will further weaken the judiciary.
Although senior advocate and MP Radheshyam Adhikary and advocate and MP Harihar Dahal had made vehement efforts to change this clause, CPN-UML and other communist factions turned deaf ear to their logics.
"They have hardly any confidence and reason of having a permanent tenure with dignity. Now after this second amendment, Nepal is forced to have "committed judges" even in the supreme court level," said the analyst. "Members of parliament with varied ideologies or prime minister with a dominating role may have a natural tendency to get such judges to be appointed who may not be hurdle in their political push and drives."

The concept of committed judge was vigorously pleaded in India during Mrs. Gandhi's alliance with former Soviet Union as well as communist lobbies within the country. In a political background of Nepal when every appointment by the political executive is made by a political bias, the impact of this clause is anybody's guess.

"These amendments in the constitution and some clauses of Constituent Assembly Elections Act have violated the basic essence of liberal democracy. The clauses added in the constitution turned the judiciary like that of committed judiciary of communist regime. Similarly, barring the persons from contesting the elections on the basis of the report of a fact finding commission violates the essence of rule of law," said member of legislative parliament Homnath Dahal. "As a member of liberal democratic party, I will always oppose the move to weaken independence of judiciary and violation of rule of law."
The concept of Judicial Council was introduced by the last constitution to guard and protect the independence and integrity of judge. Even article 113 of Present Interim Constitution also has this mandatory provision.

"One fails to understand what role and obligation the council will fulfill if the parliament would examine and approve the appointment of judges of Supreme Court. This basic feature of the second amendment has created a widespread resentment which has no credible outlet to get ventilated," said the analyst.

Most of the widely circulated media have their own corporate diktat to be followed which has its own inexplicable compulsions. Persons having in-depth knowledge of the working of the constitution has no ways and means to make their pressures effective.
Persons like Jimmy Carter may come with one declared mission and amusingly return back with different impressions.

"But, all these things will have far fetched serious consequences in the hard earned experiments of democratic exercise as well as in the life of citizen. Unfortunately, not only the people but their leaders too don't know what next is waiting for them," said the analyst. (Nepal never really had a decent experiment with democracy. It was all a greedy sham from the beginning)

Under the amendment in the constitution, new clauses are incorporated in the article 159 of the interim constitution. Under a new clause 3(a), two-third majority of members of legislative parliament can abolish the monarchy in case members of parliament find King is working against the elections of Constituent Assembly and involved to sabotage it. Under the article 159 (3) (b), the right to present such proposal in parliament is given to the cabinet. (A pure diversion designed to cover Girija's and congress's ineptitude. These guys could drum up any reason or any verification against the King whenever they want, according to this provision. They'll use this article to abolish the monarchy at the earliest possible time. How shallow; the King has no power or influence to effectively sabotage anything. However, he still has the loyalty of the RNA, so let's wait and see..)

According to the article 155 (3), the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly will decide about the fate of monarchy on the basis of simple majority. The second amendment in the constitution was made in such a rush as nobody knows why so many new provisions were amended. When the first amendment was passed, this idea had not crept in as the first amendment was to address the issues raised by regional uprisings in the south launched by several factions of Madhesi fronts. (What kind of constituent assembly will this be if members are forced to determine the fate of the King immediately? Shouldn't such a free and independent assembly establish its own agenda? Arrogant, autocratic, facist, megalomaniacal: how else can I describe thee Girija?)

Since then no significant event has occurred. However, after sometime the trends indicated what is being staged in the name of Madhesis may occur in the hills on the north under the over of Janjatis. A phase of ideologically oriented communist insurgency was over and a new low intensity trouble has been introduced in a stage-managed manner beginning from terai with a distinct possibility of spreading up all over the country.
"If that ideological insurgency could continue for a decade, this low intensity upsurge may go on for more than that. People in Nepal have to endure this "durable disorder" for a decade to come. But the most pertinent question is: Will this volatile region could endure this kind of instability for long in Nepal ?" asked the analyst. (Wave after wave of movements demonstrates that there is no effective governmental control on a national level; and worse, people are beginning to take the law into their own hands. Is this Loktantra, little boy? More like a classic case study in a failed state slipping into anarchy.)

"The amendment has not only deprived the right of King but much more seriously it has deprived the people from their right to decide about the form of next constitution as well as the fate of institution of monarchy," said the analyst. "Once the people have been declared to decide the fate of monarchy through the Constituent Assembly, these kinds of round about way to deal with this institution is a betrayal to the people. Fraudulent act of this kind is a violation of oath and elegance of the people."

Whether one likes it or not, the present day reality is that the country is functioning on the model of guided democracy.

