To: ADHRN

To: Alliance For Democracy And Human Rights In Nepal
c/o: Sanjaya Parajuli, Anil Shahi

Subject: Suggesting A Project To Provide Logistical Support To The Movement In Nepal

I am aware of some of the controversies generated by some of my blog entries to do with the ADHRN ($100,000, ADHRN). In the spirit of transparent democracy, I welcome the ensuing discussions. Talks back and forth have also helped me polish my proposal. On top of immediate organizational technical difficulties, I have bigger personal reasons to backtrack from my original suggestion that I gun for the presidency of the ADHRN.

Once democracy is established, I would not want to hold any official title with the ADHRN or any similar organization. But until then, I want to be able to provide concrete logistical help to the movement. And so, I think, the better thing would be for me to become a Project Manager within the ADHRN umbrella.

I envision an extent of fund-raising and involvement that I have not seen yet from any quarter. On the other hand, it would be a major boost to my efforts if I could make use of the ADHRN brand name and its social networks.

The project would come to an end once democracy is established in Nepal.

The basic idea that I also have outlined in the earlier blog entries is to engage in some major fund-raising at this end, to vastly expand the network, and to coordinate with the leaders of the movement back in Nepal, of the parties, professionals, students and others, so as to move ahead in the most effective way possible to achieve the goal in the shortest time possible.

All book-keeping will be kept transparent from day one as the discussions on tactics and strategies so as to ensure wide participation.

At this time I would like to request the two of you to please take this proposal over to your committee and get them to rally behind it. After that work begins.

I believe forging ahead in a transparent manner is the best way we can minimize the distractions of internal organizational politics at this end and maximize our impact on the ground at the other end.

Thank you for your time.

And I look forward to working with you.

Paramendra Bhagat

United We Blog Hacked!

the nascent media's role in the French Revolution: But ordinary hearsay did not satisfy Parisians with a powerful appetite for information. They needed to sift through the public noise in order to discover what was really happening. Sometimes, they pooled their information and criticized it collectively by meeting in groups such as the famous salon of Mme. M.-A. L. Doublet, known as "the parish." Twenty-nine "parishioners," many of them well connected with the Parlement of Paris or the court and all of them famished for news, gathered once a week in Mme. Doublet's apartment in the Enclos des Filles Saint-Thomas. When they entered the salon, they reportedly found two large registers on a desk near the door. One contained news reputed to be reliable, the other, gossip. Together, they constituted the menu for the day's discussion, which was prepared by one of Mme. Doublet's servants, who may qualify as the first "reporter" in the history of France. We don't know his name, but a description of him survives in the files of the police...: He was "tall and fat, a full face, round wig, and a brown outfit. Every morning he goes from house to house asking, in the name of his mistress, 'What's new?'" The servant wrote the first entries for each day's news on the registers; the "parishioners" read through them, adding whatever other information they had gathered; and, after a general vetting, the reports were copied and sent to select friends of Mme. Doublet. One of them, J.-G. Bosc du Bouchet, comtesse d'Argental, had a lackey named Gillet, who organized another copying service. When he began to make money by selling the copies—provincial subscribers gladly paid six livres a month to keep up with the latest news from Paris—some of his copyists set up shops of their own; and those shops spawned other shops, so that by 1750 multiple editions of Mme. Doublet's newsletter were flying around Paris and the provinces. The copying operations—an efficient means of diffusion long after Gutenberg and long before Xerox—had turned into a minor industry, a news service providing subscribers with manuscript gazettes, or nouvelles à la main.


UWB Hacked. How Does It Feel?

It has been proved by now that United We Blog! was hacked. We suspect a group from Brazil who call themselves Un-root Crew hacked this site. We have been busy responding many emails and phone calls after visitors were not able to access the site from the very morning of July 31, 2005. We don't know exactly when the site was downed.

We really don't know, at this point, if there is any political motive behind this hack. We have been blogging on apolitical topics as well and we don't think we have made any girls or boys disappointed through out loveblogs. We received no threats and warnings prior to the hacking.

Things are volatile in Nepal. The country has been divided, politically and ideologically: Autocracy versus Democracy. UWB by heart and by blood and by blogs falls on the second category: Our one and only mission is to see a democratic Nepal. Our declared policy is to blog for democracy and to blog against autocracy. We are against all autocracy: from God's to the Man's.

This is the age of information. Every one has the right to access the information. We are trying to share the information about current developments in Nepal. We will keep doing that no matter how many times we have to face such situations in future.

We always expected such things.

But one thing that we learnt today when we were panicking for our blog was not online that people cared about United We Blog!. Replying email messages and phone calls were not at all annoying rather it was something that made us feel happy during the sad hours. We are feeling proud that we gave people something.

