Anil wrote: "I have had opporutnities aplenty to interact with Nepalis from Nepal too in the past few months. Some have been high profile members of the Nepali intelligentsia, others have been low-level commuinty leaders, yet others were ordinary Nepalis." I am assuming that you met these folks mostly at pro-democracy campaigns and therefore it is likely that they are people with political biases. What about those millions of Nepalis back home -- the quintessential Nepalis -- living a hand to mouth life under grinding poverty and who are affected the most by maoist barbarities - to whom makiing it to America is a distant dream?! Something to chew over... "Here, what would be appreciated would be SPECIFIC EXAMPLES as to why I am so, rather than merely saying something along the lines of, "Well, you are wrong because you don't live here." Good grief! The examples are ubiquitous! They are bursting at the seams even a blind can see them. "I also feel somewhat uneasy with the thought that you -- an anonymous poster in Sajha -- may or may not be living/working in Nepal yourself. You could be accusing others of not living/working in Nepal just for the sake of an argument." Rest assured I do live in Nepal. Sure, we can debate about what might be the best way forward for Nepal till we are blue in the face - however, being a realist that I am, at the end of the day, what I really want to see is the results and not 'ifs and buts' and more theories. I don't know what it's like in other parts of the country but maoist activities have definiitely diminished in towns and villages alike in Tanahun, Syangja, Palpa and to some extent in Lamjung. You don't find maoists moving around openly as they used to only a few months back. They seem to have disappeard into the thin air which is quite baffling.. And yes, that's good enough to me. Lets give the King credits where they are due, shall we? That said, yes, the maoists are trying really hard to retaliate by destroying infrastructures and declaring strikes from time to time but they are increasingly becoming ineffectual. Slowly but surely the maoists are feeling the heat. I think that is also the reason why the maoists are yearning to team up with the parties. I think when we debate or look into an issue, it has to be put in a proper context. The way I see it; it was the primeminister who dissolved the parliament in 2002. It isn't the King's fault if the parties cannot hold elections - and, yes, they themselves admitted it. So, technically, democracy was already dead. The parties really have no one but themselves to blame for the disaster that has befallen our country. The parties could neither hold elections nor improve the security situation in the country. In the meantime the country was fast plunging into absolute chaos while the people meekly witnessed the unfolding events in the country in absolute horror. I don't see how restoring the same inept leaders back to power is going to solve the myraid problems plaguing the country. The king stepped in at the eleventh hour. I see him as our saviour. I know some people don't even need a reason to hate him. He is hated for the simple reason that he is a King! I don't think he is as wicked as he is made out to be or some people would have us believe. As far as the curbing of freedom goes.. Look, a stray bomb goes off in London, and the British are already contemplating granting sweeping powers to law enforcement agencies et al. When governments are dealing with insurgency and terrorism or security threats; civil liberty becomes its first casualty. 9/11 -- a one-off terrorist act -- happened four years ago but the Patroit Act is still in place - and I don't see it being scrapped any time soon. Nepal is grappling with a situation far worse than in any of these countries. That said, you would think that things are really bleak in terms of freedom back home. In reality, that's hardly the case. Even as I rack my brains I can think of only two bans: 1. Ban on pre-paid mobile phones, and 2. Ban on news broadcasting by FMs. Other freedoms -- personal and economic -- are largely intact. As for media censorship, the media is full of pro-parties, pro-netas jingles - hardly a sign of censorship. Oh well.. what do I care..