Article Courtesy : Spotlight
(One bright note in all of this is that people with half a brain in Nepal are finally recognizing the exact nature of the problem. No more starry-eyed little stone-throwing students waiting for acknowledgement from Girija. No, we now see the unilateral power grab naked, and on legislative terms. This administration has no clue on how to run their so called "absolute democracy" so they re-work old Panchayat ideas and call it "Loktantra" hoping Nepalis are too stupid to know what's going on.

Trash it, trash the government right now. Burn Singha Durbar to the ground. This whole process and the scum who claim to be in charge have ruined Nepal. Scrape them all off the table and begin again. It is too late for anything else...

-=blogdai

Taking Back Our Voice

2007-05-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Madhesi's show what they've learned about government in Nepal

It's beginning to get a little chaotic, isn't it? Today Prachanda mustered thousands of Maoist thugs for a run on Nepal's parliament. They are demanding the formation of a Republic immediately. One has to wonder just what kind of "Republic" Prachanda has in mind

when he fails to use actual republican channels and representation to plead his case. No matter, it's obvious to all that he's on a one-way bender towards total communist domination of Nepal. Has he ever given a hint of doing anything else?

And, once again, the Madhesi's held up a session of parliament. One can't be bothered with normal protocols when the only model of successful governmental action one knows is the street protest and mob violence, now, can one?

It's Girija's fault. His blind obsession with removing an inert King is turning Nepal into a failed state. Also, Koirala taught everyone in the country--the Madhesi's are a prime example-- that the only way to get your voice heard is to cause a big disruption. Plus, Babu, you've allowed a lot of Maoist hot-heads into the government who are not going to be satisfied with your policy of constant delay and postponement. You've got a day of reckoning coming, old man. Blogdai hopes you live to see it.

What does this all boil down to? There is now no rule of law or respect for any governmental procedure or practice in Nepal.

NEPAL IS FALLING.

So, here we go. Thousands of readers feel something must be done and done quickly. We in the blogosphere do not normally carry guns and such, but we do carry the weight of public opinion, world scrutiny and the potential for raising mass consciousness through a coordinated media effort. Our very public opinions have influenced thinking and policy in the past, so here we go again, with one big whopper of a program, designed to raise the bar and change Nepal's fate.

THE LETTER

By now, many of you have heard of our letter campaign. Rumors of its existence and content have made the rounds on the Nepal blogs and perhaps gotten ol' blogdai banned in Nepal. (Who said this stuff doesn't work?)

We are attempting to get as many signatures of support for our letter as possible. blogdai has already compiled an extensive list of media houses and governmental entities in and out of Nepal for distribution. Now, we only need your support. Below, in blue, lies the Letter. If you agree with the basic presumptions contained therein, post an e-mail address here in the comments section. If you do not want your address published in such a way, e-mail me directly at blogdai@nepalimail.com

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Aside from giving your e-mail address as a sign of support, send a copy of the letter to all those on your e-mail contacts list. Have them reply with a "yes" for agreement and have them send the letter out to everyone on their contact list and so on. Compile all the names from this personal "network" and send them to blogdai@nepalimail.com or have your contacts do this themselves.

There is power in volume. Innundate the Nepal media houses and governmental websites with your support for the Letter. blogdai will finish compiling their e-mail addresses and post them in the comments section for your use.

Send the letter to someone in Nepal, just in case we are banned. Tell whomever is compelled there to reproduce the letter in Nepali, print out as many as possible, and distribute or post wherever they can. Send me an e-mail and a photo of the process. If our independent spotters can verify the letter's posting,

we'll pay for the printing and your efforts! Remember, blocked or not, blogdai can always get a message in or out of Nepal.

We seek to make the contents of this Letter unavoidable to those in a position of power and influence in Nepal. It is a mass effort that will require a little time and attention from each of you. We will distribute the letter immediately. We will follow up with a re-distribution and supporters list as the numbers grow.

Jaya Nepal

-=blogdai

COPY, REPRODUCE AND DISTRIBUTE THE FOLLOWING LETTER:

------------------------------------

To the Seven-Party Alliance and Maoist leadership:

We, the concerned citizens and supporters of Nepal placed our trust in the Seven Party Alliance just over a year ago. It was our hope that the leadership entrusted with bringing Nepal into a new era of democracy and freedom through the Jana Andolan movement would continue in the spirit of last year’s demonstrations and re-introduce effective and competent governance to Nepal. Since that time we have been saddened to observe a return to the same style of ineptitude, corruption and political bickering that marked the previous 15 years under this same leadership. Under your tenure of the past year, Nepal has begun to spiral downwards towards anarchy and the complete disregard for the rule of law; threatening not only Nepal’s sovereignty, but the very safety of its citizens. It is because of this current untenable situation that we now must withdraw our support for your leadership and express our opinion of “no confidence” towards this Prime Minister and Parliament.

