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The Nepal Digest Friday 16 Dec 94: Mangshir 30 2051 BkSm Volume 34 Issue 11
To the Students: Good luck in the finals!
To everybody: Happy Holidays!
- TND Editorial Board
******************************************************************************
* TND Board of Staff *
* ------------------ *
* Editor/Co-ordinator: Rajpal J. Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* SCN Correspondent: Rajesh B. Shrestha rshresth@black.clarku.edu *
* Editing Editor: Padam P. Sharma sharma@plains.nodak.edu *
* Discussion Moderator: Ashutosh Tiwari tiwari@husc.harvard.edu *
* Looking For Correspondent: Sudeep Acharya sa01@engr.uark.edu *
* Past Issues Correspondent: Sohan Panta k945184@atlas.kingston.ac.uk *
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* The Nepal Digest (TND) *
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* Digest Contributions: NEPAL@MP.CS.NIU.EDU *
* Contributors need to supply Header for the article, email, and full name. *
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* Postings are divided into following categories that are listed in the *
* order below. Please provide category-type in the header of your e-mail. *
* *
* 1. Message from TND Editorial Board *
* 2. Letter to the Editor *
* 3. TAJA_KHABAR: Current News *
* 4. KATHA_KABITA: Literature *
* 5. KURA_KANI: Economics *
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* THE EDITOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ARTICLES FOR CLARITY. *
* *
* **** COPYRIGHT NOTE **** *
* The news/article posters are responsible for any copyright violations. *
* TND, a non-profit electronic journal, will publish articles that has *
* been published in other electronic or paper journal with proper credit *
* to the original media. *
* *
* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
* "If you don't stand up for something, you will fall for anything" -Dr. MLK *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" - Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa *
* *
******************************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 10:19:11 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Use of dirty words in TND (fwd)
To: Nepal Digest <nepal@cs.niu.edu>
The following piece is from Balkrishna Sharma <23012BKS@MSU.EDU>
I do't think many of the TND readers are against sex education per se. As far
as the use of dirty language is concerned, I see selected few contributors
cornering Nirmal GhimireZ for speaking against it.
In Nepali culture no bhadra
person uses dirty language in front of other people. By dirty language I mean
that requiring to name sexual act, male or female genitalia or the parts there
of. These words do not sound as vulgar to people whose mother language is not
Nepali (I am assuming that the words are said in Nepali language). Even the
listeners find it uneasy to hear them.
If a child speaks dirty language, you
punish him or her. If we see an adult speaking dirty language on the street we
express like "Raksi khayeko chha ki justo chha". Even the western society does
not allow four letter F words from the media and presentations and if it
becomes inevitable they warn the audience of its bad language content. It does
not sound very good to freely and sometimes unnecessarily write and circulate
dirty words in TND.
Many readers read TND expecting to see news from homeland
and read materials on issues pertinent to the development of Nepal and Nepali
community. My concern is this:Why not avoid the use of such words if possible.
Secondly, if someone wants the info requiring the use of such words why not
pass it on to him or her only, and thirdly why not try to use the alternative
method of expression whereever possible.
Thank you,
Balkrishna Sharma
***************************************************************
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 94 14:08:18 EST
From: Shailendra Shukla <SHUKLA@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu>
Subject: Butterfly II
To: NEPAL DIGEST <nepal@cs.niu.edu>
Not that it matters too much, but to set the record straight, I did
not introduce the debate on "Putali". I rarely read the SCN
postings. My TND posting was in direct response to the article by
ATULADHAR in TND (Dec 4).
In any case, my response seems to have given Amulaya another chance
to publish the whole thing again with additional words for
enquiring minds to ponder. One also gets to know about metanymy and
onomatopoetic words and the sound associated with a post-orgasmic
blissful woman. What more could dodgy TND readers ask for?
Shailendra Shukla
**********************************************************************
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 17:05:10 -0500
From: eknath@math.cornell.edu (Eknath Belbase - Math Grad)
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Letter to the Editor
To the editor, TND, re: censorship redefined.
I would like to support the voices who have written in to say that
they are against censorship of any sort on TND, barring editing for clarity
or brevity. Mr Ghimirez' most recent post essentially redefines
censorship by narrowing that which ought to be censored to the category
of : "how it was done and how it was performed" [ie sexual details
like the extent of foreplay, etc.] and "lust" as opposed to "art"
as components of sex. Whatever that means.
