Non-Maoist Nepalese Leaders line up to visit India

The overthrown king has been already there

As the New Delhi-mediated peace process faces its stiffest challenge and Maoists move towards one-party rule, leaders of various non-Maoist political parties, including those in the ruling coalition, are in the process of heading southward.

The visits by Nepali leaders coincides with the three-week-long so called “social-religious” visit to India — to Delhi, Bhopal, Gujarat and back to Delhi next week—- of dethroned King Gyanendra that began end of February. Most leaders have used “health check-up” as the pretext for their Delhi visit while others are “silent”. The meeting of united CPCn Maoists has concluded that the visit is not just the religious and social visit but there might be some conspiracy against the Nepal people and the party itself.

G P Koirala, president of the Nepali Congress, and Surya Bahadur Thapa, chairman of the Rastriya Janashakti Party, will be in Delhi on Wednesday. According to information available, former King Gyanendra is expected to arrive in Delhi a couple of days after Holi.

Though the visits are said to be private visit, we can not be sure that there will be just the private works. The visit of the so called democrat leaders and dethroned King Gyanendra is not only the coincident. There is something hidden. According to the political analyst, there is the role of Indian Embassy to arrange the visit and the meetings of the Nepali leaders with their Indian counterparts. From this what can we draw as the conclusion that the India is playing the role to seek the alternative to the elected and United CPN (Maoist) government? If it is true the so called democratic leaders may agree to re-establish the dead monarchy in any form. So I would like to request to all of the conscious people to be alert. Will you be agreeing with the so called political parties' leaders if they try to re-establish the monarchy again? If no lets condemn the steps that they are taking and the intervention of India in Nepali politics.

Ramesh Adhikari

Barack Obama (aka Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.)

President Barack Obama acted swiftly after his inauguration on Tuesday (January 20th, 2009), suspending all trials at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 120 days, and freezing all last-minute legislation—known as "midnight legislation"—passed by former President George W. Bush. Obama also plans to meet with military and economic advisors today (January 21st, 2009) to discuss the $825 billion fiscal stimulus package as well as the Iraq war.

Obama's request on Guantanamo would stop the proceedings for 21 pending cases, including the death penalty case against the five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11th attacks. The president has made it known over the last few months that he intends to shut down the prison camp at Guantanamo, the detention center that was viewed globally as a gross violation of human rights. Plans are also in the works to have American troops withdraw from Iraq over a period of 16 months, and aides say Obama is also considering pulling all troops before the planned date of 2012.

The president's cabinet appointments are also in their last stages of approval through the U.S. Senate today. Officials are set to debate, and most likely approve, Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, in addition to Janet Napolitano for homeland security secretary; Steven Chu as energy secretary; and Timothy Geithner for treasury secretary.

Biography: Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.

Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.

Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.

His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.

Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).

He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.

In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.

After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.

After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side.

I HOPE HE WILL BE ABLE TO RESTABLISH THE IMAGE OF AMERICA AS A REAL DEMOCRATIC COUNRTY>

माओवादी र एकताकेन्द्र-मसाल बीच ऐतिहासिक एकता

• पार्टी नाम : एकीकृत नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (माओवादी)

• एक सय बीस सदस्यीय केन्द्रीय समिति

गणतन्त्र नेपालका दुई ठूला क्रान्तिकारी कम्युनिष्ट पार्टीहरूबीच सोमबार एकता भएको छ । दश वर्षे सशस्त्र जनयुद्धको कुशल नेतृत्व गरेको नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी -माओवादी) र राजतन्त्रविरोधी शान्तिपूर्ण संघर्षमा सबै राजनीतिक दलहरूलाई समन्वयकारी भूमिका निर्वाह गर्न सफल भएको नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी -एकताकेन्द्र-मसाल)बीच भएको यो एकताले नेपालमा कम्युनिष्टहरूको एउटै केन्द्र निर्माण गर्ने अभियानको सुरुवात भएको छ । । साथै यो एक्ताले नेपाली नयाँ जनवादी क्रान्तिलाई सफलतासम्म पुर्‍याउन सक्षम हुने विश्वास क्रान्तिकारी कम्युनिष्टहरूले गरेका छन् ।