We also hereby refuse to cooperate or give legitimacy to any force that uses brutality and coercion as a mean of furthering their agenda under the guise of restructuring Nepal, be it Maoism or any other movement. We strongly object to welcoming such groups into government with their violent adherence to their own sense of ideological supremacy undeterred and unchanged by our constitutionally established rules of governance.

Your failed leadership has contributed greatly to the present dire security situation in Nepal. It is to this fact that we must demand that the Prime Minister and Parliament suspend its operation and immediately refrain from further deliberations or acts of governance.

We demand that the National Army (NA), or any legitimate security force requested, begin operations that will directly lead to the restoration of law and order and peace in Nepal. These operations include establishing the active presence of NA forces wherever possible, a committment to fair adjudication of disputes and the active suppression and confiscation of all firearms displayed publicly by those not directly employed in Nepal's army or police or authorized security services.

Concerned Citizens and Supporters of Nepal

Nepal's Last Option

2007-04-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

ESTABLISH LAW AND ORDER.

Blogdai is tired of trying to get you stirred-up, angry or whatever. Mulling around and debating obscure points means nothing in a debate-starved country like Nepal.

So, from the high-handed arrogance from Koirala that serves only to spur Prachanda onward, to the Maoist's recent call for a single communist party to run Nepal's "republic," time is expiring on Nepal's sovereignty. We are just about on the edge of losing it all, people.

We have NO effective form of government. We have murderous Maoists on the verge of ascending to the highest seats of power; we have big brother India sitting back and supporting it all with their deliberate inaction; and we have a clueless world community that couldn't care less about understanding the complexities of Nepal's situation--choosing instead to rely on an inattentive Western media for the one sound-bite that will command a sea of short attention spans long enough for them to draw over-simplified conclusions.

ESTABLISH LAW AND ORDER

We are incapable of making decisions beyong those that affect out day-to-day needs. Politics is shunned in Nepal and people are apathetic and unmotivated towards National issues. In essence, Nepal is unfit to govern itself and unfit for the rigors of maintaining a democracy.
We need to be told what to do and when to do it.

The only question is: do we want to be told what to do by India as one of its satellite states, or do we have enought spine to self-determine our future? Do we care? If not, let's start calling ourselves "Nepal Pradesh" right now and forget the whole thing, shall we?

But, if there is a glimmer, a hope, of retaining Nepal's independence we must start NOW with building the foundations that lead to self-determination and independence. These are painful steps, but in the right hands-- newer hands than those we currently possess-- we can establish a new legacy of Nepali courage and democracy that will be worth maintaining and preserving.

ESTABLISH LAW AND ORDER

There is no dialogue now. Was there ever? Nepal must be torn down to square one in order to rebuild it in an image that all can be proud of. Dialogue is a luxury reserved for those countries that have established the ability to honor dissent and respect the rules and balances established for the preservation of fairness and equanimity. Dialogue and debate improve the political process in such countries by leading politicians down the very democratic road towards compromise. Our politicians have never so much as given a hint as to their understanding of this concept.

ESTABLISH LAW AND ORDER OR NEPAL IS FINISHED.

Groups are all clamouring to be heard. The ivory autocratic tower that Koirala has constructed around his arrogance and self-interest has led the average citizen to believe that only through agitation, violence, and today from the Terai, incessant interruption and badgering of a Parliamentary session, will their needs be met and voices heard. Time to clean house.

1. Immediately begin military operations in the Terai to restore order and establish a government presence.

2. Immediately ban Maoism and use the army to enforce such a ban.

3. Ban protests, bandhs, and demonstrations until further notice.

4. Suspend all foreign aid until order is restored.

5. Invite world powers to send military advisors to assist with the process. (Not India!)

When will we learn that Nepal is not suffering the"growing pains" of a restored democracy; rather, the very splintering of it's national identity by self-interested factions and intolerant ideologues.

-=blogdai

Nepalis are Stupid

2007-04-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Got your attention? Good.

Once again, Prachanda steps up to a podium and proves that each and every Nepali is a Moron.

In his latest statement, the Unbowed One reiterates the fact that the Maoist movement will go on without compromise and without hesitation. Only the "form and front" of the "struggle" has changed as a result of the Maoists joining the government. He further says that his party was following the dictum of Mao Zedong that struggle does not end even if the party joins government.

