Anil wrote: ?Ideas are ideas, and an idea's sacredness remains the same whether one is only a meter away, or thousands of miles away.? I beg to disagree. In order to get a true picture of a society and to really know what the ground realities are, you actually have to be there. A lot of the times, the things that I read on here, I usually find telling to myself, ?gosh, these people are clueless, they don?t make any sense, they must be from Mars?. I couldn?t possibly comment on Russian society and why things are the way they are in that society as I don?t live there. Why should it be any different in this case? Many of you have been living abroad for a considerable number of years now, and that is quite apparent to me. I don?t mean to sound patronizing but lots of water has flown under the Bagmati bridge since you guys left for foreign shores. Let me borrow an excerpt from a different thread: Akhilesh writes: "To start with, since February First, yours truly has met countless people?bankers, university and school teachers, housewives, shop keepers, students, taxi drivers, restauranteurs?who seem more willing to give the King the benefit of the doubt compared to us journalists and the parties, perhaps two groups worst affected by the developments post-Feb. 1." "Admittedly, there has for some time been a hole in the media?s portrayal of the state of affairs in the country. In our single-minded focus to restore democracy, indeed an extremely legitimate concern, we perhaps seem to be missing a link or two. Are we, like the parties to some extent, in dissonance with the common man?s and woman?s aspirations? Are we in a denial over the state of affairs that we no longer live in normal times?" http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=35411 --------------------------------- This is what a democrat (or so the thread starter claims) living in Nepal writes about the situation in Nepal. And he has hit the nail on the head. Also, the reason why I urge the supporters of political parties to return to nepal is: It's the people living in Nepal who will have to endure hardship, terrorism, lawlessness, voilence, educational strikes, Nepal bandhs, blockades etc on a day to day basis, not them. Thier political stance has a direct bearing on the lives of the people in Nepal while they themselves remain immune to the consequences of thier actions. So it is only fair that they return to Nepal and be prepared to suffer along with the rest of the population. Sounds pretty fair to me. I presume that the policy-makers in Washington genuinely believe that the foremost priority of people in China at this time is democracy, but is that really the case? Would the remedies work if the World Bank officials were to formulate economic policies for Bangladesh or Indonesia sitting in the confines of their office in Washington, without them being there on ground ? I don?t think so. There is a difference between a reality and what one PERCEIVES as a reality! Cryptonite: ?It's even worse when these people who have left the country from greener pasteurs now mouth off from far away land about the way things should be in Nepal. Of course, everyone can say what would be nice and what would be good, but you have to be there to make the change. Face reality and make the right decisions. Not stay in a foreign land and think you know what is right for the people living there.? Could not have said any better. Wise words!