Instead of setting up what is beginning to look like a one-man committee
ala Jesse Helms to decide for us what we ought to read or not,
or where the line between lust and art falls (the US govt needed a supreme courtdecision to do something analogous), how about a statement from the
editorial board on the TNDs policy (is there one?) with respect to sexual
material?
Finally, one suggestion: if a compromise is desired, why not put a
warning header before articles that may be offensive to some? They
don't have to read things they might find offensive and the rest of us
get to read all the offensive things we want, something I personally
like to do as much as time permits. Whether or not details of foreplay
cross some border between tittilation and academia (and if
they do, so what?!), I certainly don't need someone else to regulate
where that line falls for me, and I am pretty sure most TND readers
would like to make the decision to not read something based on their
own tastes, not someone elses.
Sincerely,
Eknath Belbase
PS I just thought of an interesting side-issue. Since the internet falls
within the scope of public media, which TND uses, censorship of posts
due to sexual content MAY constitute an illegal act or at least open
the editorial board up for legal action for breach of first amendment
rights. Thus, barring that which passes the US Supreme Court's definition
of obscenity, TND may be OBLIGED to not censor. If you do,
watch out guys - I have a friend who's a law student in need
of some money! ;-)
*******************************************************************************
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 22:25:41 -0500
From: rshresth@black.clarku.edu (RaJesh B. Shrestha)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: New Road Pipal-bot vs. Sathi-ko bihe: analogy SCN Vs TND
Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------
Jo jashalai sambandha chha. (Padha-nai parcha bhanne chaina----)
I am just wondering about the guy who forwarded my month old posting to
TND, about the statement made by Mr. HA and the published article looked
as if I sent myself directly to TND. The person would have just put
a note that it was posted in SCN and forwarded to TND. The posting was
already outdated and I have promised not follow #oralo lageko mirga "the
former PM" lai bachho le pani lakhetchha# because he did what I wanted.
I consider SCN like a Pipal ko bot in New Road where any one can go
and TND like a marriage ceremony where the posting should have some norms
and standard so that only selected articles should be published. The
posting (Article? NO) could be made better if you have requested me,
atleast it would look like "Dhoyeko tara purano luga" rather than
wearing "Dinbhari Kathmandu ma Vikram tempo ko kalo le mailo banayeko
luga" while going to a marriage ceremony where peoples might have
guessed me like a care less "chanda-na-bandko" kabi, "jhusha dari-2-4 dinko
nakateko- mailo luga ani euta kalam bhireko--purano jutta" jasto. I
hope whoever you are, please cite in future if you are "draggin me from
Pipal ko bot while buying PATRIKA to Sathi ko bihema--nimta na simta--
", I can atleast say to the friend in his question
"K ho yar tero yesto tala, mero bihema pani yasto ? kam-sekam ......?"
, that "K garne taile khabar garinash, yeshale pipal bot yshai kam nabhaye
ra bhoutari raheko belama bhetera , anfu chai takka-salaka-, malai estai
bhai pani ta bhaihalcha ni , chinne le chinekai chhan na chinne le a talai
euta purano -samyabadi- kabi bhanlan ni bhanyo, ke garne?, afno mitra ta
parisha- tero jindagi ko euta bihe kahan chhodane, estai bhaye pani
hunchha bhanera hindeko - "junga pale pani, kate pani juju man ta honi".
Hop e you got the point.
Thanks for your effort.
Gyaneswore Pokharel
P.S. I am not against the publishing the Posting, I just want you to
cite it the original source i.e. forward from or extracted from "SCN"...
*****************************************************************************
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 1994 01:19:10 -0500
From: rshresth@black.clarku.edu (RaJesh B. Shrestha)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: New Road Pipal-bot vs. Sathi-ko bihe: analogy SCN Vs TND
Cross-posted from SCN following the above thread:
------------------------------------------------
Response to Gyaneswor's article-
As an SCN Correspondent (Liaison) for TND, it was probably me who "dragged"
you onto the "tip top bhela of TND" in your "jhootro-jhaatro"! In any case, I
take the blame/credit and I (in behalf of TND) seek your apology. But, if you
felt the "jhootro-jhaatro" was embarrassing, you needn't quite be - for we
probably deemed you not as "j-j" and hence had you over TND!
While TND is, as you say, less of a "New Road pipal-ko-bote" gathering,
nevertheless, it is unlike a "Sathi-ko bihe" where you go only if you get
invited. TND is more like that "bihe" where people go without needing
invitations however/whenver they please - because it's always there, gates
open, for everyone! "Tip tops", "suit-boot", "casual", "j-j" all welcome!