Oh, and isn't it nice that we finally have a "unified" government that will allow us all to work together? Not according to Prachanda who slaps Girija in the face by ridiculing his remarks. Gathering steam, Prachanda says of Girija: "He said that he has mainstreamed terrorists but it is clear that the coming days will show who has (mainstreamed) whom," Prachanda said. He also termed seven parties as spineless, according to Nepalnews.com. Funny how he doesn't discount Girija's labeling of the Maoists as "terrorists," only that they refuse to be classified as mainstream.

Stupid Nepalis.

During every step of this process, Prachanda has been unbowed, uncompromising and unwavering in his Maoist ideology. What ridiculous sliver of unfounded hope leads us to believe that he would ever change his ways? When given to speechmaking, he's never once failed to mention that should the peace process not fall into his vision of the Maoist master plan, he'd take his guns back into the hills. At least he's honest about it. Plus, the government, world community and especially Ian Martin have given in to his every demand, so what better outcome could possibly emerge for him should he change his ways at this point?

Lazy Nepalis.

We keep hoping. It is a lazy fool's hope. It is based on no past record of cooperative behaviour from Prachanda and no level of intelligent research or theorizing. It is just hope. Hope is for lazy people who don't care to do the real thinking necessary to find a real solution.

Nepalis are even too lazy to read. All the warning signs are and have been plain to see. Anyone with a pen and half a brain has published an article outlining Nepal's potential for disaster with this unholy alliance with Maoism. Blogdai has been writing for years about Prachanda's inflexibility. All I get in response is that the Maoists "must be brought into the mainstream." Idiots. Can we finally see that the Maoists chaffe at being brought into ANY mainstream? They want to BE the mainstream. Blogdai defies any of you to prove the contrary.

Nepalis are stupid. Be offended and be angry.... nothing else seems to get you to think.

-=blogdai

I Say it Again: Maoists Must Go!

2007-03-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

Ready for peace? Not a chance.

We just saw the Maoist's attempt at a mini-coup yesterday when they held up parliamentary debate and made threats from the podium demanding action. Can we now finally cease the debate about persuading Maoists to give up violence and join the mainstream? They just won't do it. Witness the good article below. It frames the ideological problem with Maoism nicely.

Reprinted from Kantipur online, of all places. A good realistic take on the debate (or failure of) with Maoism. -=BD
*

Time For Some Soul-Searching
*

By Akhilesh Tripathi
*

At a recent casual debate between a few students affiliated with ANNISU-R, the student wing of the CPN-Maoist, and students affiliated with the Nepali Congress at Patan Campus, the pro-Maoist students were defending Sunday’s beating of a hotelier by Maoist cadres. “He is against workers’ rights and is a royalist. A jali-phataha like him deserved it. There is no effect of sweet-talking to these people, you know. They need special treatment,” passionately asserted a youth in his early twenties who was apparently leading the Maoist students in the debate.
His opponents, as expected, disagreed with him. “See friend, this is not the first incident of its kind from your party which is going to join the government soon. You should mend your ways, at least now. You don’t have the right to coerce, intimidate, extort or thrash anyone. What if everybody starts beating everybody they don’t like?”
*

The obstinate ANNISU-R activist again defended. “It is because of this very thinking of yours and your leaders that nothing has changed in this country for all these years. You guys never did anything to discourage those who have been blocking our society’s and our country’s progress. And again, we are not going around beating just about anybody. You know that. But why are you acting as if you don’t know. See, it’s easier to wake up those who are really sleeping, but much difficult to those who are pretending to be sleeping,” he said in an ever-rising voice, agitatedly pointing his index finger at his opponent.
*

“Please don’t shout. Your arguments don’t convince me. Instead, they smack of militaristic thinking. You have no right to go around kidnapping and beating people, whoever they are. Why don’t you realize this simple thing?”
*

“What did you just say? Militarist thinking? What is militarist thinking? What is a military or an army? What do you know about all this? You know nothing. Why are you talking about something you don’t know? Don’t you know a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?” said the unbending pro-Maoist student activist, as if ready to pounce on his opponent any moment.
Then somebody from the pro-NC students said that they were wasting their time over a debate which was going nowhere. “Let’s go to class guys, there is no point in wasting any more time. Will talk later,” they said and were soon gone.
*

The above little dialogue shows the kind of attitude the Maoist cadres carry on the streets. It goes a long way to show their bullish nature. The Maoists still haven’t learnt to admit mistakes. They defend anything and everything against them as if they can never be wrong. “Say yes, or else…”
*

