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But we are off to a good start. When Lukla airport was shut down last month for 10 days due to bad weather, airline check-in staff charged $500 or more to sneak passengers ahead of the queue. The army's helicopters ended up ferrying thousands of tourists, but even here passes were sold in black. Given our skills in making hay while the sun shines, our earnings from tourism in 2011 should surpass all past records.
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The Nepal Army seems ready to declare war on France, given its vehement reaction to the report by Renaud Piarroux, the French public health specialist who linked the Haiti cholera epidemic to the septic tanks of the Nepali peacekeeping base there. We have nothing to hide: Nepal has frequent cholera epidemics and the 'El Tor' strain of the bacillus Vibrio cholerae found in Haiti is endemic to South Asia. Why not just admit that cholera was an import from Nepal, and get on with treating the sick not just in Haiti, but also take preventive measures to have safe drinking water in Nepal as well? Cash in on the publicity.
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Still licking his wounds from the Gorkha Plenum, The Awesome is now trying to woo The Physician in order to sideline The Doctor. Even though PKD got his party to declare India The #1 Enemy, he is behaving as if his real enemy is BRB. He has met MBK repeatedly to forge an alliance. After all, there is no substantial diff between the papers presented by PKD and MBK to the Plenum, whereas there is a deep ideological and personal rift with BRB. The only trouble for Chairman Fearsomeness is that he has lost the trust of other political leaders and even within his party, he is known as someone who says one thing and does another. We have it on good authority that now Com Kiran wants PKD to give all his commitments in writing.
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With the CentCom meeting postponed again, Com Baburam is in campaign mode, trying to build up support within the party. The Palungtar Conf underlined his weaker support base within the party because PKD's clout is bolstered by his control over the extortion apparatus. BRB is trying to counter this with the force of his pragmatic ideas, but he doesn't stand a chance when it is money that talks.
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The PKD camp, however, is elated by rumours in the Indian press of the recall of the Indian ambassador. They are preparing to celebrate this as a major victory for not just the party but for the Chairman's anti-Indian 'Prachanda Path'. Hacks in Delhi sympathetic to the Yechury-Karat line seem to be feeding leaks in the Indian media about a major rift within a fractious South Block on India's current Nepal policy of keeping the Baddies out of power by hook or crook.
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PKD's offer to let RCP become PM has the NC leader salivating. And like the Pavlov Effect, just dangling a post has made kangresi factionalism erupt all over again. Awesome understands the NC better than the NC understands itself.
Kingji came back much more enthused from his India trip this time. The meeting with Queen Sonia and the BJP seems to have gone well. But the message was the same everywhere: no flirting with the Baddies, and no rocking the boat.
What boat?
ass(at)nepalitimes.com