I do appreciate your suggestion of quoting SCN for cross-posted articles.
Someone else mentioned it too, and I have already started inserting in that
extra line for those postings following a thread or requiring a context.
Thanks for your interesting analogy of TND and SCN.
***********************************************************************
From: Shailesh R. Bhandari <sbhandar@garnet.acns.fsu.edu>
Subject: A-oo-ta Muktak
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 1994 11:22:00 -0500 (EST)
SAMMAAN
Meri mayalu ko sammaan maa
Yaha ke ke hunchha
Koili uskai laga ko-ho ko-ho garchha
Tyastai,
Ban ko mujur uskai lagi kuk kuk garchha
Ani, mero mutu
Uskai lagi dhuk dhuk garchha.
************************************************************
From: gshah@st6000.sct.edu (Gopal Shah)
Subject: politics
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 1994 13:26:37 -0500 (EST)
All indications shows the present government won't last longer.Here
are some reasons why:
1)The government in third world countries without absolute majority
hardly survive longer.Even in Japan we 've seen several governments
in past few years.
2)The most of cabinet members have no previous experience in the
government.
3)The present economic situation and resources in Nepal won't help
this government to jump up the fragile economy right away and the
people who wanted to see changes will be tired of this government
soon.The stock market already showed 13% decrease.
4)No other parties have participated in this cabinet council.This
government is in minority already.There is a definitely political
reason not to participate in this government.
5)The donor countries like India,USA,UK etc are not excited about
this government of communist-monarchy.
6)The long rival Congress party won't be sleeping there in the
parliament supporting everything whatever this government does.Also
royalist party ,RPP, with 20 seats are likely to support the congress
party against UML whenever it is necessary.
**************************************************************
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 1994 15:37:47 -0500
From: rshresth@black.clarku.edu (RaJesh B. Shrestha)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: 15 member cabinet is formed
Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------
Does anyone have an idea if Nepal has a separate ministry for "Royal
Palace"? I fail to understand why a prime minister always has to take the
responsibility of *looking after* the royal palace.
Why does the royal palace always have to appear as a ministerial cabinet
portfolio? In this day of constitutional monarchy, why should Nepal's prime
minister, much less a communist prime minister, continue this Panchayat-era
tradition?
Does Nepal's prime minister have enough time to divert his attention away
from the country's much more pressing problems to assume a portfolio only
to appease the king and his family?
If royal palace must remain a ministerial portfolio, then this portfolio
should be given to an assistant minister or a secretary in the government.
The royal palace has its own secretariat, why can't they simply look after
themselves? During the Panchayat-era, the king's secretaries used to run
the country in the Panchayat-era; I'm sure they don't need prime minister's
assistance to run the royal palace.
My argument is, why should a democratic government in a constitutional
monarchy continue the nonsense Panchayati tradition. When will our leaders
wake up?
Does anyone know how much money Nepal's taxpayers spend on the royal palace
and its inhabitants? And what are their business interests and ownership
within and outside Nepal?
*********************************************************
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 1994 13:51:22 MST
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: "VIVEK S. RANA" <RANA@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU>
Subject: For TAJA KHABAR
New Parliament in session from tomorrow
---------------------------------------
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41
The Parliament is to start it's first session from tomorrow. HM the
King has appionted Bal Bahadur Rai, the most senior MP to act as the Speaker
of the house till the elections are held.
The CPN-UML are proposing 2 names for the speaker; Jhala Nath Khanal an
d
Umesh Adhikhari. The NC are also proposing Mahant Thakur and the RPP also
announced that it will field candidates for Speaker and Deputy speaker of the
house.
Resuffle in UML cabinet soon
----------------------------
A protocol error could be the main reason for the upcoming resuffle in
the UML cabinet. The consitution requires that the Minister of Law to be
a member of the Judicial Board. The board requires the minister to be full
minister (Mantri)
This has raised the question over the appiontment of Subash Nembang to
the Judicial Board (Naiyek Samiti). He is the state minister for Law and
Justice. The C.J Bishwanath Upadhya has talked to PM Adhikari on this matter
and he is considering appionting Madhav K. Nepal (Deputy PM) as the Minister
of Law on Justice to solve the problem.
**********************************************************************
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 1994 14:01:16 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jacqueline R. Francis" <jfranci@unix.cc.emory.edu>
Subject: Letter to the Editor
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
I'm hoping Nepal Digest readers can help me with two problems.
