Bad Few Days

---

Hi, it's Mike updating the blog. I'm feeling down from all the bad news we've gotten from home in the past couple of days. First, our house got broken into last week and our computer and some other stuff stolen. Fortunately, the pets are all okay. Julio got outside but Michael (who is house-sitting for us but was out at the time of the break-in) found him after he got home and discovered the break-in.

Now we've found out that Julio is in the cat hospital. He's got an accumulation of fluid in his lungs (probably nothing to do with the break-in, this is a common problem for cats with the heart condition that Julio has). We're lucky that we've had Michael and Kiki looking after the cats, as the fluid in the lungs could have been fatal. They've also dealt with the police and insurance company regarding the break-in. Michael and Kiki, if you're reading this, thanks!

The situation in Nepal is also very messed up. The Maoist rebels have just suspended their participation in the disarmament process (Nepal had a decade-and-a-half civil war that only ended late last year - although now it looks like the war may resume). The Maoists have two armed forces, the "People' Liberation Army" (PLA), who are a conventional guerilla army, and a militia called the Young Communist League (YCL). The YCL are basically the equivalent of Hitler's brownshirts in 1930s Germany; they're political thugs who go around intimidating people and beating people up. So far, the PLA seem to be staying their barracks, but yesterday we saw busloads of YCL goons cruising around the Kathmandu city centre waving red flags and chanting slogans. I haven't heard any reports of violence, but it was an obvious move by the Maoists to try to intimidate the people and the government. A Nepali guy I was talking to told me that this was the first time the Maoists have ever made a show of strength like this in the heart of Kathmandu (the Maoists are strongest in the rural countryside). There are also quite a few Nepali army soldiers in the streets, all carrying rifles, so I'm a bit concerned about the potential for a confrontation turning ugly.

All this is to say that Melinda and I are being very careful. The good news is that the Maoists have never, in the whole fifteen years of the civil war, deliberately targeted foreigners. Also, Dominic's house is literally a stone's throw from the national police headquarters and only a short walk from the King's compound, so we're probably in the safest spot in the city (as long as the Maoists don't decide to attack the police headquarters). Most Nepali people don't seem too worried because they're used to the Maoists pulling these kinds of stunts to try to win concessions from the UN and the government in the ongoing peace process. However, for the long-term sake of Nepal, I hope the UN and the government don't give in to too many of the Maoists' insane demands. The Nepali Maoists base their ideology on the original writings of China's Chairman Mao (who caused the starvation of millions of Chinese when he got into power), as well as the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. If the Nepali Maoists somehow manage to obtain power and carry out their plans to collectivize agriculture, I'm worried that millions of people will die here as well. Communist collectivization of agriculture has always been a disaster and Nepal has even less capacity than China or Cambodia to absorb a steep decline in agricultural productivity, since they already have a lot of trouble feeding their population in this mountainous kingdom.

The other good news is that we've been having a great time hanging out with Dominic. Pictures to follow, but for the moment I've got to go grab some lunch.

---