Thank you all for you care and supportive hands ... We will be back soon. Dinesh & Ujjwal on Behalf of UWB! Team

The Amnesty Report On Children Caught In The Conflict In Nepal

• The Report (PDF)

Janadesh

• Issue 33

Gagan Thapa

• Statement If working for democracy is sedition, I will so work forever .... Those who are persecuting me today will stand in the court of history soon .... The entire country is with me today .... The parties don't need dialogue, the king does .... I am grateful for all those in the country and globally who have expressed their support
  

In The News

• Maoist Rebels in Nepal Free Seven Hostages Guardian Unlimited, UK
• CPI(M) tells Govt. to reconsider arms supply to Nepal Hindu, India
• 137 govt buildings damaged in war in Nepal Xinhua, China
• Politico-Economics Of Royal Coup In Nepal Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand two royal coups in past 50 years ..... February 1st 2005 is leading to insurmountable damages in the socio-economic and political fronts ..... Except the King himself and his ceremonial army no one has directly gained from February first's royal coup d'état..... Impunity to his supporters and intimidation of opposite thoughts are routine works of security forces and his Council administration...... a club of the South Asian of dictators along with Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), Bhutan and Maldives..... Belgium, France, and South Africa have recently supplied military assistance and France supplied crucial components for helicopters components...... nearly 20 percent of resources for security ..... Very recently, for instance, Norway a major development stakeholder of Nepal decided not to support to a half billion dollar project of water supply in Kathmandu...... a reconciliatory approach for coexistence of both parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy has failed...... Let the sovereign people of Nepal decide the future of monarchy..... responsible system of judiciary, legislative and executive at different levels rather than a simple politico-administrative makeover at the central level.
• Madan P. Khanal: Nepal - Discourse Of Defeatism? Scoop.co.nz (press release) use the current bonhomie with the Maoists to encourage them to accept a constitution drawn up by the mainstream parties...... parties in power between 1990 and 2002 believed they enjoyed absolute sovereignty and worked to centralize powers. Implicit in their conduct was the belief that such powers were needed not only to express the will of the people but also to “save” democracy from the palace and the military...... Many, who spent decades fighting for democracy, were overwhelmed by on-the-job training...... King Mahendra in 1960 nor King Gyanendra 45 years later ...... The balance of power that existed in 1990 has changed, although it is still unclear in what precise way. The palace has become a more assertive political player under King Gyanendra and seems determined to maintain that role. The Maoist rebels have embarked on a campaign with a method most Nepalis find repulsive. Few ordinary Nepalis, however, would dispute their message of equity, justice and inclusiveness....... If the parties believe Nepal should remain a constitutional monarchy, then they must be willing to listen to a king who is palpably uncomfortable with the role conferred by the current constitution..... If the parties, on the other hand, believe the monarchy is the principal impediment to the democratic growth of Nepal, then they must be more explicit in endorsing the rebels’ republican agenda. With such clarity, they could then set out to define the structure and character of a future multiparty setup.
  
• US says King should reach a compromise with political parties Outlook (subscription) He said, though the political parties were not satisfied with the declaration of municipalty elections, negotiations must be carried forward to resove the current stalemate.
  
• Nepal's fading radiowaves Hindu, India
• Nepal: Search Operations For Kidnapped Government Officials SouthAsia Network, Asia
• Nepal's Maoist rebels free abducted civil servants Reuters India, India
• Maoists block highways Kantipur Online, Nepal Traffic along the Siddhartha Highway has come to a complete standstill since Saturday evening.... Butwal-Tansen road section.... Meanwhile, people in the Eastern Nepal have been left high and dry due to the Maoist imposed road blockade since last two weeks.
• Detained students refuse to pay bail Kantipur Online, Nepal Rs 500 bail..... Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today issued show cause notices to the government authorities including the Home Ministry demanding the reasons for the student leaders' arrest..... responding to a habeas corpus petition filed by lawyer Buddhi Prasad Kharel representing the Nepal Bar Association....... ordered the defendant-- The Home Ministry, the Police Headquarters, the Kathmandu District Police Office, the Kathmandu District Administration Office were arked to submit written replies within three days.
• Student leaders Sent to Central Jail; SC Show Cause to Govt Himalayan Times, Nepal
• Amnesty demands release of Nepal's student leaders Deccan Herald, India
• Nepal Soldiers Look For Missing Lawmakers WRAL.com, NC
• US says King should reach a compromise with political parties Hindustan Times, India
• Attorney’s Office Grills Gagan Thapa Himalayan Times, Nepal Kathmandu District Government Attorney’s Office today started interrogating former general-secretary of the Nepal Students’ Union, Gagan Kumar Thapa
• Students Hoist Black Flags in Colleges Himalayan Times, Nepal
• With No Justice, Terrorism Will Remain Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand
• Maoist strike disrupts transport along Mechi Highway PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal
  
• Ilam LDO, 6 Others Released Himalayan Times, Nepal