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The Nepal Digest Wed Nov 19, 1997: Mangshir 6 2054BS: Year6 Volume68 Issue 2
Today's Topics:
Re: Separation of Powers?
Literacy project for Nepal's women
Nepali Magazine Boom
Nepal Summer Program at Miami University
Sports News: World Cup 98
Humor: BG meets Satan
******************************************************************************
* TND (The Nepal Digest) Editorial Board *
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* The Nepal Digest: General Information tnd@nepal.org *
* Chief Editor: Rajpal JP Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* (Open Position) *
* Columnist: Pramod K. Mishra pkm@acpub.duke.edu *
* Sports Correspondent: Avinaya Rana avinayar@touro.edu *
* Co-ordinating Director - Australia Chapter (TND Foundation) *
* Dr. Krishna B. Hamal HamalK@dist.gov.au *
* Co-ordinating Director - Canada Chapter (TND Foundation) *
* Anil Shrestha SHRESTHA@CROP.UOGUELPH.CA *
* SCN Correspondent: Open Position *
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* Rabi Tripathi, Prakash Bista tnd@nepal.org *
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* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
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* "Heros are the ones who give a bit of themselves to the community" *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
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Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 12:53:41 -0600
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
From: Rupesh Pradhan
Subject: Re: Separation of Powers?
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nepal
I agree with Joel's statement that Nepal should not go for a "presidential
system", and I also agree with him in that the nature of a parliamentary
system requires the legislative and the executive powers to be
"co-dependent". However, in the present political setup in Nepal, these
two powers are not co-dependent, but they are both held ABSOLUTELY by one
single body: the majority party's central committee (MPCC). And this is
where the political instability comes from.
I pointed out in my earlier writings that the combination of our
constitution and the parliamentary regulations de facto hands over both
the legislative and the executive power --NOT TO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE
PARLIAMENT as such-- but to the MPCC The recent anti-defection bill was
the ultimate formalization of this.
One obvious consequence of this is that the opposition party --no matter
how big it is-- has no role to play within the democratic mechanism. They
obviously do not have any executive power (which is understandable), but
hey also do not have any legislative role because both passing and
blocking of any bill in the house is controlled by the MPCC.
As a result, there are only three options for the opposition party to do:
a) sit quietly in the parliament appearing to be quite useless and
powerless until the next elections;
b) try to become the majority by building/destroying coalitions
c) go out to the streets with sticks and stones to show your might
--afterall you have quite a strong popular support!
Choice (a) above is not really a choice. It would be very dumb for any
political party to appear useless and powerless in between elections. That
would be equivalent to nailing your own coffin.
Hence as an opposition, one really has only two choices: (b) and (c).They
try their best to get to power. If they can't, then they go to the streets
with sticks and stones. What else are they supposed to do in a
legal system where they have no role to play IN SPITE of their popular
support as a political force?
No wonder there is so much hunger to be in power among political parties.
Because being out of power means you are totally irrelevant in the
political process even if you have 102 seats in the parliament.
And no wonder there is so much violence. Because if you are out of power,
the only way you can demonstrate your political might is in the
streets....where else?
In summary, I have argued that the two main problems in the current
political scene in Nepal --excessive power hunger and excessive violence--
comes from the fact that there is no constructive role for the opposition
(the party out of power) to play in the political process. This lack of
role for the opposition comes from the fact that our constitution gives
both the legislative and executive roles to an outside non-elected body
(namely the MPCC) which has no DIRECT accountability to the people, and
whose primary duty is to maintain the political might of its party.
(I remember when Nepali Congress tried to implement "one person, one
position" policy on its members after winning the first general elections.
The policy was a failure, because no central committee member wanted to
give up their seat to become a minister....it was obvious that being a
central committee member was much more lucrative thatn being a minister!)
The solution, then, obviously lies in taking these powers away from this
body and giving the executive authority back to the "government" and
legislative authority back to the "parliament" where they should belong.
(And this is what I meant by "independence" in my earlier posting:
independent from the MPCC, and hence a clear demarcation as to which
branch of the political institution should be doing what.)
Whether the nature of this power distribution is "independency" or
"co-dependency" --I really don't care much for words. But law making has
to come from the parliament (where the opposition party can play a role)
and executing them has to come from the government (formed by the majority
party). They cannot be both bundled up together and handed over to the
MPCC.
In my next posting I will attempt to propose some concrete steps that we
can take in order to give the power back to the government and the
parliament. And I will also explain how exactly this will give the
opposition a more constructive role to play in law-making so that the
absolute urgency to be in power and/or to throw stones in the streets is
mitigated to some extent.
Rupesh Pradhan
rupesh_pradhan@unc.edu
As promised earlier, let me try to propose some concrete steps that we can
take to curb the "power hunger" and "political instability" as
demonstrated by political parties in Nepal.
Let me first admit that I am neither a constitutional lawyer nor a
political scientist. Hence whatever I say here will not be
bulletproof...yet my hope is that this will at least lead us to thinking
about the solution more seriously....and not just blame everything on
"irresponsible" politicians without giving a serious thought as to why is
it that these politicians behave so irresponsibly.
Here are my suggestions:
a. Repeal the anti-defection bill.
This bill forces all the lawmakers of a party to always vote according to
what their party central committee dictates. Besides taking the
legislative power away from the parliament and handing it over to the
central committees, this law has the added disadvantage of allowing
lawmakers to be not accountable to their actions. They can always blame
their irresponsible behaviour to their party central committee. This law
also forces the lawmakers to vote against their constituency's desire and
their own conscience whenever they come into conflict with the dictum of
the party central committee.
Worst of all, this law effectively kills all the power the opposition
party may have in influencing and affecting the nature of the bills passed
through the house. The oppostion can never muster enough support or
opposition to a bill by convincing some "moderate" members of majority
party to vote with them. This means there will be no role for the
opposition to play in the House floor....and hence will be forced to go to
the streets every time they want to affect a legislation!
b. Amend the constitution to remove any de jure power given to the
political party central committees.
Political party central committees should be mobilizing their party
resources and supporters to strengthen the party. They should not be given
the de facto role of making laws and running governments. How the
central committee wields its power within a political party should be an
internal matter of the party itself. But as far as the nation's laws and
political setup are concerned, the central committee should have no
*state* roles.
Once this happens, the nations business will be decided by the elected
lawmakers --who have direct accountabilty to their voters-- bargaining and
compromising among themselves. This will encourage much better political
discourse than out-screaming eachother at the Tundikhel Khula Manch, or
out-stoning eachother at Ratna Park.
c. Change the constitution so that except for the Prime-minister, one
cannot both be part of the Mantri-mandal (the executive branch) and a
member of the parliament (legislative branch).
Though this is a very radical suggestion it has several very important
implications for Nepal:
1. It will separate the executive and the legislative powers even
while maintaining its co-dependency through the fact that the
prime-minister comes from the majority party.