यो एकताको सन्देश विश्वभरि फैलिएपछि विश्वभरिका क्रान्तिकारीहरूमा नयाँ आशा र उत्साह थपिनेछ । साथै वाम विश्लेषकहरूका अनुसार संशोधनवाद र सुधारवादमार्फत नेपाली कम्युनिष्ट आन्दोलनलाई टुटफुट गरिरहेको साम्राज्यवादको यो एकताबाट निद हराम हुने छ । सिद्धान्त र विचारधारामा समानता भएका सच्चा कम्युनिष्ट पार्टीहरूबीच एकता र ध्रुवीकरण हुनु वर्तमानको अपरिहार्य आवश्यकता पनि हो । यो एकताले विभिन्न समूहमा रहेका सच्चा कम्युनिष्टहरूलाई एउटै साझा केन्द्रमा आउन प्रेरणा मिल्नेछ ।

नेकपा -माओवादी) र नेकपा -एकताकेन्द्र-मसाल)बीच एकता भएपछि अब पार्टीको नाम एकीकृत नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी -माओवादी) भएको छ । र, यो पार्टीको पथप्रदर्शक सिद्धान्त माक्र्सवाद-लेनिनवाद-माओवाद- माओविधारधारा हुने भएको छ । पूर्व नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी -माओवादी)ले संश्लेषण गरेको नेपाली क्रान्तिको विशिष्ट विचार श्रृंखला 'प्रचण्डपथ’ अब पार्टीको आन्तरिक बहसको विषय बनाइने निर्णय यसअघि नै माओवादीले गरिसकेको छ ।

एकीकृत नेकपा (माओवादी)को केन्द्रीय समिति

एकीकृत नेकपा (माओवादी)को नेतृत्वमा पूर्व नेकपा (माओवादी)बाट अध्यक्ष प्रचण्ड, डा.बाबुरा भट्टराई, मोहन वैद्य, रामबहादुर थापा, पोष्टबहादुर बोगटी, सीपी गजुरेल, देव गुरुङ, कृष्णबहादुर महरा, टोपबहादुर रायमाझी, वर्षमान पुन, नन्दकिशोर पुन, चन्द्रप्रसाद खनाल, जनार्दन शर्मा, राम कार्की, गोपाल किराती, हरिबोल गजुरेल, अग्नि सापकोटा, पम्फा भुसाल, हिसिला यमि, हितराज पाण्डे, लेखराज भट्ट, देवेन्द्र पौडेल, खड्गबहादुर विश्वकर्मा, मातृका यादव, हरिभक्त काडेल, धर्मेन्द्र बास्तोला र इन्द्रमोहन सिग्देल हुनुहुन्छ भने पूर्व एकताकेन्द्र-मसालबाट महासचिव प्रकाश, नरबहादुर कर्माचार्य, अमिक शेरचन, स्वनाम, गिरिराजमणि पोखरेल, दिलबहादुर श्रेष्ठ, निनु चापागाईं, भीमप्रसाद गौतम र लीलामणि पोखरेल, घनश्याम शर्मा पौड्याल, विश्वनाथ साह, रामकुमार यादव, दीपबहादुर योन्जन, धर्मचन्द लावती, विश्वभक्त दलाल -आहूति), ईश्वरी भट्टराई, शशी श्रेष्ठ, प्रहृलाद बुढाथोकी, कमानसिंह लामा, डिआर पौडेल, कर्णध्वज केसी, पेशल खतिवडा, राजु खड्का, किसन शर्मा, प्रकाश पोखरेल, अन्जना विशंखे, धावा लामा, जगत कार्की र माधव कोइराला रहनुभएको जनाइएको छ ।