The first is that I would like to directly deposit some money in a Nepali
friend's Nepal Bank Ltd. account in Surkhet. Does anyone know if the bank
has a relationship with a US bank that would allow me to do so? Or, does
anyone know of a US branch office of Nepal Bank, or of any other way to
send money cheaply and safely to Nepal?
Second, I'm shopping around for a graduate program in TEFL or Education
for a Nepali friend, and for scholarship opportunities as well. Can any
of you students share with me the secrets of your success?
Thanks.
J. Francis
*****************************************************************************
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 1994 14:23:10 -0500
From: rshresth@black.clarku.edu (RaJesh B. Shrestha)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: 15 member cabinet is formed
Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------
In a previous article, apradhan@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu (Ajay Pradhan) wrote:
>
>Does anyone know how much money Nepal's taxpayers spend on the royal palace
>and its inhabitants? And what are their business interests and ownership
>within and outside Nepal?
=============
Lots and lots of money, resources, both of the country, of the elected govt,
much more than what we are supposed to get in return "a symbol of unity". If i
had so much money and so many years to exercise it, sure I can create a
socio-political artifact, called the "need for a symbol of unity"
For all those Nepali friends who want a rich king for a poor country's symbol
of unity, why not we have "jhupro" ma basne king with no property and we will
still respect him as king. Heh Gandhi did it why not the Shahs, we just cannot
subsidise their lock on the nation's capital and it is pity that the king is
becoming more popular.
This reminds me of a popular royal anecdote of the origins of corruption and
graft and all this talk of symbolism. Some of you may have heard this before.
Ever wondered why Prithvi Narayan Shah is represented with his 1 index finger
raised high (supposedly for 1 country)?
Why King Tribhuvan is shown with his palm of 5 fingers held high?
(supposedly returning from Delhi)
Why King Mahendra is shown with his 10 fingers held in front of his chest in
namaste?
and Why King Birendra is shown with that avuncular tilt on his head, a
tel-tale smile beneath is mustache and his hands held behind his back as he
visits deevelopment works?
Well the explanation is that Prithvi wanted 1 percent of all the country's
wealth in his individual dhukuiti up front as his right, (hey he conquered the
country, right, and did not all victors demand tributes from fiefs and feudal
lords in their suzerainty?
Well, Tribhuvan held his hand a little lower, and said 5 percent ghus is fine,
you know the Ranas had taken so much that he needed a little recompense for
all his lascivious ways.
King Mahendra was reasonable and looked you straight in the eye while he
demanded 10 percent of his 10 fingered Namaste to finance his Panches
Birendra is a king of our times, he says, "hey congress and communists, you
can have the country fine just make sure you give me behind my back whatever
will fit my hands" and the merry go around of royal costs to the nation goes
on.
This story is one I heard in Ratna park, an example of the people resistance
to the king even in the times of his absolute rule.
Amulya Tuladhar
***********************************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************************
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 1994 14:30:41 -0500
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: NC accuses UML of killing its party workers
From: rajendra@coos.dartmouth.edu (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
SOURCE: Xinhua
HEADLINE: contest for house speaker post kicked off in nepal
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 15; ITEM NO: 1215076
BODY:
all members of the newly-elected parliament lower house can make
proposals for the election to the post of the speaker from today to
friday, according to bal bahadur rai who worked as the speaker pro
team for being the eldest member of the lower house. it would be a
keen contest as all political parties stated that they would not
withdraw from the competition for the prized position in the house.
the ruling communist party of nepal (uml), the single largest party by
capturing 88 seats in the 205-seat house of representatives, has said
"as per the parliamentary practices, the ruling party should have its
speaker while the post of the deputy speaker could go to the main
opposition". but the nepali congress (nc), the main opposition with
83 seats secured, claimed that "it is in minority only 'technically'
and, therefore, the ruling uml should agree on the congress' having
the speakership". the spokesman of the rastriya prajatantra party
(rpp), the third largest party with 20 seats won, asserted that "the
post should be occupied by rpp as it is capable of maintaining a
balance in the given political context". the nepal sadbhavana (good
will) party (nsp) sources said if the ruling party was for a national
consensus the uml and other major political parties should allow the
nsp to have the speakership of the house. king birendra had fixed
december 17 for the election of the speaker, according to rai. the
new 8th lower house, which started wednesday, was to be resumed on
saturday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: AFP
HEADLINE: First session of Nepal parliament
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Dec 14
BODY:
Nepal's minority communist government is confident of winning a
vote of confidence in the country's new parliament due to hold its
first session here on Wednesday, a communist party official said.