2. We can have it such that the parliament needs to approve the
appointment of each minister made by the PM. We can also make it slightly
more difficult to impeach a minister than to aprrove his appointment. This
would allow a minister to take tough decisions which may be slightly
unpopular in the parliament. However, he cannot go overboard because he
risks being impeached (if say more than 60% of the lawmakers decide so) or
he risks bringing down his own boss the PM (if 50% of the lawmakers decide
so.)
3. It will bring more professionalism in the day to day running of
the goernment because a PM can appoint anyone who he thinks will do a
good job and has the qualification to do so. The PM is not limited to
choosing from the pool of current lawmakers as to who should head a
particlar ministry. (We can avoid the situation when Man Mohan Adhikari
had to choose Bharat Mohan Adhikari --who admitted he had no idea about
nation's economics in an interview right after his appointment-- as the
finance minister simply because there was no one else.)
4. This will curb the tendency to "award" ministries to people
with an ability (because every appointment will be scrutinized in the
parliaent).
5. This will curb the practice of offering a ministerial position
in return for a political favor made in the parliament, because for any
paraliamentarian to take up a misistry, he will first have to resign his
position in the house. Right now they can eat their cake and have it
too...which allows such embarassing stupidities as voting against the
government in which oneself is a minister...and then once the vote is
unsuccessful, then continuing to hold on to the misistry!
6. the most important implication of this will be that in spite of
the co-dependency between the government and the parliament, their roles
will be clearly separated and defined by the fact that different people
are responsible for carrying out these different roles.
Of course, as I said, the above suggestions are not bulletproof and can be
refined further: I am not a constitutional lawyer nor a political
scientist....it's just a humble suggestion from a humble person.
Suggestions, criticisms welcome.
Rupesh Pradhan
rupesh_pradhan@unc.edu
******************************************************************
From: himalmag@mos.com.np
To: Nepal@cs.niu.edu
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 21:28:47 +0000
Subject: from Himal in Kathmandu
PRESS RELEASE
First-Timers Bag Top Awards at South Asian Documentary Film Festival
KATHMANDU, Oct 28: South Asia's first documentary film festival
concluded here today, belying initial expectations that Indian films
would corner the top awards. Films from other countries stormed their
way into the final reckoning of the three-member jury which awarded
the prize for the Best Film to The Spirit Does Not Come Anymore, by
Nepal's Tsering Rhitar.
The jury, comprising noted filmmaker Pankaj Butalia from India, well
known theatre, television and film personality Salman Shahid from
Pakistan and journalist and educationist Nalaka Gunawardene of Sri
Lanka, found three such strong contenders for the second best film
category that they decided not to choose between them. Instead they
combined the purse for the second and third prizes and shared it among
the three second best awardees.
Farjad Nabi's Nusrat Has Left the Building - But When? (Pakistan),
Surajit Sarkar and Vani Subramanian's Meals Ready (India) and Anand
Patwardhan's Father, Son and Holy War (India) were declared the Second
Best Films of the three-day Film South Asia festival. (Oct 25-28).
Tareque and Catherine Masud's "Muktir Gaan" (Bangladesh) earned a
Special Mention for "its powerful recreation of an event long
forgotten by the world" - Bangladesh's war of liberation.
All the award-winners were present at the event, although Tsering
Rhitar had to fly out of the country a day before the Jury's selection
was announced.
The Best Film won a purse of USD 2500 along with a trophy and a
citation, while the Second Best Films received USD 833 and a citation
each.
The award-winning films were among the top 15 out of the Festival's
total offering of 54 films that the Jury felt were "good enough to
make the grade at any international documentary film festival."
"We would like to point out that three of the top four awards go to
first films of filmmakers," added the Jury. "This may just be an
expression of a new creativity. Too often, filmmakers to invest the
seriousness and creative energy of their first films in subsequent
ones. We hope this will not continue to be the case."
Over 130 entries were received from all over the region for the
festival, organised by the bi-monthly magazine Himal South Asia. An
unexpectedly high turnout of 45 filmmakers - some of them first-timers
- as well as journalists, from all the documentary filmmaking
countries of the region, helped give the event a truly subcontinental
flavour. The organisers remarked that this was the first such focused
regional meeting of documentaries.
The film festival is a first-time effort by Himal South Asia to fill
the vacuum in the sharing of audio-visual media, other than what is
offered by government and satellite television channels. The link, the
magazine believes, is the term 'South Asia.'
"Since Kathmandu has seized the initiative, we hope it will become a
permanent venue for such a festival," said the Jury. "The independent
South Asian documentary is still in its infancy and needs to be nursed
for some time. Such festivals can go a long way in establishing fora
at which voices from the sub-continent can be heard."
The best 15 films of the Festival will be screened at select venues at
major metropolitan centres of the region. Dixit hopes that at least
some of the filmmakers will be able to accompany the travelling
festival. The next Film South Asia Festival is planned for 1999.
Please note:
Himal South Asia is going monthly in January.
Film South Asia '97 documentary festival is on 25-28 October.
GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977-1-523845, 522113 Fax: 521013
himalmag@mos.com.np
http://www.himalmag.com
Look for Film South Asia '97 at http://www.himalmag.com
***********************************************************
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:50:36 -0500 (EST)
From: Stormer19@aol.com
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: stamps
Hello there; I am a young stamp collector. I have not been able to find very
many used stamps from Nepal. I would love to add some to my album. I want to
ask a great favor. Is it possible you could send me some from friends or
incoming mails? I realize this is an unusual request. I would really delight
me. I want to thank you very much for your time. I hope I am fortunate enough
to hear from you.
sincerely,
Alan Gorton
8409 N.E. 140th Court
Vancouver, Washington 98682
U.S.A.
*****************************************************************
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 22:28:59 GMT
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
From: carin@gn.apc.org (H Brown)
Subject: Contact with a friend, please [Sangye Khan]
Earlier this year I had some contact with Sangye Khan, but unfortunately I have
lost her e-mail address.
Helen Brown
--"All that is necessary for evil to succeed
is for good men to do nothing."
********************************************************************
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 07:30:59 -0500 (EST)
From: Langling@aol.com
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Re: Nepal
Yes, I agree with Rupesh Pradhan. We the people have to work hard. But we
also need good leadership.
Gyurme
******************************************************************
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 23:11:32 -0500 (EST)
From: aiko <gs07aaj@panther.Gsu.EDU>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Literacy project for Nepal's women
I read this on the Net; website is: http://www.cedpa.org/onthemov.html
I was impressed to see that recently, as many as 20,000 Nepali women have
learned to read! The Centre for Development and Population Activities,
based in Washington, D.C., has been responsible for helping to establish a
literacy program for the women of Nepal.
CEDPA, UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund, The Summit Foundation will
help fund a conference in India on child trafficking. Reps from India,
Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Burma, China, the
Maldives, The Philippines and Thailand will be coming on 8 - 10 December,
in Bombay. A Nepali organization(name not given)recently helped 218!
girls escape from Bombay brothels!
