Following American Election Campaigns From Nepal
By Dinesh Wagle
Wagle Street Journal
Even in these chilly days, we drink Coca Cola (Okay, to be exact, I drank a glass of Fanta, another offering from the one of the greatest symbols of American culture, this afternoon in a program co-sponsored by Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu). We get to watch the events in the United States as and when they unfold, mostly live, as it happened a while ago with the fire in the west wing of the White House. Now they are talking about the election campaign-the topic of this blog- on CNN, an American network, as I am typing these lines on MS Word, one of the key products of an American software giant. Nine out of 13 tabs on the Firefox, competitor of Microsoft’s IE but still an American thing (Internet itself is an American thing, isn’t it?), display American websites. A paper lies on the floor on my left side that’s known around the world as the New York Times (these particular pages come as a weekly pullout along with an Indian paper called Asian Age).
America, America everywhere, not a blog to post? How can that be? That’s why I have decided to create a separate category on UWB to write about my feelings and perspectives on American Democracy. Whenever I am free and browsing web, I spent majority of the time with sites that are talking about the presidential election campaigns. Oh… I have spent countless tea session in a small teashop near my office with Deepak Adhikari, a reporter colleague of mine at Kantipur Publications, talking about American politics (yes the rise of Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney’s speech on religion, my fascination with Barrack Obama and sympathy for Hillary Clinton and much more). Talks about politics have become more frequent in the past several days as the primaries in the US and Deepak’s travel to the States are nearing. Well, he will go to the States as a fellow to work at Pittsburgh Post Gazette for six months only in March but till then he wants to gain as much knowledge about the US as possible.
“I am a pro-American,” I flatly told a Maoist girl a few days ago when I met her in Kathmandu. (”Princess” of the Party is the nickname that I give to her. When she knew about the nickname that I was considering for her, she was like “yuk! that sounds really bad”. I don’t think she will ever speak to me after reading this!) “I like everything about America,” I remember telling her which, in fact, is not entirely true. There are a many things that I don’t like about America: the fact that I couldn’t see Himalayas from the University of Southern California is one of them!!! The Princess was quick enough to dismiss by praise of America (”Why do you think Bush didn’t give enough attention to the plight of the blacks during the Hurricane Katrina?”)
Anyway, I am talking about this new blog post about the American election campaign. What could I do, it seems I will not have any opportunity to blog about elections campaigns in Nepal. That would be the loveliest thing for me to do: to write about our own democratic exercise. But leaders here are such a bunch of fools that they don’t seem to be interested in electoral politics, at least not in work. But when it comes to talking about elections, no leader in the world can match them. I do hope the day will come when we will be talking about our own election campaigns and analyzing about the voting patterns instead of following the American elections via news, blogs and TVs.
My primary sources for the campaign news are the web sites of American newspapers like New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times and various blogs at those newspaper sites and other independent blogs and web sites. I also watch CNN when I am at home which helps me to get right pronunciation. For instance, I recently learned that Des Moines is De Moin, not Desh Moinesh! Just a quick note, the web site of Des Moines Register is horrible compared to those put of by the NY Times or the Washington Post. I will continue writing about likes and dislikes and so on in these posts in coming days because, as I have mentioned above, the sole purpose of this blog category is the same. [List of the web sites that I will be visiting to follow the campaign will be posted in next blog.]
Tired of reading about foreign interference in Nepali politics? Watch out: I will be interfering in the American politics!
[Parts of this blog were written on Wednesday, 19 December.] This blog was also posted on WSJ where at least two have commented.
Filed under: American Elections
Our “politicians” are not interested in democracy. They are only concerned with holding on to power and the ability to rob the nation. The same might be said of some american politicians. The only hope for us is that the Nepal Army will seize control, ruthlessly suppress any and all rebellions from any quarter, restore order and the rule of law, and then hold free and fair elections to elect a true representative government of the people.
BTW, the Rocky Mountains also are quite beautiful.