From the premises of Patan Campus to the eight-party meeting rooms, to the rest of the country, it’s the same situation. The same attitude- I am above and beyond criticism! When the business community announced an indefinite strike (which was withdrawn on the third day) in protest of the “kidnapping and torture” of the above-mentioned hotelier by the Maoists “for refusing to cough up 10 million rupees in donation”, the pro-Maoist trade union took out protest rallies in the capital- in protest of the business community’s protests! The Maoist-affiliated hotel and restaurant workers’ union ordered workers to leave hotels in advance “as the hotel industry, too, was contemplating halting services for some time in support of the business community’s strike.”
*

When the glaring disparity in the registered number of Maoist arms and combatants is questioned, Prachanda can blame a fire destroying them or a river sweeping them away. And if you question these unique reasons, then you are either “conspiring” against the Constituent Assembly elections by “blowing out of proportion something very trivial and unimportant,” or you are “against a democratic republic.” Or even you are a “royalist.”
*

When you raise the issue of the Maoists not returning the belongings of those forced out of their homes and villages during the last 10-11 years even after expressing commitment for the same in the historic peace agreement, you are again “raising a non-issue.” Similarly, when lawmakers of other parties draw government attention towards Maoist MPs and their bodyguards entering Parliament with arms, a Maoist MP growls, patting his waist, “Here I have a gun. Do what you can!” A brazen display of the same attitude.
*

This belligerent attitude was also put on show last week when dozens of Maoist activists, including cadres of the seven parties, attacked a gathering of RPP-Nepal, a pro-royalist party, in Jhapa. The monarchists were severely beaten up and their faces were blackened. RPP-Nepal Chairman Rabindra Nath Sharma was forcibly draped with a string of shoes around his neck. Here if you say the monarchists, too, have the right to put forward their voice in a peaceful way, you risk being labeled a royalist. A free and fair atmosphere (one catchword being oft repeated) in which to conduct any business means just that, free to be allowed to express different opinions and to be fairly treated in regard. This is what is Loktantra.
*

If one set of rules is allowed for just one set, then you can just throw democratic principles out the window. Because it will smack of discrimination.
*

With the Maoists now on the threshold of joining the interim government and their top brass bargaining hard for maximum ministerial berths inside the eight-party meeting rooms, it’s time for some soul-searching. Outside these decision-making corridors, their cadres must stop their excesses. Those who are selling the dream of transforming the country within a few years should first transform themselves, rejecting what is in effect bigotry and accepting and practicing the culture of tolerance and co-existence.
*

Who knows better than the Maoists themselves about the consequences of not being listened to. After all, they themselves had started their People’s War when their 41-point demand was turned down by the then government in 1996.
Posted on: 2007-03-21 12:58:29

The Way to National Unity

2007-03-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hari Lal Shrestha, owner of the Hotel Woodlands, sporting the Maoist-approved eye badge given to all business owners in Kathmandu these days.

Perhaps now we can all agree on one thing: The Maoists are bent on doing things their way and their way only. Unfortunately, their way involves-- and always has involved-- coercion and violence.

Witness the most recent beating of Hari Lal Shrestha, owner of the Hotel Woodlands. As if that crappy hotel didn't have enough problems, Maoists abduct ol' Hari and beat the shit out of him for suspending two workers.

This is the Maoist approach to any form of dissent.

Maoists control and have forcibly "unionized" hotel workers across the Kathmandu valley. Demands of even the laziest workers start from an extortive 20% pay increase to drastically decreased duties. Plus, insubordinate, late, inept or dishonest employess can no longer be disciplined or fired for fear of Maoist retaliation.

Basically, the inmates are running the assylum. Unfortunately, in a typical Maoist nation-building mis-cue, this will hit Nepal in one of its only functioning and profitable industries: Tourism. Nepal will no longer be that nice haven of inexpensive yet quality lodging. Now, all we'll get is bad service and high prices thanks to the "Fierce One."

But alas, there are the stirrings of national unity in all of this. The Nepal Internet servers have gone off line for a while in a protesting show of solidarity with poor ol' Hari the hotel owner. Plus, business owners have allied and are demanding protection from the government (fat chance) against such Maoist intimidation. Could this be the rumbling of a true populist movement?

Those of you who, in the past, have insisted on showing off your English educations by comparing your little Jana Andolan farce of last April with the French revolution may want to take note. The French revolution only succeeded when the Proletariat and business classes were brought on board-- just like we are seeing in Nepal now. The bottom line is: you need rich and influential business people on your side if you want a good coup; business leaders in Nepal are getting fed up now so we are approaching the boiling point. We are witnessing the formation of the foundations of a REAL revolutionary movement, thinks blogdai.

We are also just now starting to wake up to the fact that the Maoists:

-Have never honored any ceasefire, peacetalk or agreement with Nepal's government or King, NEVER!