What does this all mean for those of us on TND and other electronic
journals, living away from these events and places? It means this: that we
all - Nepalese and non - ARE NOT POWERLESS TO DO ANYTHING IF WE REALLY
WANT TO DO "SOMETHING". It also means this: That this is why I do not
accept the defeatist attitude of some of my Nepali acquaintances, who sit
around moaning and groaning about conditions in Nepal, predicting dire
consequences for that beautiful country; who only look at the negative and
then have the gall to contemptuously dismiss anyone who wants - or is
trying - to do some good for the people. I recently had an acquaintance
who returned to Nepal after many years away, and the first thing he did
was to write a letter for the Nepalese guys still here, in the city where
I live, telling them to not to bother coming back, that things were bad,
Kathmandu was polluted, dirty, etc., etc.; in short, in his depressed
state of mind, all he could do was to dwell on the negative aspects and
not appreciate any of the beauty or joy of being back in the land of his
boyhood. He had wanted to cut a swath here in the US, but the pressures
and temptations were too much for him to resist, and he was returned home
with nothing to show for his years away.
On the other hand, there are encouraging things like the wonderful group I
have become acquainted with who are doing what they can to preserve the
culture and spirit of Nepal. Made up of students and professionals, they
do their best to organize activities to keep alive Nepal - especially for
the second generation who have probably been born and rasied here in the
US, and who only visit Nepal once a year or once every two years. From
what I can tell, they show no contempt for their country, nor
embarrassment either. They are proud to be Nepalese. Families are
involved as well, and that's important. If Nepali families who have
established themselves in various parts of the country, don't help and
encourage single young Nepalese, who else do these young men and women
have to turn to? It seems my area does not do much at all for the small
community. To be sure, there are get-togethers, but other than those,
there is no cohesive movement to really show concern for the young
students who are here. Many have dropped out of school for lack of funds,
and some have never returned; working instead at jobs that will never make
them rich(if that is indeed their goal); nor are they career-track jobs.
It's a cause for celebration when a young student does manage to continue
his studies and work as well. We have a few, though not many.
I certainly hope that wonderful couple in Ohio is still continuing their
efforts at keeping alive Nepali language and culture! Good things are
heard about the community in the Boston area and out on the West Coast.
Is the South the only place that seems lacking in comparison?
My contention is this: If FOREIGNERS are willing to go to Nepal and "do
good", why not the native Nepali? A Swiss woman has been instrumental in
founding homes for street children of Kathmandu. With the help of
dedicated Nepalese, she trains the children in some sort of crafts or
other job skills; she educates them, feeds them, and clothes them. She
doesn't force them to stay if they don't want to. All she does is try to
help them as best she can, to help them get some advantage to help them
ease into an adult world easier when the time comes. An American doctor
and his doctor-wife have been in Nepal since 1969! first working among the
Gurung, establishing several small clinics and a hospital. He experienced
much hardship and frustration, but he NEVER GAVE UP because HE CARED FOR
NEPAL AND ITS PEOPLE! He is still there. Why does an AMERICAN DOCTOR
have to be the one to administer to the Nepali people, who are in
DESPARATE NEED of doctors, and why are Nepali doctors coming to the US
where there are TOO MANY DOCTORS!! What's wrong with this picture?
When my graduate study is complete, I will take my Master's degree, go to
Nepal and study for a Ph.D and work to help the women there, as well as
the exploited women of India and Bangldesh. I know there are dedicated
Nepalese over there who will be more than willing to help me. With the
help of my Nepali colleagues, I will bring dignity and hope back into the
lives of girls and women of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. I will not let
corrupt politicians, corrupt government, dirt, pollution, disease, hate,
apathy, contempt, or fear get the best of me. This is why foreigners go
to nepal because underneath the heartache, the dirt, the crime, the
poverty, they see hope, beauty, something worth preserving; they see HUMAN
BEINGS who deserve to have a chance.
On a final note: for me, maybe it's all about the grip Nepal has had on me
since childhood, when I first saw photos of the imposing Himalayas, the
terraced rice fields that looked so much like "my" Japan, the forbidding,
windswept borders of Tibet. . . .The southern area of Asia has always held
a fascination for me, and at last I have a chance to go and experience it,
while at the same time, I can be a tiny part of helping to preserve it(not
like a mummy is preserved), but "preserved" in the sense that its
uniqueness is not taken away or lost, even as it moves towards the 21st
Century to an uncertain future. But then, the entire globe is headed for
an uncertain future. . . .?!?
Aiko A. Joshi
gs07aaj@panther.gsu.edu
Master's degree candidate, GSU
****************************************************************
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 18:29:54 +0545 (NPT)
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
From: sinhas@mos.com.np (Pratyoush Onta)
Subject: Nepali Magazine Boom
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 7 Nov 1997
The Politics of Knowledge
Noticing the Magazine Boom
by Pratyoush Onta
When I discussed the state of the Nepali language print media in Nepal with
several journalists and media watchers in mid-1996, quite a few of them
predicted that the next major boom would come in the genre of magazines.
They were not referring to cinema or other 'entertainment' magazines,
available in significant numbers in the Nepali media market over the last
five years or so. They were referring to magazines whose contents would
consist of general news and views. Some eighteen months later, we are
beginning to see the results of the early phase of that boom. An
unprecedented number of Nepali language magazines have hit the newstands in
recent months even as some old ones (also some new ones) have ceased
publication. Hence it is not too early to take a look at this growth.
Among the magazines that have been part of this boom, we can find such
titles: Chandani, Grihajyoti, Everest Mirror, Golardha, Udgam, Sucharu, Him
Sikhar, Yuba Spandan, Manobinod, Jana Apeksa, Karma Chetra, Naya Chintan,
Ubhar, Pokhara Masik, Naya Parbat , Sarbottam and Samiksa. Pitching
themselves as magazines that cover various aspects of the social field,
their contents include materials of various genres. However, most lack both
the length and depth necessary for serious analytic coverage of any
subject. In this regard, Prasphutan (lately irregular), Kathmandu Today
('fortnightly' but published once a month on average) and Himal
(bimonthly) do a better job. These relatively more serious magazines,
however, are yet to become financially fully solvent.
