Osama vs Obama: A tongue twister

Interestingly, I was re-enlightened with this fact: a single letter makes a  big difference.

While talking about the big news, people were saying (President) Osama announced (al-Qaeda leader) Obama’s death or Osama will win another US election as he wiped out Obama.  It’s not that they  don’t know about difference between the very two persons at odds.

Their tongue slipped, obviously.  The names in fact are similar, except the second letter.

I tweeted this thing hours ago, and wrote Facebook status also. Interestingly, a friend posted a link of a Fox News video on my   status, in which the anchor mistakenly says President Obama is dead, and apologises in no time for the blunder.

With Osama’s death, it’s likely that President Obama will live more in  he office.  Obama certainly will try to cash in on the success of Operation Osama.

By the way, I have a question to President Obama (I double checked the spelling, it’s correct!). Has justice been done to everybody? What about the innocent people who have been killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the US operations launched to hunt down the terrorist leader?

wikileaksWikiLeaks

 US suspected/knew since 2008 that Osama was living in Abbottabad–which begs the question why the delay? http://is.gd/LtSvHC

Though this question will prevail, hope the world will turn a better place to live without Osama.

Prem Raj Devkota who runs a small café at a stone’s throw from the Kantipur Publications premises in Tinkune slapped  Maoist lawmaker Jhakku Prasad Subedi twice this afternoon, in what appears to be the expression of frustration over the delay in constitution drafting.

Courtesy: ekantipur.com

I know this mustachioed gentleman. He is soft, polite and cool. Not violent at all.

I have eaten veg Waiwai prepared by him and drank hot lemon many a time in the evenings when I was with Kantipur till June last year. I have bought chocolates from his shop hundreds of time.

However, he had a different avatar today that by all means is at odds with his characteristics. At least the ones that I as a customer and an acquaintance know. It was not easy for me to believe that this lucid and composed nobody ventured to smack the former guerrilla leader.

But it’s him. No doubt, it’s him who did this. Right now his soft and slow voice is echoing on my ears! And, I have smiles on my face.

Sometimes, Davids take on Goliaths, and also they beat the latter !

Subedi came to the lime light after knocking down the then CPN-UML chairman, Madhav Kumar Nepal, in the Constituent Assembly polls from the Kathmandu Constituency No. 2 three years ago.

And, it’s Devkota’s turn to be popular now. Did he slap Jhakku only to be popular, by the way? Or, was it an impulse? Be that what it may, Subedi is a representative of the common people who struggle everyday for bread and butter. And, his “big subject of the day” is one of the 601 individuals (notwithstanding the fact that there are some seats vacant in the Constituent Assembly)—or, better say the tools of arrogant, selfish, stupid (I can add hundreds of adjectives for them) parties—who have reneged on their words regarding the new constitution and are squabbling for the power and post and  partisan interests instead.

On Janauary 21, one Devi Prasad Regmi had slapped CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal in Itahari in eastern Nepal.
Regmi’s slap turned to be blessing to Khanal as he was elected the prime minister later.

Now, what for this mighty Jhakku who beat the UML heavyweight in the elections? What is for him in stock?
My best wishes to Devkota sahujee! Hope he won’t be in trouble because he did not do what he did today maliciously.
Sabai ko buddhi firos!

Update:  Till 6 pm bulletin, the Kathmandu-based television channel reported that the British royal couple has chosen Nepal for their honeymoon, colligating William’s closeness with Gurkhas.

For a while,  we people at The Himalayan Times were surprised first at the “Breaking News”.  Seeing at the certitude of the baby news channel, we were compelled to call up  the “probable sources”.  But none verified the claim. :)

Later, they did not highlight the Nepal part  (Or, did I miss that?) But their website still carries the transcript of the same old news in Nepali:

Prince William kisses his wife Kate

शाही जोडी हनिमुनका लागि नेपाल आउदै 

वेलायतका राजकुमार विलियम्स र केट मिडलटनको शुभविवाहको रौनकमा अहिले पुरै लण्डन प्रणयोत्सवको पोखरीमा पौडिरहेको छ । वेलायतको भावी राजा र महारानीकोरुपमा हेरिएका यी दुई जोडीको विवाहले संसारको ध्यान खिचिरहेका वखत नेपालीका लागि पनि खुसीको खबर प्राप्त भएको छ । वेलायती सेनामा कार्यरत गोर्खाली सेनासंग निकटको सम्बन्ध राख्दै आउनु भएका वेलायती राजकुमार विलियम्सको नेपाल प्रेम यसपटक पनि उजागर भएको छ । उहाँले विवाह पछि केटसंगको पहिलो खुसी साटन् नेपाललाई नै रोज्नु भएको छ । यसअघि सगरमाथाको आधारशिविरमा सैन्य तालिम लिने इच्छा देखाउनु भएका विलियम्स र केटको हनिमुन यात्राको लागि तयारी पनि आरम्भ भइसकेको वताइएको छ । नेपाल स्थित वेलायती दूतावास र परराष्ट्र मन्त्रालयले यस बारेमा गोप्यरुपमा तयारी आरम्भ गरिसकेको बताइएको छ । हेलिकप्टर चार्टर गर्ने तथा होटल र सुरक्षाका आवश्यक तयारी शुरु गरिएको वताइएको छ । यद्धपि विलियम्स र केटको भ्रमणको मिति र नेपालको कुन कुन जिल्लाको भ्रमण गर्ने भन्ने बारेमा भने नेपाल स्थित वेलायती दूतावास र परराष्ट्र मन्त्रालयले औपचारिक जानकारी पछि मात्र दिने वताइएको छ । पर्यटन बर्ष मनाइरहेको नेपालको लागि विलियम्स र केटको हनिमुन भ्रमण नेपाल र नेपालीकालागि सुखद उपहार वन्ने देखिन्छ । राजकुमार चाल्स्र र स्वर्गीय युवराज्ञी डायनाको पहिलो सुपुत्र विलियम्स अफगानिस्तानमा नेटोले गरेको सैन्य कारवाहीमा गोर्खाली सेनाको समूहमा रहेर लामो समय विताउनु भएको थियो । विलियम्स र केटबीचको शुभविवाह केही समय अघि वेलायतको वेष्टमिनिष्टरमा सम्पन्न भएको छ । वेष्टमिनिष्टरको गिर्जाघरमा आयोजित विशेष समारोहमा वैवाहिक समारोह सम्पन्न भएको हो ।

What you say?

Chandra X-ray image of radio galaxy named 4C +00.58. At the centre of the galaxy is a supermassive black hole that is actively pulling in large quantities of gas. (Photo Credit: NASA/CXC/UMD/Hodges-Kluck et al)

will meet in the capital from October 10 to 16 to discuss the process of growth of central black hole.
In the international conference “Accretion and Outflow in Black Hole Systems”, 130 scientists will take part and there will be 62 oral presentations and 39 poster presentations.
The conference aims at understanding the process of accretion onto the central black hole and outflows from the system including the jet formation in Black Hole binaries (BH binaries), Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs).

Believed to be formed due to the collapse of a star, black hole is the region of space with extremely high gravitational field from which nothing–not even light–can escape.

The conference is organised jointly by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), the Osservatorio Astronomico of Roma (INAF/OAR), the Italian Space Agency and its Data Center (ASI/ADSC), the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF/IASF Bologna), the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (Warsaw), and the Central Department of Physics (CDP) of Tribhuvan University (Kathmandu).

Associate Prof. Dr. Binil Aryal at the CDP will lead the Nepali team comprising 34 scientists.

Dr. Aryal is a member of Scientific Organising Committee and the Local Organising Committee of the conclave.

via The Himalayan Times

Prachanda

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has sent a letter to the United Nations on Thursday, September 9, 2010, disagreeing with the Nepal government’s request to extend the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN)’s tenure by four months only.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, nom de guerre Prachanda, asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to extend the UNMIN term by six months from September 15. The UN body’s sixth term is expiring in mid-September.
In the letter, he appreciated UNMIN’s role and said the Maoist party thinks that the Mission should stay in Nepal till the conclusion of peace process.
In his letter, Prachanda has said, “In the peace process of Nepal, there is a section of elements, which are always against peace, constitution and agreement. This section has been making ill-efforts to defame UNMIN and bring

its role in an unnecessary debate. We strongly urge that government should not fall under the influence of those elements.”
Saying the previous mandate of UNMIN should be continued, Prachanda said the Maoists are “cautious that there should be no any dispute between Nepali Army and the Maoist Army Combatant.” “We are ready to resolve the disputes through mutual understanding.”

Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented his report on Nepal’s peace process and UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN)’s mandate at the Security Council on September 8, 2010.

Some observations: 28. Nepal’s peace process remains stalled, with few signs of a consensual way forward. The major parties are preoccupied by profound internal fissures and the question of power-sharing. While the extension of the Constituent Assembly by one year averted a grave political vacuum, over three months have passed without notable headway in the peace process.