The ruling Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist and Leninist
(NCP-UML), expects to win the vote of confidence, NCP-UML Central
Committee Deputy Secretary General Bamdev Gautam told AFP.
"We have approached all the political parties to support us to
prove our majority and we are fully confident that all political
parties and even the independents will support us," Bamdev Gautam
said.
The vote is expected before the end of the year.
If the NCP-UML government fails to win the vote, then it will be
forced to resign and advise the king to dissolve the hung parliament
and call another mid-term poll. But observers say this is unlikely
because neither the Nepali Congress (NC) party nor the public wants
new elections.
But the government could face a big hurdle in getting MPs to vote
for its finance bill on the annual budget and its socio-economic and
political programmes.
If the new budget and the socio-economic and political programmes
are "unpalatable" to the NC and the rightist Rastriya Prajatantra
Party (RPP), they may reject the finance bill, obliging the minority
government to resign.
Also on tap is the election of a speaker, to take place either on
Saturday or early next Sunday. The opposition Nepali Congress (NC) and
the NCP-UML are both making a strong bid to win the post.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: AFP
HEADLINE: NC accuses Nepal ruling party, UPF of killing nine supporters
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Dec 14
BODY:
The main parliamentary opposition party, the Nepali Congress (NC),
has charged the ruling party and another leftist faction with killing
nine of its activists, a party source said Wednesday.
The NC alleged that members of the ruling Nepal Communist
Party-United Marxist and Leninist (NCP-UML) and the United People's
Party (UPF) were responsible for the deaths of nine NC activists in
different districts since the NCP-UML formed a minority government
following elections on November 15.
The NC, which lost power in the elections, made the claim in a
statement released following a meeting of its parliamentary party.
The statement also accused the NCP-UML of "seriously endangering
the inter-party relationship" and of "inefficiency and (an) inability"
to stop political killings in various parts of the country.
"On the one hand, the minority UML government has made an appeal
for national consensus through the government media, while on the
other, the UML workers are openly involving themselves in political
killings in various districts of the country," it said.
The statement also indicated that the UML was likely to encounter
difficult times in the coming months.
The home ministry has confirmed some of the deaths and said four
people had been arrested, but the government has yet to reply to the
allegation.
In a related development the pro-democracy Nepal Students Union
(NSU) criticized the government for implicating NC and NSU members in
a number of deaths in different districts.
An NSU source said the Dang District Court, west of here, had
issued warrants against 67 people, including former minister for
public works and transport Khum Bawhadur Khadka in connection with
political killings in Dang district prior to the polls.
The NCP-UML won 88 seats in the 205-seat parliament, 15 short of a
simple majority.
It needs the support of the NC or the rightist Rastriya Prajatantra
Party (RPP) to survive a vote of confidence which will be tabled in
the house of representatives on or before December 30 as required by
the constitution in cases involving minority governments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: DPA
HEADLINE: Egyptian airplane carrying Nepalese peacekeepers damaged in
Zagreb
DATELINE: Zagreb, Dec 14
BODY:
A passenger aircraft of the Egyptian airline EgyptAir has been
badly damaged during a landing in thick fog at Zagreb airport in
Croatia, officials said Wednesday.
The 157 passengers on board the plane - United Nations soldiers
from Nepal - escaped injury, officials said.