यसैगरी पूर्व नेकपा -माओवादी)ले थप गरेका केन्द्रीय सदस्यहरूमा एन.के. प्रसाई, हर्षबहादुर शाही, जीतवीर लामा, केशव नेपाल, कृष्ण केसी, भीमबहादुर कडायत, सर्वोत्तम डंगोल, टीका हमाल, भरत बम, कृष्णध्वज खड्का, रेखा शर्मा, हिमाल राई, जयपुरी घर्ती, सन्तोष बुढामगर, रामचरण चौधरी, पूर्ण घर्ती, श्रीराम ढकाल, ध्रुव पराजुली, गंगा कार्की, सूर्य सुवेदी, सन्तु दराई, नारायण दाहाल, वामदेव क्षेत्री, अमृता थापामगर, यशोदा सुवेदी, खगराज भट्ट, भक्तबहादुर शाह, चन्द्रहरि सुवेदी, सुरेश आलेमगर, ईश्वरी दाहाल, दिनेश शर्मा, अनिल शर्मा, गंगा श्रेष्ठ, दिलिप प्रजापति, महेश्वर दाहाल, मायाप्रसाद शर्मा, कालीबहादुर मल्ल, दीपेन्द्र पुन, सरला रेग्मी, टेकबहादुर बस्नेत, महेश्वर गहतराज, गणेशमान पुन, कमला रोका, तेजबहादुर वली, कालीबहादुर खाम, झक्कु सुवेदी, जोखबहादुर महरा, धनबहादुर मास्के मगर, रामप्रसाद बन्जाडे, डोरप्रसाद उपाध्याय, उमा भुजेल, हरि अधिकारी, श्रीनाथ अधिकारी, पुष्पविक्रम मल्ल, भक्ति पाण्डे, हितबहादुर तामाङ, कृष्णप्रसाद सापकोटा, कुमार दाहाल, पवनमान श्रेष्ठ, प्रभु साह, कृष्णदेव सिंह, श्रवण यादव, पदम राई, गौरीशंकर खड्का, सावित्रीकुमार कापले, टंकबहादुर आबुहाङ, विकेश श्रेष्ठ, ओनसरी घर्ती रहेका छन् । यसमा अझै थप हुने सम्भावना छ ।

lets Israel's ongoing military attacks on the people of Gaza.

lets Israel's ongoing military attacks on the people of Gaza.

View the Union's 'End Israeli Occupation' policy

Israeli military forces have killed over 540 Palestinians and injured more than 2,450 in the last ten days. Many civilians have been amongst the dead and wounded, including women and children. Targets have included the Islamic University campus, schools, the United Nations Relief & Works Agency buildings (killing 8 students and wounding 19), many mosques and an ambulance. According to the UN, over 13,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes. 4 Israeli citizens have been killed in the last ten days by rockets fired from Gaza.

The Gazan people were already suffering a crippling humanitarian crisis before Israel’s military offensive began. For more than a year Israel has closed Gaza’s borders, which has prevented food, vital medical supplies and other basic necessities entering Gaza. Since the beginning of Israel’s attack, this crisis has deepened. International aid organisations have been unable to enter Gaza with sufficient medical and food supplies to treat the wounded and feed the starving – threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

On New Year’s Eve, Israel defied calls from international leaders, rejecting a proposal from France (as EU President) for a 48 hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators around the world have demanded an end to Israel’s violent assault. On 3rd January, 50,000 marched through the streets of London and several hundred gathered outside Sheffield Town Hall.

What can I do?

Join our Campaign

The Students’ Union is working with the Palestine Society, Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to campaign for Israel to stop its assault. For up to date information of how you can get involved with our campaign and support the people of Palestine please contact palestine@sheffield.ac.uk or join the facebook group ‘Sheffield Students Against Israel’s Attack on Gaza’

Demonstrate

Hundreds of thousands of people have joined demonstrations across the world to make their voices heard. A national demonstration has been called on Saturday, 10th January in London (see below). Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be holding a vigil outside the Town Hall every Saturday at 12:00pm until the killing stops. We will tell you about future plans for protests.