29. UNMIN has continued to pursue the request of the Security Council to work with the parties to make arrangements for its departure. Interlocutors from all major parties have underlined, however, that they see no alternative to UNMIN monitoring at present. To help speed the creation of conditions that would enable the Mission to conclude its tasks, UNMIN has consistently and assiduously urged the parties to agree on measures that could be taken in the short term, and has made proposals to that end, ranging from steps to improve monitoring arrangements to strengthening preparedness for integration and rehabilitation. A non-paper prepared by UNMIN to stimulate discussion was leaked to the press, and its purpose misconstrued, leading to strong criticism of UNMIN for having exceeded its mandate, including, regrettably, from the highest levels of government.

30. Despite the sustained efforts of the United Nations Mission in Nepal, little progress has been made towards the conditions for its departure, as the continuing political stalemate has precluded the necessary cooperation among the parties. Six extensions of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal have taken place on the unfulfilled expectation, and the commitment of the Government, that the remaining key tasks of the peace process would be brought to a close. Those commitments have become unrealistic in the absence of a consensual approach. Following the resignation of the Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, at the end of June, I encouraged the parties to intensify efforts towards the formation of a consensus government, and at the time of writing this remains my hope.

31. It should be recalled that the original intention in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was to address contentious issues through a consensus government comprising the two parties to the peace process. The Agreement was founded on parallel commitments, including the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist army, to be resolved through the Special Committee, and an action plan established by the Council of Ministers for the democratization of the Nepal Army, determining its appropriate size, developing its national and inclusive character, and training it in the norms and values of democracy and human rights. UNMIN has repeatedly pressed for action on both points, before and after the Constituent Assembly elections, and has long warned of serious implications for the hard-won gains of the peace process if the future of the two armies were not addressed promptly.

32. It is the view of many that UNMIN contributes to maintaining continued calm and avoiding escalation through its presence and a successful arms monitoring and dispute resolution regime. On the other hand, its seemingly indefinite presence may be taken for granted, and the Mission is repeatedly made a scapegoat for matters which lie beyond its mandate. As I have stated before, the United Nations interest is to see UNMIN complete its mandated tasks and bring closure to its work in Nepal.

33. Since January 2010, the Council has acceded to two requests for four-month extensions of the Mission. I am not in favour of repeated extensions of the Mission’s mandate in an atmosphere of persistent and unfounded criticism that complicates its ability to function. These short extensions carry significant management difficulties for the Mission, while having had no discernible effect in expediting the political decisions required for the Mission to complete its work.

34. The present situation whereby Nepal is governed by a caretaker government and the main focus of the political parties is on government formation has not been conducive to sustained engagement over the future role of the Mission. Under these circumstances, I recommend that the current mandate of UNMIN be rolled over by the Council in order to permit the necessary discussions to take place with a duly formed government.

35. Should these discussions offer neither clarity over the role of the Mission nor any prospect of consensus among the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies regarding a realistic and time-bound fulfilment of their commitments concerning the armies and the phasing-out of UNMIN monitoring, then I will propose alternative measures to the Council, including the possible termination of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal.

36. I do not underestimate the challenge for the parties to implement the fundamental changes agreed in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It is my firm view, however, that at this critical juncture of the peace process this challenge should be met through a consensual and negotiated process. To this end, I call on the parties to invest greater effort in serious and sustained political dialogue. The choice between continued inertia and a fresh momentum is in the hands of the national leadership. With the passage of time and the current political context adding to the risks inherent in breaches of past agreements, all parties should make scrupulous efforts to respect those agreements, with particular emphasis on commitments pertaining to the armed personnel of the Government and the Maoists.

37. I would like to convey my appreciation to the members of the Security Council and other Member States for their continued support to Nepal and to the work of the United Nations in support of Nepal’s peace process. I would also like to thank my Representative, Karin Landgren, and her staff, as well as partner organizations in Nepal, for their dedicated efforts.