The boom market can also be seen in the variously 'left' magazines. After
the demise of the very popular monthly Surya - whose circulation had
surpassed the 20,000 mark - we saw Paurakh in late 2052 B.S. About a year
later, we saw the monthlyEkkaisau Satabdi in the market. Associated
respectively with the left weeklies Chalphal and Pratipaksa (the latter
until Bimal Nibha's team took over the weekly), these two magazines are
seen to be close to different factions within the CPN-UML. Naulo Aayam, a
bimonthly, closely forwards the cause of Comrade Rohit's left party and
supplements the work of the older monthly Bhaktapur , published by the
Bhaktapur Municipality. Janajibro ,Janakranti and Nawa Chetana (formerly
Naya Chetana) along with party magazinesJana-Youddha, Jana-Morcha and
Maobadi are tied closely with CPN-Maobadi. Sikhar sympathizes with the
left between the UML and CPN-Maobadi. Janaghosana, which could be
associated with the left magazine brigade, has not been seen in the market
since its three issues in 2053 B.S. None in this group, however, matches
the regularity and circulation of the very successful monthly Mulyankan,
noteworthy (in addition to its feature articles on the communist movement)
for its serious treatment of subjects such as water resources, health,
globalization and Nepali culture.
Magazines that focus on special subjects include Aarthik Darpan, a monthly
that deals with the economy. Grahak claims to be an informative magazine
aimed toward industrialists, businesspeople and consumers but I have seen
only one issue of it thus far. Haka-Haki, a quarterly, is devoted to
development-related subjects and is targeted to 'field workers'. Its layout
is excellent and the contents of the three issues published thus far add to
discussions on this theme fould in the five-year old semi-annual Bikas
(published by Sustainable Livelihood Forum). Prachi, published by INSEC for
the past six years, continues to highlight issues related to human rights.
The five issues of Kanun, a bi-monthly that looks at various subjects from
the legal perspective, make for excellent reading. Asmita continues to
highlight women's and gender issues in Nepal even under severe financial
constraints.Bidushi covers these fields much more irregularly. To cover
environmental issues, there is theYuba Jagaran Paryavaraniya Manch which
claims to be a monthly but has been published very irregularly. Equally
irregular is the Gorkha Sainik Awaj which voices the concerns of former and
serving Gurkha soldiers.Aabriti made a brief appearance as a science
magazine in 1994, and the field it vacated remains empty to date. Nepali
sports lovers can choose between New Sports Time, a monthly, and Khel
Sansar, a bimonthly. Various ethnic magazines (for lack of a better term)
have also been published but they will be discussed in a separate write-up.
With respect to children's magazines, the monthly Nawa Pratibha edited by
Radha Budhathoki Magar (one of the few woman editors in Nepal) hit the
stands earlier this year. It will have to do a lot of catching up if it is
to be a serious competitior to the most widely read children's magazine in
the country, Muna, now in its eighth year of publication from the
Gorkhapatra Sansthan and Sunakesra, a seven-year old children's magazine.
Sansthan's popular 'youth' magazine, the ten-year old monthly Yuba Manch,
however, has seen its circulation come down quite drastically in the past
two years in part because of the huge success of Nawa Yuba , another
youth-focused monthly. A product of Antarkriya Prakashan - the same
organization that publishesMulyankan - Nawa Yuba has reached the 25,000
mark in less than two years, proving yet again that cheap entertainment and
sexual gossip of the Nepali 'glamour' world are not necessarily what young
readers want to read.
As far as magazines that have died or almost disappeared are concerned, I
regret not seeing any further issues of the quarterly,Naya Paribes . In the
three issues that were published in 2053 B.S., it showed lots of potential
as a good reportage and views magazine. Similarly I regret the
disappearance of Sampada, which in the first two issues that I saw did a
good job of reminding ourselves of our human and material heritage. Among
politics-oriented fortnightlies, the early demise of Paribes, Saramsha and
Bishwamitra must be noted. Also missed are Sachet and Smriti .
I am sure that I have failed to list several other magazines. A single
person can hardly keep track of all the publications that have been part of
this Nepali language magazine boom. To mark the moment, however, we can
make some general observations. First this boom has come in the wake of
explosive quantitative growth in all sectors of the Nepali media and is
facilitated by the increasingly affordable technologies of desktop
publishing. Second, most of these magazines use photos without giving
proper credits. Third, there is a preponderence of thought-pieces in these
publications. Gorkhe propensity to deliver one's unresearched opinion on
various subjects explains this phenomenon from the point of view of writers
whereas the easy way in which bichar pieces can fill up the magazine's
pages explains it from the editorial perspective.
Fourth, the contents of many of the magazine articles - their brevity and
superficiality - are testimony to our current general inability to use the
Nepali language for serious analysis of our society. This inability arises
not because of inherent linguistic difficulties but because of structural
and individual constraints inside the media sector in Nepal. Institutional
support - both in terms of material and monetary resources and incentives -
can hardly be found from publishing organizations that are usually in a
hurry to put out magazine copies, but have no time to develop such
necessary resources. Individual constraints generally result from no or
poor training in journalistic technologies of writing and close to zero
exposure to the analytic methods, styles and contents of social scientic
inquiry. Nepal's higher education disaster and the inability of the few
journalism training programs to give individual attention to trainees
ensure poor analytic abilities in our journalists (this malaise is present
across all sectors of the social field).
Despite these criticism, one must note that in the various magazines
currently available, there is a fair amount of good reading materials for
serious readers who are willing to do some amount of shopping. Hence, it is
not too much to suggest that any prescriptions regarding what needs to be
done in this genre of the media must be based on a close reading of the
current crop of magazines and a close familiarity with concurrent
developments in the media sector in Nepal. It has become all too easy on
the part of various commentators to make fun of the Nepali language media
without sufficient familiarity with the contents of these various
publications and without demonstrated constructive engagement necessary for
improvements in this field. The preliminary exercise begun here needs to be
continued by others elsewhere in more depth. Moreover our media
organizations and journalists need to engage in capacity building exercises
(in terms of institutional resources and personal skills) if the quantity
boom is to be accompanied by a boom in respectable quality of our
magazines.
*********************************************************************
Date: Nove 13, 1997
To: The Nepal Digest
From: Aiko A. Joshi
Subject: [B95: ] IWTC Globalnet #99 (fwd)
Please make a special note of the work being done in Nepal regarding the
oppression against girls and women. There is a website also that gives
more details regarding the insidious trafficking of Nepali girls, as well
as the disgusting practices of some tour operators.
If half of humankind is not treated with the same dignity and equality as
the male half of humanity, how can we hope to survive as COMPLETE humans
into the 21st century! This is not a problem that can be swept under the
rug, or dismissed. This is a problme not only in Nepal and other Asian
countries, but industrialized nations are just as callous towards the
female half of their populations. Perhaps not to the extent as some more
traditionally-minded nation-states; nevertheless, oppression - which takes
all forms not necessarily always the more obvious ones - affects ALL women
GLOBALLY, but in varying degrees.
Please email your protest via the website provided for Nepal. Do it for
your peoples!
\
Aiko A. Joshi
gs07aaj@panther.gsu.edu
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 15:56:58 -0800 (PST)
From: International Women's Tribune Centre <iwtc@igc.org>
Reply-To: beijing95-l@netcom.com
To: beijing95-l@netcom.com
Subject: [B95: ] IWTC Globalnet #99
IWTC GLOBALNET #99
WOMEN'S INITIATIVES AND ACTIVITIES WORLDWIDE
by Anne S. Walker
International Women's Tribune Centre,
777 United Nations Plaza,
New York, NY 10017,
Tel: (1-212) 687-8633.
