Pire, Two things: Criticisms of the party and urging them to reform themselves do NOT equal praise for the king. As Nepe himself already and CORRECTLY pointed out, I personally have derived NOT a single benefit ever . . . from the palace nor will I ever derive a benefit of any sort ever from the palace. Whether you like it or not, hey, that's my credibility and I am putting it on the line here. So spare us this nonsense about trying to slot me into some sort of preconceived categories that you guys have created. It does not work for me. That said, I do see these mindlessly predictable criticisms of the king as a convenient cover-up for the parties to hide their own feudal undemocratic facade. The king may be there. He may be gone. But it'll ALWAYS be the parties that we have to live with, with or without the king, if we are serious about democracy. Better to start -- AT THIS TIME -- thinking about making the parties - filled with people like us -- accountable to us than worry about changing the palace, which is filled with people unlike us. oohi ashu