chatmandude and sagun, thanks for your input. i do appreciate it. and i guess if i trusted the king and respected him, this would seem like a potentially good thing. but i just don't know....part of the problem is that no one realizes things TAKE TIME! i mean, you can't have effective government overnight. sagun, you are right. i don't know who i trust, other than the average nepali villager who just goes about his/her daily life. i do agree with many of the maoists' original 40 point agenda, but ahile ko maobaadi is so far removed from that agenda! they have totally lost sight of their political agenda for the sake of their own survival. and chatmandude, i realize things are in such a desparate state in nepal right now. but i think part of that may be a result of gyane's previous actions. and maybe any attempt at change is better than the status quo, but i have yet to see gyanendra do anything positive for the people of nepal. i do hope the king's move proves to be the best thing for the country, but i am afraid. i mean, the former king, who was much loved and revered by the nepali people, stepped down as absolute monarch as a result of their demands. now this king, who is despised and distrusted by all nepalis i know, is filling that role?! how bizarre- i am glad to know i am not the only one.