Fax: (1-212) 661-2704.
e-mail: iwtc@igc.apc.org
November 7, 1997
WOMEN DEMONSTRATE AGAINST ECONOMIC POLICIES IN
PHILIPPINES, AFGHAN WOMEN'S NETWORK, GLOBAL
STRATEGY TO COMBAT CHILD LABOUR, CAMPAIGN AGAINST
SEX TRAFFICKING IN NEPAL, NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
WOMEN'S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA, NEW WOMEN, INK. BOOKS
Philippines women's group protests government economic
policies: Gabriela, a national alliance of women's organizations in
the Philippines, staged a cooking rally in downtown Manila on
October 22nd to dramatize its protest against the government's
economic policies and to demand higher wages. The women built
a makeshift kitchen and portrayed the President of the Philippines
as the chef "cooking up anti-poor policies" with such ingredients
as: increases in oil prices, devaluation of the currency, and anti-
labour laws. For more information, contact: Gabriela, P.O. Box
4386, Manila 22800, Philippines. Fax: (63-2) 9224-6901. E-mail:
<gab@mnl.sequel.net>.
Afghan Women's Network (AWN) established: Four Afghani
women participated in the Beijing meetings, and came back to
form this network. Groups were set up in Islamabad, Peshawar,
Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. The Kabul network ceased to exist
after the Taliban took over. Women from AWN report that the
situation in Afghanistan continues to decline. There are now more
than 5 million Afghan refugees, 2 million of these internally
displaced. The AWN has asked the United Nations: 1) To appoint
a woman to the UN Peace Mission to Afghanistan; 2) to appoint a
permanent representative on Afghanistan; 3) to encourage UN
agencies to take a unified approach towards Afghanistan; and 4)
to have the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women visit
Afghanistan to collect information for her next report on women
and armed conflict. CORRECTION. In Faxnet 98, we mistakenly
said that Kandahar was an Iranian town. It is a town in
Afghanistan. We apologize for the error.
Conference to seek global strategy for combating child labour: A
40-nation, ministerial conference was held in Oslo, Norway from
27-30 October 1997 to develop a global strategy to combat child
labour amid mounting concern for some 250 million children who
work in exploitative and hazardous conditions and face injury,
illness and even death. The conference was called by the
Government of Norway, in collaboration with ILO and UNICEF.
For more information, contact: Communication Section, UNICEF
at fax: (41-22) 909-55-09 (Geneva) or (1-212) 326-7506 (New
York).
E-mail campaign to stop rape and sexual harassment of women
in Nepal and India: An international grass roots organizing
campaign is now up and running, targeted at the sex trafficking of
women and girls from Nepal to the brothels of India, as well as
rape and sexual harassment of women tourists by tour guides in
Nepal. An interactive web site has been created both as a
resource and a point of direct action on these issues. The web
site is at: <http://blue-fox.com/nepal/sexh-tour.html>
Sixth National Conference on Women's Movements, 28-30
December 1997, Ranchi, Bihar, INDIA:
This conference is planned as an open forum for women from all
women's movements across India to share experiences of
campaigns fought, victories won and lessons learnt. The three
central themes are Displacement of Women, Increasing Violence
Against Women and the Anti-Woman Character of the State. For
further information, contact: Leo Fernandez, Jagori C 54, South
Extension Part II, New Delhi 110 054, India. Tel: (91-11) 642-
7015 or 645-3629. E-mail: <leo@unv.ernet.in>
New supplement adds 24 new titles to Women, Ink. collection:
Women, Ink.-the world's largest distributor of gender and
development resources-has just added 24 new books covering a
range of topics, from African feminism to trafficking in women to
participatory video. A new category-women and the internet-
features two guides to the world wide web specifically aimed at
women. There are also two new titles in Spanish. To receive a
free copy of the supplement, contact Women, Ink at: Fax: (1-212)
661-2704 or e-mail: <wink@womenink.org> or visit our website:
<http://www.womenink.org>.
******************************************************************
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 97 15:23:42 -0700
From: "kkthapa.UOP" <kkthapa.oramail@apollogrp.edu>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: On the humeros side by Kabindra Thapa
Could it be real?
The following recently appeared in the news letter published by the Apollo
Group. Inc. in Phoenix, AZ.
Newsflash.....
REDMOND, Wash. - Oct. 21, 1997 -- In direct response to accusations
made by the Department of Justice, the Microsoft Corp. announced today
that it will be acquiring the federal government of the United States
of America for an undisclosed sum. "It's actually a logical extension
of our planned growth", said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, "It really
is going to be a positive arrangement for everyone".
Microsoft representatives held a briefing in the oval office of the
White House with U.S. President Bill Clinton, and assured members of the
press that changes will be "minimal". The United States will be managed
as a wholly owned division of Microsoft. An initial public offering is
planned for July of next year, and the federal government is expected
to be profitable by "Q4 1999 at latest", according to Microsoft president
Steve Ballmer.
In a related announcement, Bill Clinton stated that he had "willingly
and enthusiastically" accepted a position as a vice president with
Microsoft, and will continue to manage the United States government,
reporting directly to Bill Gates. When asked how it felt to give up the
mantle of executive authority to Gates, Clinton smiled and referred to
it as "a relief". He went on to say that Gates has a "proven track
record", and that U.S. citizens should offer Gates their "full support
and confidence". Clinton will reportedly be earning several times the
$200,000 annually he has earned as U.S. president, in his new role at
Microsoft.
Gates dismissed a suggestion that the U.S. Capitol be moved to Redmond
as "silly", though did say that he would make executive decisions for
the U.S. Government frower taxes, increases in
government services and discounts on all Microsoft products.
About Microsoft:
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
e, each designed with the mission of making it easier and
more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of
personal computing and free society every day .
About the United States:
Founded in 1789, the United States of America is the most successful
nation in the history of the world, and has been a beacon of democracy
and opportunity for over 200 years. Headquartered in Washington, D.C.,
the United States is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft
Corporation.
***********************************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************************
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 18:30:38 -0500
From: Art Jipson <jipsonaj@casmail.muohio.edu>
To: tnd@nepal.org
Subject: Nepal Summer Program at Miami University
If it is possible can you pass
this along to the Nepal list. We are trying to disseminate information
about our Nepal Summer Program. Thank you.
-Art Jipson
jipsonaj@muohio.edu
Nepal Summer Program
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio
The Sociology of the Third-World: Experience Nepal Sociology Summer
program at Miami University-Ohio has been an ongoing effort for over
five years. Each Summer the course gives students a chance to not just
read about a non-Western culture but to experience it directly. This
program is a six-week, eight credit course that runs from mid-May to
Early July.