-Maoists have never backed down one inch from their violent ideological madness.

-Maosts have increased their presence and violence throughout Nepal.

-Maoists have used every contact with the world community to further their aims rather than compromise. (Cantonments abandoned, arms falsified)

-Prachanda has no clue about how to run a government. If you can't control your own cadres, how you gonna' control a parliament? You can't expect to govern with ideological nonsense and conspiracy theories.

-And above all, Maoists don't compromise and DON'T NEGOTIATE.

So, let's start our journey towards national unity by agreeing on one thing:

THE MAOISTS MUST GO!

Put out the fliers, and spread the word to every village: this may be the only rallying point we will ever see.

-=blogdai

The Big Democracy Smack-Down

2007-02-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

Norman Rockwell's famous "Freedom of Speech" (Image and concept forbidden by order of SPAM)

The first glimmer, the first hope. A real democratic principle forced its way to the surface of Nepali politics this week--for the first time.

Ironically, it was SPAM, that "Axis of Idiots" who set the wheels of this holy apparition in motion.

Ol' deposed King G. started this thing by simply giving a speech on Democracy Day. It was a heartfelt effort that showed a flawed man in turmoil saying he was "compelled" to take over the government when he did. He tacitly acknowledged his flaws yet eloquently revealed a fairly good sense of democratic philosophy and practice. His speech didn't reveal State secrets, it didn't directly harm anyone, and it DID sound like a plea for political sanity. This was no more than a citizen exercising the most democratic of freedoms: the freedom to criticise one's government--more commonly known as Freedom of Speech.

So, what do our boys at SPAM do? Denounce the whole speech as undemocratic, counterproductive, smelly and everything else they thought applicable. Something had to be done, they all said. We must punish the King for speaking out against us. (My how the boys are starting to sound more like Maoists every day). Let's pass some sort of decision to officially go after the King for this travesty. Let's get him good this time. No one should be allowed to criticise us, said the boys at the pig-trough.

But then it came. A clear and beautiful strike from the sword of Manjushree. Thursday, the Chairman of Nepal's Bar Association (NBA), Bishowkanta Mainali said that there is no legal provision to penalise the King. Basically, all the government can do is condemn the speech and that's that. The King is no longer the head of state and is simply stating his opinion.

Perfect, beautiful. You can't hold a good democratic principle down when there's someone sane ready with the proper interpretation.

But blogdai fears we haven't heard the last from our royally punitive SPAM (or should I say, spaM). Look for them to go around the sound advice of the Nepal Bar and pass some meaningless law or amend their phony interim constitution once again so that anyone speaking ill of the government can be punished. They'll keep fudging their little piece of paper until they've conceived a document that Mussolini himself would be proud to sign.

When will the lazy and the moronic members of the world community come to their senses and realize that spaM continues to reject all things democratic?

-=blogdai

The Problem With Guns

2007-02-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

The Problem With Guns

--In Nepal, we don't even know Prachanda's troop strength and yet Ian Martin feels he can adequately measure and lock up Maoist arms.

--We have no estimate and count of the number of weapons Maoists posess so Ian can claim his shallow success even if Prachanda brings him plow-blades; and the Maoists can maintain their strike capability and power without anyone holding them to any form of real accountability.

--The Maoist can use anyone to turn in anything and it makes them look like compliant heroes.

--The comprehensively futile exercise of locking them up shows just how bereft the UN is of tangible, credible ideas for solving Nepal's crisis.

--The very act of trying to lock up Maoist arms give an impression to the world that the Maoists are a credible, unified force--they are not.

--The very fact that a UN troglodite like Ian Martin is sent to Nepal specifically to deal with the arms threat posed by Maoists, elevates the prestige and stature of Prachanda's rebellious rabble to that of cohesive entity capable of effecting events on a national level--they cannot

The Problem With Guns

--Is that, even though they may be locked up, THEY ARE STILL AROUND. This fact alone is enough to intimidate villagers in the coming(?) Constituent Assembly elections.

--Lies in the fact that locking them up means nothing when those who use guns to brutalize and intimidate possess the keys to the locks.

--They are attention-grabbers. So much so that ineffective organizations like the UN feel they can score major credibility on the world stage by pretending to effectively deal with weapons issues.

The Problem With Guns is that Prachanda controls the process. He threatens to thward CA elections unless he's in the interim government; Girija says no way until arms registration is finished; and the very next day, Ian says: "ok, we're finished".

No matter what Ian or anyone tells us, we should remember this: Maoists are not Maoists without guns. The two are inseparable.