Contact your MP

Demand that they push the government and/or their party to clearly condemn the attack on Gaza. Find your MP at www.theyworkforyou.com

Monitor the media

Newspapers, TV channels and radio stations have given biased accounts of Israel's attack. They have understated the hugely disproportionate nature of the death toll and favoured Israeli spokespeople over Palestinian ones. Phone in to complain or write a letter or email. TV and radio have laws governing balanced reporting, especially the BBC, so they have to take your concern on board.

See the ENGAGE guide for more information on how to do these things and more.

Dire Electricity Crisis in Nepal : Darkness grows beneath the Everest

Electricity has been playing a game of cat and mouse in Nepal . Out of the 24 hours, it is on only for 16 hours. Nepalese are forced to live without electricity for 8 hours, six days a week – 48 hours per week. Just imagine yourself living without electricity for such a long time in New York , Seoul , London and Sydney , and then realize how much the Nepalese are suffering. Is Nepal returning towards the Stone Age? Well, this is Nepal, a nation with huge hydropower potentials (this is limited to the papers only), where the electricity supply has been overrun by simple of simplest demand of a meager 720MW peak load demand and this has led The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to rationing power (load shedding) to its customers all over Nepal. Never- ending Political uncertainties, terai unrest, acute fuel shortage, and now this mammoth electricity crisis has stolen smiles from the face of ordinary Nepalese, whose nation had started producing energy from water resources through Pharping hydro power plant much ahead than China. But look at Nepal today and look where China today is terms of energy security. Fearing the possible future power crisis, China is investing $125 billion in power plants over the next five years and another $130 billion in distribution paths for the power they produce according to the media reports. But China is a big and populous nation, and it needs these massive investments to keep the nation floating, you might argue. Yes, it is, but yet it shows how serious is China about its future power needs. In the interim, let us turn back to Nepal . The recent load shedding has not sprouted all of a sudden. The possible occurrence of the load shedding had been forecasted by the experts few years ago, but the government, completely occupied by other complex issues such as signing the peace deal with the Maoists turned deaf ear towards these forecasts. They either did not care or did not have the necessary vision to solve the energy problem. And on top of this they are giving lame excuses about the weather. It’s the best option chosen by them because if you blame the weather, then the weather won’t retaliate back. What a scapegoat the authorities have chosen. There is a shortage of power during winter and recent load shedding suggests the need for storage projects as the system is dominated by run- of- the river projects. Thus, instead of blaming the weather, had they build storage projects then this inevitable would been at least minimized. But unfortunately it was not to be so. Normal life has been crippled by the load shedding. Ordinary people have to make plans according to the schedule of the electricity, a perfect example of man being the servant of the technology. You want to study but you cannot because there is no light; your computer never works when you want it to; your refrigerated goods get rotten; in the kitchen rice cooker is just a show pot; your TV is just another useless tool; every now and then you get irritated by the power failure and economically speaking constant blackouts deteriorates your production level and hampers your country’s economy. The power cuts in Nepal are not good for its growth. Lower productivity means higher costs for finished goods and people will feel that in their pockets when they visit the market. So what’s going on? And why isn’t it getting sorted out? The problem is grave: shortage of supply caused by a huge rise in demand. Nepalese businesses, enterprises, communications, industries, education and service sectors have been so much hit that overall capacity utilization of the industrial units due to load shedding has come down to about 40-50 per cent. This has already crippled Nepalese economy and this is not a good sign for a nation that is trying hard to sprout out from the vicious circle of poverty. In the midst of this electricity drought, you feel depressed at times. And you feel like immigrating abroad. You curse your government, your leader and your fate and you want to go, where there is light, 24 hours a day. But wait, it is not just Nepal where power is a problem. There is massive power problem is South Africa . And in recent months there have been endless reports of shortages in various countries such as Cuba , Argentina , some African nations, Iraq , Bangladesh , India , and in Thirteen Chinese