those interested in the interplay between economic & military strenght should read paul kennedy's "rise and fall of great powers." it's good, and his central thesis is that superpowers need both. the bling bling k-ching helps grow the army, the navy and what not, and the military might is used to threaten/coerge reluctant trading partners. the book also provides a nice intro to the last 500 yrs of world history. ok back to the main point here. nepal will never be a superpower, neither military nor economic. it's pretty obvious, so i will not say any more. so hushpuppy, you will have to be content with being empress of a small peaceful country with decent standards of living. the trade route between india & china is certainly something to think about. will it be the silk road of the new millenium, especially since both india & china are in the WTO? we'll see. but i surely hope that if some shit like that goes down, the nepali NEGOTIATORS are smart folks. at the bare minimum they should undrstand what the hell everyone is talking about. anyway, the economic rise of china and india certainly bodes well for nepal. if nothing else, the sheer Osmosis & regional trade will help the ecnomy. but for now, may lord pashupatinath bring peace & quit to nepal first.