The course is designed to enable student to gain positive experience
and knowledge outside of the conventional classroom. Students travel
to Kathmandu, Nepal where they gain an understanding and appreciation
of the social, cultural, and political experience and organization of a
non-Western culture. The course is conducted in one of South Asia's
most ancient and traditional societies. Along with the development of
Nepali language skills, the course will provide the student with an
in-depth overview through coursework, lecture, and field experience of
Nepali culture, history, and society. Part of the program includes a
field placement with a Nepali family after language and culture
training. The first week of the program includes a research hike in
the Himalaya mountain chain to address the ecological diversity of
Nepal.
The program is
constructed, implemented, and administered by Dr. Janardan Subedi with
the services of academic assistants. Classes taught include language,
anthropology, and sociology of Nepal in Kathmandu. To fully appreciate
the experience, Nepali language instruction is a crucial component of
the course. Student-to-language instructor ratios are purposely kept
small and intense. Students are expected to complete a research
project on Nepal from the topic of their choice in consultation with
the academic staff. Depending on the student's research topic, field
work and research options will focus on attaining data through a
variety of research strategies including various forms of observation,
archival, as well as traditional research methods.
Application deadlines are late December for Summer 1998 and January
1999 for Summer 1999. Students who wish to take part this year must
contact the organizers by December 30, 1997!
Payment of the travel fees is due to the organizers or the sociology
department around January. And the checks should be made out to Miami
University. Please note that it is for the Nepal program on the check.
The remainder of the fee is due in April.
Dr. Janardan Subedi and Dr. Art Jipson escort you to Nepal. We make
all of the travel arrangements. A particpant needs a passport and a
hepatitus vaccination. We take care of your visa - you send us the
processing fee, a picture, and a completed visa form with your
passport.
If interested or for more information, please contact:
Dr. Janardan Subedi or Dr. Art Jipson
Department of Sociology, Gerontology, and Anthropology
375 Upham Hall
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2637 (office)
513-529-2628 (dept)
513-529-8525 (fax)
jipsonaj@muohio.edu
Or review the program's web page at
http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~Nepalcwis/nepal.htmlx
Art Jipson
Department of Sociology, Gerontology, and Anthropology
Upham Hall, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2637 (o)
513-529-8525 (f)
jipsonaj@muohio.edu
Me: http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson
NCSA: http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson/NCSA.htmlx
Connells: http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson/connells.htmlx
*********************************************************
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 10:06:04 -0500 (EST)
From: "Avinaya S. Rana" <avinayar@touro.edu>
To: tnd@nepal.org
Subject: World Cup 98
SPORTS NEWS FROM AVI
+++++++++++++++++++
22 Countries have already qualified for FRANCE 98
Mexico
South Korea
Scotland
Austria
Holland
Denmark
Germany
England
Spain
Colombia
Argentina
Bulgaria
Paraguay
Norway
Romania
Cameroon
SouthAfrica
Tunisia
Morocco
Nigeria
Brazil
France
The First Asia Country Qualify For
France 98.
=======================================================================
21st Qualifier
AFC ( Asia)
The Country | The Road to FRANCE98 | The Team | Honours | Coach
Land area:
99 314 km
Population:
44 8500 000
Capital:
Seoul
Main cities:
Pusan, Yangyang
System of government:
Republic
Head of state:
Kim Young-sam
Currency:
Won
Time difference:
7 h ahead Paris
6 September 97
South Korea- Kazakhstan
3-0
12 September 97
South Korea- Uzbekistan
2-1
28 September 97
Japan - South Korea
1-2
4 October 97
South Korea - UAE
3-0
11 October 97
Kazakhstan - South Korea
1-1
18 October 97
Uzbekistan - South Korea
1-5
16 points
16 goals scored
4 goals conceded
Goalkeeper:
SEO (age 23, 12 caps)
Defenders:
HONG (age 28, 90 caps)
CHOI (age 31, 42 caps)
LEE MS (age 24, 15 caps)
HA (age 29, 76 caps)
Mid-field:
YOO (age 26, 38 caps)
JANG (age 25, 1 caps)
LEE KH (age 23, 13 caps)
LEE SY (age 28, 13 caps)
Strikers:
CHOI (age 24, 15 caps)
KO (age 31, 74 caps)
Number of players used during the qualifying rounds: 31
National team colours: black and red
FIFA ranking (on 16 October 1997): 34th
World Cup: 4 participations (1954, 1986, 1990 and 1994)
CHA BUM-KUN
For his country's fourth consecutive appearance in a World Cup
finals, Cha Bum-Kun has
one thing in mind: to help South Korea gain its first ever victory,
and even to qualify for the
round of sixteen. Since his appointment as team coach in January
1997, Cha Bum-Kun
has instilled strict discipline into his team, as well as working on
his players' conditioning
and mental approach to the game. His ten seasons in the Bundesliga
(at Bayer
Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt) were excellent preparation for
his current job. And so
far, Cha Bum-Kun hasn't lost a single game in a World Cup qualifying
match.
******************************************************************
Subject: Re: Separation of Powers?
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nepal
To: The Nepal Digest
>I appreciate the points Rupesh made in response to my post. I agree, in
>fact, with almost all of them.
>
>I would like to point out, for general clarification of terms, that when I
>refer to a "presidential" system I merely mean any system in which the
>legislative and executive branches are institutionally independent -- that
>is, in which neither one has direct control over the makeup or duration of
>the other. One could have a presidential system where the head of the
>executive branch was called "Prime Minister"; as long as the parliament
>had no power to vote him out, the system would still be "presidential."
>But like I said, this is just a clarification; it doesn't have bearing on
>any of Rupesh's responses.
>
>The crucial area that seized my interest in the remainder of the post was
>what exactly Rupesh sees as being wrong with the MPCCs' monopoly on power.
>Of course, in any multiparty democratic system, the majority party will
>set the agenda for the nation. In theory, every PCC comes up with a party
>platform and explains it to the people; the people vote for their favorite
>platform, thus giving the majority party a democratic mandate to impose
>it. In a parliamentary system, where the majority party also gets to
>nominate the executive leader, one party will almost inevitably end up
>dominating both branches of government. This is an advantage insofar as
>it helps the two branches to work efficiently together. It's a
>disadvantage because it inevitably gives lesser parties a smaller role,
>and tends towards a dangerous centralization of power. However, we
>shouldn't forget that in theory, the majority party has a popular mandate
>to put its policies into practice. If it proves corrupt or ineffective,
>it will be punished by the voters in the next election.
>
>If I understand Rupesh correctly, his problems with the Nepali MPCCs are
>mainly the following: 1. They have complete control over the "passing and
>blocking of legislation." Opposition parties are not only shut out of the
>executive branch, but out of the legislature, where they _should_ be
>allowed to play a role. 2. The primary concern of an MPCC is advancing
>"the political might of its party," not the welfare of the nation. 3.
>Individual members of the MPCCs are reaping significant financial rewards
>from their position.