The pilot of the Boeing 707 had apparently missed the runway,
causing the aircraft to crash into the runway lighting late Monday,
the officials said. The accident was not announced at the time. dpa
rg jbp
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: Xinhua
HEADLINE: d p 627 bc- nepal -king-return hke121457 --nepali king returns from
india
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 14; ITEM NO: 1214205
BODY:
nepali king birendra returned here this afternoon after completing
a three-day private visit to india. the king was received at the
tribhuvan international airport by prime minister man mohan adhikari,
deputy prime minister madhav kumar nepal, home minister k. p. sharma
oli, chairman of the national assembly beni bahadur karki and other
senior officials. king birendra left for india on december 12.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
HEADLINE: 8th parliamentary session starts in nepal
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 14; ITEM NO: 1214134
BODY:
the eighth session of the house of representatives (lower house) in
nepal started here this afternoon. it is the first session after the
205-seat house of representatives was elected in the mid-term polls
held on november 15. the new speaker of the lower house will be
elected on december 17, it was announced in the opening ceremony of
the eighth session. the parliamentary meeting will be chaired by
senior member of the house bal bahadur rai before the new speaker is
elected. during the session, the budget for fiscal year from 1994 to
1995, tabled by the former nepali congress government, will be
approved and a supplemental budget proposed by the newly-elected
government will be discussed. it is expected that the vote of
confidence for the new government led by the communist party of nepal
(uml) will be carried on by the end of this month. according to the
parliamentary sources, king birendra, who is now paying a private
visit in india and will be back this afternoon, will address the
current parliamentary session.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: UPI
HEADLINE: Nepal's prime minister declares assets
DATELINE: KATMANDU, Dec. 14
BODY:
Nepal's first Communist prime minister has declared his personal
assets, indicating that he is much better off than most Nepalese,
whose annual income is just $202, the Ministry of Communications said
Wednesday. Man Mohan Adhikari, who at 74 is the oldest prime minister
to hold office in Nepal, has two houses in his hometown of Biratnagar
in East Nepal and a bank balance of more than $24,000. Adhikari is
building a third house in the Nepali capital of Katmandu, the ministry
said. Deputy Prime Minister Madav Nepal has two houses, one in the
Nepali capital and another in his home district of Rautahat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: UPI
HEADLINE: Nepal's newly-elected parliament meets
BYLINE: BY BHOLA RANA
DATELINE: KATMANDU, Dec.14
BODY:
Nepal's newly-elected parliament held its first session Wednesday led by
Nepal's Communist Party, which gained the largest block of seats in
last month's elections. Interim speaker Bal Bahadur Rai, 72,
officiated at the meeting as the second oldest member in the
205-strong house of representatives after Prime Minister Man Mohan
Adhikari, 74. Holding 88 seats in the parliament, Adhikari heads a
minority government formed by the communists -- the first communist
government to come to power in the Himalayan kingdom. The government
will have to win a vote of confidence in parliament during the current
session, which if it fails would force King Birendra to call a new
round of elections. Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, the prime
minister's brother, said he will present a supplementary budget to
parliament reflecting the priorities of the communist government. On
the eve of the first session of the newly-elected parliament, the
opposition Nepali Congress party, held of a meeting of its
parliamentary representatives and discussed cooperation with the
communists. ''Consensus can be sought on programs supported by all
parties. But we will not support Marxist programs in the name of
national consensus,'' said Congress' parliamentary leader, Sher
Bahadur Deuba. The communists have sent letters to all opposition
parties requesting support for the vote of confidence. Meanwhile,
Congress members issued a statement claiming nine of its activists
have been killed throughout the kingdom since communists assumed power
on Nov. 30, alleging communists were responsible for the deaths.
Home ministry spokesman, Sri Kant Regmi, denied that workers from only
one party were killed in the political violence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: Reuters
HEADLINE: Nepal sets December 17 as date for speaker election
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Dec 14
BODY:
Nepal's King Birendra said the Himalayan kingdom's freshly
convened parliament will elect a speaker on Saturday in a vote that
could help determine the fate of the new Communist government.
"His Majesty the King has fixed December 17 for the election to the
post of the speaker of the House of Representatives," Bal Bahadur Rai,
70, the oldest member of the new legislature and acting speaker, said
on Wednesday.
The lower house convened for the first time since its members were
elected in general polls on November 15.
The Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party won a plurality
of 88 seats in the 205-member House of Representatives, falling 15
seats short of an outright majority.
New Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikary, the UML leader, will need
the support of either the Nepali Congress, which lost its three-year
grip on power in the polls, or the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) to
survive a confidence motion that must be held before the end of the
month.
Congress took 83 seats to 20 for the RPP, whose leaders governed
Nepal during much of a three-decade period of partyless rule before
pro-democracy demonstrations brought an end to absolute monarchy in
1990.
The UML, Congress and the RPP have all staked a claim to the
speakership. But political observers said the UML was likely to throw
its support behind one of the opposition parties in exchange for
backing in the vote of confidence.
The RPP on Wednesday elected former prime minister Lokendra Bahadur
Chand as its parliamentary leader. Chand, 55, was prime minister under
the partyless system that prevailed before 1990.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: BBC
HEADLINE: Finance minister on coming budget and programme to help the people
SOURCE: Radio Nepal, Kathmandu, in English 1415 gmt 13 Dec 94
BODY:
Text of report
Minister for Finance Bharat Mohan Adhikari has said that the
CPN(UML) [Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)]
government will present the budget within 12 days and a programme
providing direct relief for the people within 20 days. Minister Mr
Adhikari made this remark while addressing party workers at (?Charohat
Morvi - untraced), organized by the [word indistinct] CPN-UML
committee today [13th December]. Mr Adhikari said the government will
abolish the feudal system and is thinking to control prices and reduce
the prices of some items.