KATHMANDU: Nepal has expressed its dissatisfaction over United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s recent report on the country’s peace process at the UN Security Council meeting in the UN headquarters in New York, suggesting that some of its contents were not based on correct observation.
Taking exception to the questioning of the regular functioning of the incumbent government–though it is bearing a caretaker role after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s resignation on June 30–with full authority as per the country’s constiution, the Permananent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations recorded Nepal’s official views apropos to the content of the report on Tuesday.The report presented at the Council was made public the same day.
The Mission maintained tha the Nepal government would have liked to see the report “more balanced, nuanced and reflective of the correct assessment of the situation on the ground in its entirety”.
Referring to the paragraph 31 of Ban’s report, Ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya said it failed to acknowledge the cabinet committee headed by the Defense Minister, which has already prepared a detailed action plan on the democratisation of the national army and which has been submitted to the cabinet for consideration.
In the report on Nepal’s peace process and implementation of UNMIN’s mandate, Ban had recommended that the current mandate of UNMIN be extended as it is “in order to permit the necessary discussions to take place with a duly formed government”.
Indicating Nepal’s discontent over the UNSG’s note on the type of goverment, Ambassador Acharya underlined that the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations respect the national sovereignty of each nation state and its political system as per its own constitution.
Govt letter for UNMIN extension
Earlier, the Mission submitted Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s letter to Secretary General Ban for the extension of UNMIN’s mandate with necessary adjustment as reflected in the letter.
At the time when different quarters in Nepal were voicing for the revision and reduction of UNMIN’s mandate–by relieving the Nepal Army from the UN body’s supervision– Nepal wrote the UNSC to extend the the UN body’s tenure by four months.
UNMIN is currently mandated to live in Nepal till September 15 only. Its term was extended for six times earlier.
Making a statement at the Security Council’s meeting on UNMIN, Ambassador Acharya highlighted the many milestones that Nepal’s peace process has achieved after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in November 2006, the Permanent Mission’s statement issued from New York said.

In the statement, he stressed that the Government of Nepal has been successively working hard to push forward peace process from the early days in order to move from the transition phase to the normal state at the earliest.
viaThe Himalayan Times

Foreign Ministers of Nepal Oppose to UNSG Ban Report on Nepal Peace Process

@ 3 a.m.

I spent whole night at the cremation site  in the Pashupati area on Wednesday, July 14.
Ghat is a separate world, with hundreds living their life in their own style. And, it’s microcosm of the men’s world, if not the bridge between the heavens and the earth.

I don’t know how to explain it in words however.

Braving dark, all tall tales of phantoms and unappeasable happenings (including screams of the bereaved and the strident sound from the funeral pyre that probably is generated when the skull or bones burst) at the place where the dead are burnt, I spent the night capturing the moments there while waiting for the sun to rise to carry out the last rites of one of my grandaunts.

The clock struck three in the morning.

And, I saw a a black-robed man coming out from the dark. He went to the River and performed some rituals. Not very far from the dead body lying at the Brahmanal.

Then he went towards Bhasmeshwor Ghat. I followed him. To see the half-clad sadhu collecting the discards of the dead and the leftover of the pyre at the other funeral sites downriver.
An apparent follower of the Aghor cult, the “holy man”  who appears to be running in his late 20s along with his adherents live in a cave in the cliffs of Kailash.
I had seen the men-in-black earlier also. However, I did not prefer talking to the troglodyte.

Is he a cannibal?  May be I will ask him next time if I get to meet him.

Black out at the place where a 18-hour outage is imposed is not a big deal. But the World Cup semis between Germany and Spain was about to kick off. So, I was anxious. I did not want to miss the match.
With 40 percent battery left in my machine, I started following the FIFA live update. It was 10th minute of the match when the electricity supply resumed.

Ja, I said in my primitive Deutsch, ich kann den deutschen Sieg sehen!

Unfortunately, the German gems failed to dazzle. La Roja dominated the whole game, instead.

Spain beat Germany 1-0 with Carles Puyol’s beautiful header.

For the first time, Spain made it to the FIFA World Cup final. But it is yet to see whether the European champions can face up the Dutch challenge.

The Netherlands is in a great firm this time–with 25 consecutive victory in the matches it has played in two years. It appears to be unstoppable. And, I am for the Oranje!

SLC 2066 Results Regular

Along with Swami Omkarananda and Shishir, I stayed at Todke Baba’s ashram for a night. Visited Shivapuri Baba’s ashram where the enlightened person meditated for years.
Unfortunately, I forgot to insert memory card on my camera. So, I don’t have any picture.
For now, here I have something to share.

Gyanendra amid his supporters in Nepalgunj

According to him, he feels that he was betrayed, and that the people are yet to experience and understand the real impact of the end of monarchy. Pointing at the present political situation of the country, he said, “This is where we are right now.”

Responding to a question how he felt when it was said that the former king who was removed from the Naryanhity Royal Palace should be shooed off from Nagarjun also, he said that even as a common citizen justice has not been given to him wholly. “That is how I feel. I think there is a room for the government of the day to give thought to our plight as well as a common Nepali,” he said, adding that he also has rights which he deferred to go to court, not embarrassing the government of the day.