>
>The first issue is the one I would be most inclined to question. Is it
>really true that the MPCCs have _that_ much power?
>
>None of Nepal's political parties are free of factions or personal
>patronage networks. How often does a true "MPCC" exist -- which is to
>say, how often and how easily can a Party's central committee really claim
>to control a majority of parliamentarians? Girija Prasad's government
>famously fell because not enough NC party members respected the Central
>Committee line. The RPP can't even decide if it has a central committee.
>Worst of all, for the last three governments there's even been more than
>one party involved -- which inevitably means more than one group of party
>czars quarreling over the spoils.
>
>It's true that the various party supremos and general secretaries have
>over-extensive patronage powers. Whenever their party gets into a
>coalition, they start rewarding their friends, family, and political
>allies with government posts, and paying off their business-house
>contributors through "tax breaks" or favorable policies. This is not
>democratic (obviously), and means that too much control is given to
>unelected individuals outside the government structure. I agree with
>Rupesh that independence of the government from such influences is
>crucial.
>
>But I'm not sure if I agree that the party committees really control
>Nepali government. Look at our most recently concluded example. Bam Dev
>Gautam's abuse of the patronage system was blatant... he was, as I recall,
>notorious for shutting his enemies out of power while bringing in people
>like Narahari Sangraula (the venal panchayat police officer). Yet he
>could hardly take a single step without fierce criticism from both the
>Nepal faction of his party and Man Mohan Adhikari (who opposed the
>coalition government on issues ranging from Sangraula's appointment to the
>anti-terrorism bill). Gautam's own party was continually blocking him --
>and now that he's out of power, he's accusing his fellow party bosses of
>sabotage. In this case, who _was_ the party central committee? Was
>Gautam a part of it or not? And if the UML can't be said to be
>controlling the Chand coalition, then who was?
>
>The evidence just doesn't seem to support the claim that the party central
>committees have a sweeping control over all the laws that are passed and
>executed. Various individuals from the majority party are able to exert a
>great deal of influence, but they are invariably opposed by other equally
>powerful figures within their own party. In these circumstances, I'm not
>sure it's accurate to talk about the power of central committees. Rather,
>I would argue that Nepali politics are dominated by strong individuals,
>who are only loosely tied within party structures, and whose supporters
>_never_ amount to a majority. These individual figures -- the Thapas and
>Koiralas and Gautams of Nepali politics -- have to constantly make allies
>with other individuals in order to maintain power, and alliances _within
>their own parties_ are often the hardest to make. If you want to gauge
>their support, you can't just count all the MPs from their party... you
>have to be sure you know how many support them personally.
>
>Seen in this light, the anti-defection bill didn't serve as the final
>clincher on a MPCC monopoly on power. It was a somewhat desperate attempt
>to diminish individual authority and give authority back to the parties...
>which is at least a step closer to putting authority into the democratic
>institutions, where it was intended. However, the parties in power have
>minimal interest in enforcing it.
>
>Nepal seems to me to be a country where, as the moment, no one is really
>able to exert control. Not the elected government, not the unelected
>party committees, and not even the party czars. This is essentially
>because, as Rupesh correctly points out, the government institutions have
>been hijacked by forces without democratic accountability. But I think
>these forces are less unified and less effective than the label "MPCC"
>gives them credit for.
>
>The question of accountability brings me to the second objection: that the
>MPCCs are interested only in party advantage rather than national
>advantage. Of course, the whole point of a democratic system is that the
>"political might" of a party ought to be contingent on whether or not the
>people believe it is helping them. If a party is not working toward the
>national advantage, it can expect to be voted out when elections roll
>around. Thus, out of self-interest, the party will try to further the
>interests of the nation.
>
>The most obvious problem with this in Nepal is the problem of election
>irregularities. If a party believes it can win by intimidating voters,
>stuffing ballot boxes, or postponing elections in certain districts, it
>will probably do so, rather than go through the much more difficult
>process of actually mending the country's economic ills. The Election
>Commission needs to be given teeth, as countless voices have been advising
>for years. A second problem is widespread popular disillusionment... the
>Nepali people have now seen every major party take its turn in power and
>accomplish next to nothing. Finally, there is always the problem (still
>prevalent in most advanced democracies) that some party may be able to
>convince the people that they have helped the country, when in fact their
>policies have accomplished little or nothing. The UML seems to be fairly
>capable of pulling off this kind of populist propaganda... whether they
>can back it up with real economic development remains to be seen. In
>either case, this behavior is a dodge which reduces accountability.
>
>The connection between electoral success and sound socio-economic policy
>has to be firmly established, or parties (and politicians) will continue
>to act without concern for undemocratic consequences.
>
>Again, challenges are welcome. Thanks to everyone who read and responded
>to my last posting.
>
>Joel Hafvenstein
>jhaven@minerva.cis.yale.edu
>
>
****************************************************************
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 13:09:16 -0600
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Forwarded by: RJ Singh <rjsingh@tis.com>
Subject: Bill Gates meets Satan
>
>"Wiiiiilliam Gaaaates..."
>
> "Oh, hi, Satan. What's up downstairs?"
>
>"It's tiiiiime..."
>
> "Yeah, but we're still debugging Memphis, and Ballmer swears
> he'll wipe out Adobe before lunch, and Melinda wants to change
> the tile in the third-floor kitchen again, and..."
>
>"Sorry, Bill. I've given you too many extensions already, not
> to mention the Oracle8 launch event disaster, not to mention
> Steve Jobs' head on a platter."
>
> "Yeah, that was a good one. I think you enjoy this as much as I..."
>
>"Regardless, a deal's a deal. Your soul is mine, Bill Gates.
> And today is the day you pay your eternal debt to me."
>
> "Now, let's be reasonable here, Satan..."
>
>"Reasonable?!? You want reasonable?!? You're the richest man
> in the world! You've got a beautiful wife and daughter!
> Microsoft is the most powerful company on the planet! We're even
> using NT to run hell's WAN server! And frankly, it sucks.
> That's one of the reasons I've come to collect. If you can't get
> my network to run right, you'll spend the afterlife writing
> Windows applications that run on doorbells..."
>
> "What's your alternative, Satan? Netware? AppleTalk? OS/2?
> You're a funny guy for someone who breathes fire."
>
>"Well, God is porting all his heaven-critical applications to Java..."
>
> "Java?!? Stop it, Satan. You're going to make me wet my pants
> again like that time you told me to buy Novell for $50 a share."
>
>
>"Yes, Java, running on Sun servers, IBM plumbing and Oracle
> databases with thin clients accessing the apps via the web
> through Netscape Navigator."
>
> "That's not a solution, that's one of those Grimm's fairy tales
> that scare children to death. I have yet to see an NC actually
> being used to do anything except crash during demonstrations.
> Look, Java is a nice little language for animating web sites, but
> Shockwave after too many espressos isn't going to displace
> Windows as an applications platform on hundreds of millions of PCs."