-=blogdai

Blogdai's Radical Idea

2007-02-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

"The Donald" calmly discussing plans for his new "Trump Durbar Towers" with a local real estate developer.

We can't seem to govern ourselves--thugs and crooks are running the country-- and foreign media pundits and journalists don't have enough stake in Nepal's problems to worry about an accurate reporting of events. So what can we do to save Nepal and make ourselves impossible to ignore?

1. Make Nepal an international tax haven. Rich foreigners fleeing tax reporting rules in their home country will take a keen interest in preserving Nepal should their little tax shelter be compromised. Allow corporate and maritime registration, if possible, to further benefit the greedy dodgers.

2. Eliminate all visa and foreign employment restrictions, to a point. Nepal has already mulled-over this idea, but greedy bureaucrats just couldn't bring themselves to releasing their grip on all those visa fees. Give everyone 6-months free, like Thailand only better. Let foreigners hold jobs that Nepalis either can't or won't. Give Nepalis first hiring preference, of course.

3. Encourage foreign investments. Allow foreigners to own property outright. Or, like Mexico, have 30-100 year land leases available to foreigners. Let anyone who wants, open a business in Nepal as long as there is a Nepali partner. And, for God's sake, make the Rupee something that is readily convertible on a world exchange. Stop tying Nepal's currency to the Indian exchange. Allow the free transfer of funding to other countries. This alone has been perhaps the single greatest impediment to foreign investment. You can put money into Nepal, you just can't get it out. Throw in an independent economic oversight board with extra-governmental authority and strict anti-trust laws and that should go a long way towards stabilizing Nepal's business climate.

4. Allow foreigners to enter the political process. Give them a limited number of voices in Parliament. Just having a few foreigners will make the world pay more attention to Nepal's political landscape. Nepal desperately needs some political expertise on the governmental front. Smart people from around the world with smart ideas can only improve the competency of our parliament. ANYTHING would be an improvement.

5. Open Nepal's doors to foreign media bureaus. Build a Media Center at the government's expense. A catch-all complex. Give Reuters, Bloomberg, the BBC and all the other Western media giants, who've been getting the story wrong because of their over-reliance on SPAM-biased Kantipur, a free media space. Let them live on the ground and get their own stories.

All of this is designed for one purpose: to make the rest of the world an actual stakeholder in the success of Nepal as an independent nation. Isolation and restriction are Nepal's worst enemy and, consequently, Girija and Prachanda's best friend. To get the world's attention, sympathy and accurate appraisal, Nepal needs a jump-start.

Time to let the barbarians through the gate.

-=blogdai

In Quite a State

2007-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

“In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”

More than two hundred years after Karl Marx made this observation about modernity, I observe the same dialectic in Nepal:

Nepal is a nation unique; where democracy gives birth to unelected oligarchy and peace agreements lead to continued violence. Nepal is a country where terrorists are hailed as hero’s and thieves are appointed to govern. I submit this because:

1. The mandate of parliament has run its course and a handful of unelected men now govern Nepal. Make no mistakes they are an oligarchy. Together they decide the future of our nation but their promises always seem to be tomorrow.

2. At the centre of this oligarchy are two men: Koirala and Prachanda. The former is seeking to impress upon history his importance before he dies of ill health and the other is the most skillful politician of his generation. When Prachanda becomes a widow, what then?

3. They have no mandate other than to 1.) bring peace and then 2.) hold elections. Aren’t they claiming to do in a year what the King claimed to be able to do in 2?

4. A peace agreement was signed but violence has not ceased; Maoist continue their rampage of violence throughout the countryside, abducting, persecuting and bribing their way to influence. Do you not remember the behaviour of the Maoists before they became our heros?

Nepal is a state unique; where justice is rewarded with persecution and law is forged with crime. The cornerstone of any demoracy is law and order and the stability that it brings. In our nation, protest is a form of election. If you would like to be heard and for the government to yield to your demands then protest is the finest form of democracy. Burn tires, vandalise buildings, throw stones, attack people –who began this political practice?

This is a government unique; democratic politicians are eroding democracy with their contempt for the people. They offer us solutions to problems that they have created over the last decade and they describe themselves as leaders of men. Is it not patronising for them to think that we can not see that we are where we are because they can not govern?

I can overlook the corruption of men who govern and manage but I refuse to overlook incompetence and ignorance in my politicians.

Nepal is a country unique; were governance leads to the erosion of state authority. The people point at the politicians and the politicians point at the system and fill the constitution with problems. The problem, you must understand, is that the autocratic King, the constitution, India, the Madheshi’s, the American government and Charlie Chaplin are to blame for our failings to govern.