“But I had been advised by many: If you want rights, you should go to court,” he said, adding, “Let us see. If that day will come or the government of the day will give justice to us.”

Shah, who ascended to the throne after his elder brother King Birendra was assassinated along with his family in 2001, has been living a low-profile life following the Constituent Assembly’s decision to abolish the centuries-old monarchy two years ago.

Responding to the first question how he likes to be introduced–whether as a former king or a future king– Shah said that he prefers being taken as an ordinary citizen. “I am like other people.”

According to him, he has some close people who he meets time and often. “However, it is not necessary that politics is discussed seriously while meeting them.”

When asked whether the pro-monarchy party Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal is his political front-end, he said that it was but an illusion. “They have their principles. But it is not like that we have relations,” he said, adding that he did not preferr joining the politics.

When asked whether the former royalists and Panchas have joined hands with the Maoists because they did not get political shelter from him, the former king said, “ Ask them. This is not me to answer.”

Responding to a question regarding possibility of reinstatement of the Hindu status of the state, he said that many people have been hurt as the religious faith of more than 80 percent people has been ignored. “The leaders should think how to address this.”

Reacting to the allegations made against him over his remarks in Janakpur some weeks ago, Shah said that the leaders have right to speak but to listen to others is their duty. “I had said what others had told me. What I said there was not my personal opinion.”

Hinting at former Crown Prince Paras’s interview in which he had said that his unpopularity might have some role in the end of monarchy, Shah said that it was his son’s magnanimity to say so, but being the head of the royal family he himself takes the responsibility. “None should lay blame on others…We don’t have habit of pointing fingers at others. Being the main person of the family, I have to take up the discredit.”

When asked whether he believes that monarchy will be revived with the reinstatement of 1990 Constitution as it is obvious that the new constitution cannot be promulgated on May 28, Shah said that he cannot add or subtract anything to others’ opinions at the present political situation. “That is why, let’s not talk about politics.”

He said the people should be wise and patient, and see whether the dossier (new constitution) will come. “But none should belittle the nation, nationality and sovereignty.”

Upon asked whether he would take up role or he would just remain a mute spectator to the current political chaos, the former monarch maintained that it depends on people’s desire. “If they (leaders) wish me to stay quiet, I will respect that,” said Shah. He, however, said, “That time might come, but it has not come now.”

The interview was taken in Nepalgunj when the former King visited the city on Monday.

Or, one can download it from here: Routine

Hundreds of Maoist cadres and supporters have gathered at the major thoroughfares and junctions in the Capital since early morning to enforce the shutdown, more popularly known as banda.

Public and private vehicles remained off the road and thousands of people have been forced to walk towards their destination. The entire market places, schools, colleges and industries have been closed down due to the Maoist strike.

Ambulances, vehicles of diplomatic missions, press and other emergency services, however, have plied the roads in the Capital Valley without any obstruction.

Security has been beefed up in Kathmandu taking into account the possibility of violence. However, no unpleasant incident has been reported as yet.

Along with his family members and neighbours, this man came to take part in the Maoist agitation from Parsa district in the southern plains. This man cannot speak Nepali clearly and is very new to Kathmandu. He even doesn’t know where he is staying here.

The Maoists have brought in thousands of people like him to the capital “to make their stir against the government decisive.”

The Maoists, who stepped down from the government last year following their differences with the president over the reinstatement of the then army chief sacked the Cabinet led by them, have termed the incumbent coalition government as unnatural. They have taken to the streets demanding that a national unity government be formed in their
leadership.

Keshav P. Koirala
For ekantipur.com
Kathmandu

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has harshly criticised Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda openly and said that he will not step down from the government to hand over power to the latter. He said a fierce Maoist Chairman who is inciting violence in the country cannot succeed him.

After visiting  his party cadres who were attacked and injured in Surkhet by the Maoists  at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj in Kathmandu today, he maintained that he will not bow down before any pressure and violent politics.
Vocally crticising the Maoists, he said he would give up if the name other than that of Prachanda is suggested for the government leadership.
“…Why does Prachanda die for premiership? Why should Prachanda who has declared war in the whole country be the prime minister? If Madhav Nepal cannot be (=remain as) the prime minister, even Prachanda cannot be the prime minister,” he said.
One could easily notice frustration of Nepal’s Nepal over the Maoists who have vowed to oust him from the power.

What is more, he accused the Maoists of not being a creative force, working for destruction and trying to impose totalitarianism in the country.