****************************************************************
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 1994 14:30:55 -0500
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: The Iron Man's Price
From: irc_rj@vax.clarku.edu
Although Nobody quite remembers if Girija Prasad did some Shakespeare while
a student at a Bihar College in the 40's, He's definitely rumoured to have
quoted Julius Caesar and exclaimed, "Et tu, Ganesh?" from the balcony of his
Baluwatar residence after GM Singh began playing the race card through his
biographer, Mathbar Singh Basnet's Weekly 'Punarjagaran', 3 years ago.
All this "Brahminization" everywhere has hurt my feelings, said Ganeshman.
Girija in a move to allay his colleagues' concerns, appointed three
ambassadors in a row, Surya Prasad Shrestha to the Court of St. Jameses in
London, Durgeshman Singh to Brussels and Lok Bdr Shrestha to Dhaka.
Now the UML has formed it's cabinet and eight of the nine full ministerial
portfolios have gone to "Brahmins", Everyone turns to the legendary IronMan
for a response, He wouldn't utter a single word.
Meanwhile, all the Koirala appointees either resign or are called back (incl.
Georgetown linguist, Dr Jayaraj Acharya, Ambassador to the UN and the Iowa
trained Economist, Dr Bharat Dhital to Tokyo) except the three initially
appointed to appease Singh.
Not quite a coincident and I agree with the Kathmandu tabloids this time-
Good old barter isn't obsolete yet in Nepal and you can even buy the
Supremo's silence.
Price?
A difficult question but a rough estimate would be like a half a million US
Dollars. Hey, How?
Because that's roughly the amount our treasury would have paid the three
Ambassadors by the end of their term.
The famous duo who the Iron Man shares the Chetrapati mansion with were not
available for comment.
S Wagle
London School of Economics.
*******************************************************************
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 1994 13:32:52 EST
To: The Nepal digest Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu>
From: "Pramod K. Mishra" <pkm@acpub.duke.edu>
Subject: The Story of Mathematics Teaching to Kids
Dear Editor,
Mathematics has always been a horror story for many of us, particularly this
numberphobe. It was only recently when I read the following paper, I
understood why, at least partly. So I thought I should share this essay
with the readers of TND, many of whom are parents of young children, and
many others plan to be ones sooner or later. I would request other
readers to share their ideas and experiences on this topic.
The author of this essay, Noam Shazeer, is a Freshman at Duke University;
and the essay was written as part of the requirement of a University
Writing Course.
From: Noam Shazeer <noam@math.duke.edu>
Olympic Number Cruncher
This was the title of an article published in Duke Magazine about my success
in winning a gold medal in the International Math Olympiad held in Hong
Kong this summer. The title implies that I have the power to take the
biggest and ugliest of numbers and crush them to a pulp in my bare
hands. It is true that this is a much more flattering title than "math
nerd," or some of the other names I have been called, but it still
disturbs me. "To crunch numbers" is a term used by computer scientists
meaning to perform large numbers of arithmetic computations. Although
"crunching numbers" seems like a macho thing to do, the idea that
mathematicians spend their time performing large numbers of arithmetic
computations is one of the biggest misconceptions which our society holds
about mathematics. Seemingly harmless misconceptions such as this
degrade people's views of mathematicians and the state of mathematics
in our society.
The work of mathematicians is very obscure to most people. Mathematicians
speak a different language. Their work is not as directly and obviously
applied to the real world as that of other scientists. People tend to
develop false and degrading stereotypes about those they do not understand
and perceive as different from themselves. As a result, people avoid
mathematics and mathematicians. This leads to the needless ostracism of
many people and the underdevelopment of a beautiful and essential area of
knowledge.
The stereotypical mathematician in our society works diligently by himself
all day performing calculations on large numbers and scribbling magical
formulas. This could not be farther away from a real mathematician.
Mathematicians rarely work with specific numbers. If they are doing
something which involves performing large numbers of calculations, they use
computers to do them. Also, mathematicians are not diligent, but in
general, are very lazy. They try to accomplish their goals in as little
work as possible. A mathematical proof is considered beautiful of it is
short and elementary, not if it is long and requires higher mathematics.
Unlike the stereotype, most mathematicians do not work alone.
Mathematicians usually discuss their ideas with each other, and interact
with scientists in other fields to find problems to solve and applications
of their work. Mathematicians also rely on each other's results. Almost
all mathematics that is currently done relies on the mathematics which has
been developed over the past thousands of years.