>
>"Nevertheless, Java is the future of computing, and I'll be damned if
> I'm going to give God a strategic technology advantage!"
>
> "Satan, what if I told you I could kill off Java with a single word?"
>
>"Interesting. Tell me more."
>
> "Wait a minute. What's in it for me?"
>
>"I promise I won't turn you into Larry Ellison's bidet right this second."
>
> "Okay, that works for me. Here's the word...disable."
>
>"Disable what?"
>
> "Disable Java support in Internet Explorer."
>
>"You mean Microsoft's web browser won't run Java anymore?"
>
> "That's right, brimstone breath. You want to run Java, give
> Netscape 50 bucks per seat and pray that IBM doesn't buy the
> company to merge Communicator with Lotus Notes."
>
>"The Department of Justice will..."
>
> "Will what? Punish me because I won't support a product my
> enemies want to use to destroy my company? Chevrolet dealers
> don't have to sell Fords. Pepsi's restaurants don't have to
> offer Coke. Why does Microsoft have to support Java?"
>
>"It's an industry standard..."
>
> "It's an industry hallucination."
>
>"There will be a public outcry..."
>
> "From who? Network managers? MIS? The CIO? They're up to
> their nosehairs in Cobol getting ready for January 1, 2000.
> To them, Java is still a cute word for coffee."
>
>"What about all those spiffy applets on thousands of web sites?"
>
> "Microsoft owns 100 percent of the Apple and Windows preload
> market for browsers, and our overall share has gone from zero to
> half in two years. It's a safe bet most people will soon use IE
> for web access. If they come to a site that doesn't work because
> of Java, they'll simply jump to the next one. Trust me,
> developers will switch to ActiveX faster than you can say
> 'Playstation.'"
>
>"What about other platforms..."
>
> "Like Intel has competition?"
>
>"Interactive TV..."
>
> "We call it WebTV in Redmond."
>
>"Venture capitalists have invested billions..."
>
> "To get a date with Kim Polese."
>
>"Sun will write a plug-in..."
>
> "Not without the hidden APIs."
>
>"Of all my minions, you are my very favorite, Bill. You may stay."
>
> "Thanks, Satan. Now, about that Exchange license agreement..."
>
***********************************************************
From: Mohan.Amatya@dao.defence.gov.au
To: nepal-request@cs.niu.edu
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 11:02:37 +1000
Subject: Congratulations
Dear Editor
I would much appreciate it if you could please publish in the next issue of
TND the following letter (which
I cc-ed earlier, but it seems to have lost). The letter relates a good
cause with Dasai activities in Canberra,
however, requires the following corrections:
1. Bharat Pokharel (not Adhikari) of Pokhara, currently at the ANU
Canberra;
2. Mingma Lama (not Sherpa) of Pokhara Tibetan Refugee Camp, who runs the
Tibet Shop in Canberra; and
3. Tenji (not Mingma) and Pam Sherpa of Solu currently settled in
Canberra.
Thanking you in anticipation
Yours etc Mohan
Forwarded by Mohan Amatya/Defence Materiel/AU on
14/11/97 10:50 ---------------------------
Mohan Amatya
22/10/97 15:17
To: dastrek@ozemail.com.au, hamalk@dist.gov.au
cc: nepal-request@cs.niu.edu, gubhaju@un.org
Subject: Congratulations
The President Mohan Das Pradhan and the Secretary Krishna Hamal
Nepal-Australia Friendship Society, Canberra
Dear President and Secretary
In the history of the Nepal-Australia Friendship Association of Canberra, I
think, it was the first time a Dasai Party was organised with a complete
course of Nepalese food prepared by Nepalese volunteers and with an aim at
sending all the profit made from it to an Eye Camp in Nepal under the Fred
Hollow Foundation.
It was a real success, compared to similar parties in the past.
It should be noted that Nepalese food (three dishes) was once served at a
Dasai party when Dr B Gubhaju took the charge of organising it at the Woden
Tradesmen's Club, where the rest of the food served was Indo-Chinese type.
It should also be noted that a similar attempt was made to make some profit
from selling Maw-Maw-Cha and other at the Canberra Multicultural Festival.
However, it was no success at all despite desperate efforts made by Dr
Hamal. I think that was a hard lesson learnt and that really helped to plan
the last Dasai party (held on 19 October) more carefully.
I extend my sincere congratulations to the Association for the success in
the party and for its plan to send the profit to an Eye Camp in Nepal.
I know many people have offered their precious time for the preparation of
food and organising the party. The Nepalese community of Canberra owes its
thanks, in particular, and apart from Mohan Das Pradhan and Krishna Bahadur
& Uma Hamal, to Bharat Adhikari, Govinda Dahal (who suffered bone fracture
on his palm while chasing goats for the party), Anu Lama, Tulsi Mudbari,
Narayani Tiwari, Kusum Sakya, Shubha Sakya among the students at the
Australian National University and Adhikari (Govinda, Pramod and Pradeep)
family and Mingma & Pam Sherpa of Canberra.
I wish Govinda Dahal for his quick recovery, so that he can soon put his
hands on the key-board for his demographic assignments.
I think this success story should serve an inspiration for other Nepalese
groups/associations elsewhere for similar cause.
I would therefore like to request the Nepal Digest to bring it out in its
next edition.
For those who have not heard of Fred Hollow Foundation: It was started by
Professor Fred Hollow of University of Sydney (?) for the benefit of poor
people of the Third World, for the improvement of their eye-sight by
removing cataracts, inserting intra-occular (?) lens and for training in
Australia of doctors from Third World countries etc. The Foundation
currently has three intra-occular lens factories, one each in Nepal,
Vietnam and Eritrea (Africa).
Congratulations once again,
Jai Nepal
Yours etc Mohan
******************************************************************
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 13:17:55 -0600 (CST)
From: neeta <c697082@showme.missouri.edu>
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: request
I'd like to know why many Nepalis do not wish to return to Nepal. We all
more or less know the reasons but I'd like to hear from Nepal
Digest readers. Also, how have they been living/working here
legally/illegally, attending school etc? I will not mention names of those
who do not wish to be quoted.
This is for a short essay for my college newspaper. Please
send your response before Nov 27. You may include reasons
for going back or wanting to go back to Nepal - that would be more
interesting! Thanks!
neeta
c697082@showme.Missouri.edu
*************************************************************
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:53:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Stormer19@aol.com
To: tnd@nepal.org
Subject: stamps
Hello there; I am a young stamp collector. I have not been able to find very
many used stamps from Nepal. I would love to add some to my album. I want to
ask a great favor. Is it possible you could send me some from friends or
incoming mails? I realize this is an unusual request. I would really delight
me. I want to thank you very much for your time. I hope I am fortunate enough
to hear from you.
sincerely,
Alan Gorton
8409 N.E. 140th Court
Vancouver, Washington 98682
U.S.A.
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