In my humble opinion our problems are symptomatic of a deeper illness-

Our failure to govern ourselves.

New Years News and Nothings

2007-01-31T12:39:00.000-08:00

A new flag to go with our new Constitution

We do this from time to time. Blogdai likes to mop up stray thoughts that don't seem to fit into a proper column anywhere. Lots of debate fuel, nonetheless. -=BD

----150 days and counting until the Constituent Assembly Elections officially do not occur.

----Thanks Girija for covering your ass at our expense. Giving a weak, token objection to the new constitution's provision for absolute PM power and then passing the damn thing through anyway tells us a lot. It tells us you know its wrong but you'd rather have the power.

----Gotta love Bangladesh president Iajuddin Ahmed. In a very Nepal-like gesture, he suspends elections indefinitely yet decided to stay in power. Now he has finally been removed, but, nonetheless, there seems to be an uncanny aversion to democratic elections in all of India's satellite states (oops!) these days. No wonder, free elections lead to independent thought and governance--can't have that now, can we India?

----Anyone wonder just what power this alleged Constituent Assembly will have now? It has never been mentioned, in light of this new interim constitution, just exactly how much power the CA can wield. Will they provide an actual check and balance mechanism? Since they are not party members, they will have no lawmaking authority whatsoever according to Girija's new constitution. Hmmm....

----Home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula seems idealy positioned to take over after Girija croaks. He's nasty. He hasn't a clue about democratic ideals, and he blends well with Maoist absolutisms. So, Sujata will make a brief run, but blogdai thinks Sitaula will be the new man-- provided the Maoists don't just cancel the whole process and install their own government.

----It's been eerily quiet here at blogdai on the screaming-little-boy-idealist front. Haven't heard a peep from them in months. It must be tough waking up from your little Jana Andolan bender only to get yourselves arrested by protesting in front of Girija's house.

----Come to think of it, where are those loud-mouthed "restore press freedom" canaries now that the Maoists have threatened to silence the press if they go against the party line? I guess it's ok for the Maoists to beat the crap out of you when you try to enter their meeting; at least it's not mean old King G., right? No surprise, since Kantipur is loyal to Girija, that the press is silent on such issues.

----Oh thank the heavens for girija's wisdom. He says that the only way to solve the Mahdesi problem is through dialogue. Funny, all the Mahdesi are doing is following Girija's brand of jana andolan "dialogue" by taking to the streets. You create the culture of riots, babu, be prepared to govern with them as well.

-=blogdai

A Gllimmer of Hope....Dashed

2007-01-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Blogdai almost chewed on the predictions made last year. Almost.

Prachanda sporting his new "People's crown" for use in the near future

We read today that Prachanda is dissolving all his "People's" army units and administrative centers in the villages and cooperating with full force to "Make the Constituent Assembly elections a success.."

Blogdai was heartened, encouraged and ready to eat crow at this pronouncement. Could Prachanda really have thrown in the towel? Was my long-standing suspicion that Prachanda was playing tough-guy only so that Girija would take him seriously as a political force confirmed? If so, I was ready to slam Girija, yet again, for his marginalizing of any political force that was not in his inner, corrupt circle of greed. Lives were lost, I would have written, because of Girija's obstinance and its resultant Maoist violence. It could have all been solved by just acknowledging a fledgling Maoist movement years ago and inviting them to the parliamentary pig-trough.

Couple Prachanda's announcement with the actual, official recognition of the CPM-Maoist party as part of the new constitution; and the fact that Ian Martin might just have stumbled into doing something useful by documenting the names of each Maoist. (Forget arms cantonments--they are a ridiculous shell-game) and things were starting to look pretty good in the eyes of cynical ol' blogdai.

BUT.... hang on, there. As I eagerly read through the article I found that "The Fierce One" is only re-configuring the same old Maoist party line he's always spouted. When asked if his new concession means that he'll be joining the government and acting like a good boy, Prachanda replies--in what could only be described as a frighteningly comical contradiction--with:

"We want to reach the ultimate aim of communist system based on Marxism, Leninism and Maoism," he told BBC Nepali service, adding that the democratic republic system and people's democratic system will lead to that final aim. "

He hasn't budged. When will we learn that he never will. Characterizing democracy as a precursor to a Communist government is pure madness.

Prachanda is playing us all like a cheap Thamel saranghi. Now that his party's name appears in the interim "constitution," he can work to take over the government from the inside. He's still got his guns if he needs them. Locked-up means nothing if Ian gives you the key!

And oh, yes, the forward-thinking Prachanda cannot contain his joy at his future prospects. He states that "in case of his party coming to power, he would not live in any 'palace' ".

-=blogdai