provinces. And not to forget Queens, a city in New York , and its 100,000 or so people who were left to live without electricity for nine days in 2006. And experts fear that there is every chance of Britain being next South Africa if immediate action is not taken. The reason is simple: Out of 59 coal-powered plants, 15 or so are out of order according to the reports. Meanwhile, we don’t need an expert to tell us that electricity demand is soaring all over the world and there is a narrowing gap between usage in the developing and the emerging world. The reality is right before our eyes. Electricity demand has risen all over the world and it will continue to rise. British Petroleum forecasts electricity demand to double by 2030, and now the Kyoto protocol is encouraging countries to focus on alternative power generation. Regionally speaking, just imagine how much power is needed to afloat the Chinese – Indian economy? Together China and India are the home to world’s 40% population and this means world need’s more energy than it thinks to roll these nations. Imagine, how much power is needed for every family in China and India , and remember, economically they are growing dramatically. In the year 2007, India grew by 8.5% and China by 11.4%. These are good signs but also remember that growth means more prosperity and more prosperity means more power consumption. Hence, considering so, Nepal needs less power than these rising giants. Judging by the GDP growth of its last five years which hovered around an unhealthy average of 2.1 %, and given the political crisis, there are every chances of its economy hovering around that average for years to come. Thus, there shall be a slight change in our total winter peak load demand of 720 MW as of today. But Nepal will surely grow in the future and for Nepal to grow, energy security is the ultimate precondition. In the course of time, our economy will definitely creep toward a healthy average of 3.5 – 4%, given that our political uncertainties are solved. Hence, if prompt action is not taken today, then Nepal will suffer from massive power cuts in the future too. Nepalese policymakers and leaders must wake up from their slumber to solve this mammoth crisis because Nepal has the prime resource needed to generate the electricity - water. There is some comfort in the fact that Nepal has more than 6000 rivers and majorities of them are capable to turn the turbine and generate electricity. What Nepal needs is capital and there is a dearth of capital in Nepal hence considering so Nepal needs foreign investment. But finding investors is not easy and even if you find one, they may abstain from investing in the hydropower because it is costly and time consuming. They got to wait for several years to refill their invested capital and then few years more for profit. And there is this never ending political uncertainty in Nepal followed by our lackluster policy. Being pessimist is a waste of time, so let us think from an optimistic point of view. But even so the picture is not that rosy. Take this example for instance, recent figures show that 154 MW of energy in Nepal is generated by private sectors, and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) 400W. And add to these figures another 80MW which is in the process of being added from India . That leads to the total of about 634 MW. Or in other word, Nepal ’s total electricity capacity is 634 MW. But the problem for Nepal is this: During the winter season, the peak load demand for Nepal is estimated at about 720 MW whereas the production is only half the total demand. There is a huge difference between its supply and demand. It’s not that Nepal is running out of the solution. We have some reliable and lasting solution but for this we have to wait. But for how long, no one knows. And in the long run, as Keynes said we all are dead. You might say, why this heights of pessimism. The truth however is this: No ones knows the fate of much published and talked about hydro power projects such as West Seti (720 MW), Upper Karnali (300 MW), Arun III (400 MW), Tamakoshi (309 MW), Budhi Gandaki (660 MW), Likhu (125 MW) and Super Marsyangdi (275 MW). Let’s play a mind game. If you add these all, then it would lead to 2789 MW. That’s a healthy increase from 634MW or 554 MW (minus 80MW expected from India ) and we can sustain somehow with this increment at least for a decade or less. But these scenarios are now limited to the papers only. No one knows when these projects shall be completed as these projects in aggregate require huge investments and time. But unfortunately Nepal doesn’t have both of these privileges. And what makes the future scenario gloomy is the current policy strategy framework. No one knows what the government’s Electricity policy is nor does one know the real motive of the NEA. And the investor’s policies are also debatable on various grounds and the risk - political, social or infrastructural - remains enormous. All this means that load shedding won’t go away any time soon. Article by: Bhuwan Thapaliya