Another false stereotype of mathematics is that it does not require
creativity. In fact, any mathematical problem requires a high degree of
creativity to solve. If a method of solution is already known, the problem
is considered already solved, and no mathematician is necessary to solve it.
Mathematics is also considered by many people to be useless in the real
world for anything other than teaching mathematics. This is completely
false in that almost all the technological advancements which have occurred
over the past several hundred years have been direct or indirect results of
new fields of mathematics.
These false and destructive stereotypes of mathematics and of mathematicians
are the result of the way that children are taught math in our society.
Math consists of several aspects: a set of concepts which have been
developed and understood over the years, the creation of new concepts and
the further development of old ones, the application of these concepts to
problems in real life, and a set of algorithms which have been developed to
manipulate these concepts. Although all of these aspects are essential to
mathematics, the last is the only one which children encounter early in
school, and therefore is the one which shapes their view of mathematics.
When children are very young, we attempt to teach them algorithms for
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In these early years,
a child is not well suited to memorize lots of facts and to learn to follow
algorithms precisely. It is no wonder that it takes children many years to
learn these simple operations. Until the end of elementary school,
children's only exposure to what they call "math", is countless hours of
drilling and repetition of a few standard exercises. They learn that math
is boring, non-creative, done alone, and involves only following instructions.
In middle and high school, more concepts are presented to the student, but
they too are presented in a "this is how you do it" manner. The student is
encouraged to take the path of least resistance. Instead of trying to
understand the concepts and to solve problems on his own, he simply
memorizes the formulas and algorithms which are placed in front of him. He
soon gets the idea that math primarily involves memorizing formulas and
plugging numbers into them. He usually quits learning math in disgust
before ever being asked to solve a problem using creative thought.
Although it is not usually done, it is possible to teach young children
higher mathematical concepts, to teach them to solve problems creatively,
and to teach them to apply mathematics to the real world. Asking a child a
question such as "if x plus one is six, what is x?" teaches him the basic
concept of algebra, yet does not require him to know how to do long
division, multiplication, addition of large numbers, or any of the many
other things that a child is usually taught before algebra. Similarly,
other concepts such as fractions, probability, and some aspects of geometry
can be taught before many algorithms of arithmetic computation. Teaching
children these concepts early on has many advantages. It allows them to
learn them while they are still young and most receptive to new concepts, it
gives them the idea that there is more to mathematics than arithmetic, and
it keeps them from complete boredom at the hands of arithmetic drills.
Another possible technique in teaching children real mathematics is to give
them simple brain teasers and logic puzzles. Such exercisers in creative
logical problem solving have much more in common with the work of
mathematicians than do repetitive exercises in arithmetic.
Unfortunately, our societal traditions preclude us from teaching children
creative mathematical thinking in school. We have the fixed idea that 90%
is an "A" and is good, and 60% is a "D" and is bad. Anything less than 50%
is inconceivable. We expect children in school to always be able to solve
more than half of the problems that they encounter. In creative problem
solving it is very likely not to be able to solve a problem. Real
mathematicians could not even hope to attempt, let alone solve half the
problems they encounter. They work on problems which they are not sure
whether they can solve, and are delighted to achieve any results. When
children in school do not attempt or solve a vast majority of the questions
they are asked, we assume there must be something wrong. We therefore avoid
giving them questions requiring any original or creative thought.
We also cling to other obsolete traditions. In earlier times, when
elementary school students often did not go on to middle school and high
school, and when it was a necessary skill to be able to do arithmetic
quickly and accurately in the absence of calculators, it was necessary to
spend elementary school teaching kids algorithms for arithmetic
calculations. Instead of realizing that these conditions no longer apply,
we have made the ability to perform arithmetic calculations our gauge for
measuring the success of mathematical education in elementary school. We
are unwilling to accept any decrease in this traditional measure of
education, and are willing to sacrifice practicality and children's interest
in math to maintain it.
If we are to correct the false impression of mathematics in our society, we
must begin to teach children mathematics, not arithmetic computation under
the name of mathematics. We must forget our educational traditions of
teaching only arithmetic at a young age, and of requiring children to answer
correctly almost all of the questions that they encounter. To expose to
children the true nature and beauty of mathematics, it is necessary to
expose them to many fields of math at an early age, and to give them the
opportunity to practice creative logical problem solving. If our schools
can do this, they may start to produce mathematicians, instead of very
expensive calculators.
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