Ashu wrote: "Only the King, for better or worse, seems to be saying, "I am in charge. For three years. Leave it to me." Sure, the King's message might be wrong in the fundamental sense. But except for unemployable intellectuals, who cares about fundamentals? King's message seems to have been grasped by most people . . . so much so that few want to go behind political parties and rally against it." ****** JUST A QUICK NOTE: The above was and is my reading of the situation in Nepal. True, that reading of mine can be TWISTED and TURNED by the likes of Nepe to do their best to paint me as a nuanced monarchist (whatever the hell that means!), but, rest assured that their desperation says much about their mindset than about mine. My point was this: Nepali people, like voters everywhere, do NOT want complex political arguments -- the ones that cockles the hearts of ideologues of all stripes. Nepali people don't want to live in some abstract future, the ones relentless painted as the Utopia by the Maoists and by our own Nepe from Washington DC. Nepali people want to live in the present with not much hassle. And they want something simple, unambiguous and clear that they can understand to get on with their lives. They dislike the Maoists because Maoists kill people. In fact, many Nepalis still say that they agree with most of the social-justice related goals of the Maoists, and are willing to give even the Maoists a chance, "if they give up violence". This is how UNCONFRONTATIONAL Nepalis generally are. For the past several years, the political parties have given Nepalis so many MIXED signals that Nepalis have STOPPED believing the promises of the parties. In this confusion, the King has emerged as someone with a clear and simple message (quoted above). True, just because the King has a clear and simple message does NOT mean that he is right. BUT -- and this is my main point -- whether he is right or wrong in some fundamental sense is NOT of much concern to most Nepalis at this point. It merely means that his message -- simple and clear -- seems to resonate more with most people in Nepal. And so, by NOT taking part against anti-king demonstrations in large numbers, most people are QUIETLY giving the King a benefit of doubt. This is the reality. Now, faced with this, the republicans can do two things: First, deny that the reality is real in the first place and start calling me names, even turning my real name into a FALSE adjective (which, I might add, is a standard strategy of ex-communists). Or, Second, they can looik fo ways to simplify and clarify their message so that it can be grasped by most ORDINARY people for whom the corruption of the netas is more vivid, real and causes for instant indigation at this time than the RELATIVELY abstract loot of the Shahs in the last 200 years. Political theories are all about abstractions. By themselves, they do not add to much. BUT politics -- with its hustle, bare-knuckle fights, naked ambitions, lust for power. seizing of opportunities and playing the game to one's advantage -- is about keeping things simple in the constituencies' eyes. ************************ aaja lai yetti nai. oohi ashu