OK, I apologize. This is a thread on America. The US is in a self-destruct mode due to the american people having lost the will to sacrifice for anything, even their freedom. They are becoming europeanized in thinking and will champion any “good cause” as long as some one else does the work and pays for it. In america there are 10 people riding for every two people pulling the cart. Those two are getting tired. The big money special interests have moved their investments to China and India and they don’t care what happens to america any more. The average american is ignorant of this fact and is blissfully unaware of the coming decline in their standard of living. In 30 years, the US will be a Spanish speaking third world debtor nation.
I need to add that I am not anti-american. I am in mourning for the great nation that is in serious decline. I believe that wherever freedom exists in the world, to whatever degree, it is there because of the existence of the US. There was not even the concept of freedom and equality until the founding of America. It required great courage and sacrifice from a succession of great generations to make the concept reality. Those generations are passed. Now is Paris Hilton, Snoop Dog and George Clooney.
Kudos! Dinesh ji! I am with you on this.
That is why I am telling that Nepal Army should be very neutral in this situation. They should not obey the instruction of failure SPAM too, specially in the case of suppressing ethnic groups and disturbing themselves. The political situation is showing that there will be tussle between SPAM and ethnic parties in very near future, and ethnic parties might overtake them due to their misrule and support of the Internationa communitiesw. In that situation NA should join hand with ethnic parties for the sovereignity and to make the country united among the different ethnic groups. Even NA too might have to change themselves, according to the demand, for the unity and sovereignity.
I am not sure about the actual mission of this blog which is titled “UWB for a Democratic NEPAL” has to do with Mr. Wagle’s views about America, but if one takes aside that mis-alignment he is absolutely on the right track to be supporting the USA.
USA is a country with GOOD people, GOOD intentions and no matter what people of the world at large think, or not think, USA will prevail largely not because of its military prowess, but because of the good hearted citizens who live here and will eventually shape the future policy by the enfranchised power of the vote.
USA for the world and the world for the USA !
It is a pathetic bizarreness in Nepali Politics that it is running though with not a single contribution and significance. In abroad government can’t even stand a day without working for people. But is really strange in our case that there has been nothing significant done.
My brother returned from abroad after year and found that Nepali politics now is exactly still there where he left. Like Kunda Dixit wrote last time that ‘Nepal was lackluster when Jimmy Carter came 7 months ago and still same when he came last month and will still be there where he left on his next visit.’
It is irony in Nepal for these unaccountable politicians be capable to be in political chair doing nothing. Nai yasto tal le kahile po bikas huncha ra yaar hamro desh!!!
So better follow American Election and talk of that upon tea in chowk. Better to talk of Clinton and Obama than these irritating Makuney or PushpaJI or Girijau. Better not to stay long in power in democracy-as is proved by recent humiliating failure of Australian former PM John Howard and victory of Republican Kevin Rudd. Be in power for five year, do all you can and retire. Then write book. Then you will be legend and be remembered. This formula unfortunately will never be known by these idiots and all will perish.
and Best of Luck to Dinesh Ji to interfere on Gore Sahab’s Rajniti.
‘ It is time to make peace with the planet’, Gore said in his acceptance speech that quoted Churchill, Gandhi and the Bible.’We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nation mobilized for war’.
Gore urged china andthe U.S.-the world’s biggest carbon emitters-to ‘make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act’.
Al Gore received his Nobel peace prize and urged the United State and China.
Pusp Prasad Luintel
President
Green Nepal Party [Hariyali]
Boston, U. S. A.
nice comments
Dineshjee.
South-Asia gave them a language they speak. Gave them the number 0 on which electronics numbering systems are based, and above all, present European (or American) civilization itself is import largely from Asia.
Yeah, in modern times we did get Cola, Firefox and Internet. I have heard that Cola is not a healthy drink. Is that true? I don’t say this, Americans complain. And yeah! We did get BUSH from American democracy. Do you want him in Nepal?
I am a Nepali Janjati? I have my own problem that is nothing to do with America, capitalism, communist, cola, firefox, internet and BUSH. Does it make any sense for me to be pro or anti American? Doesn’t help solve my problem. Hah yeah I am Pro-American to any American who is Pro-Nepal.
Enjoy America.
“South-Asia gave them a language they speak”
Are you refering to the Indo-Aryan root of almost all non-Chinese base languages including our own? My, you do go back a way! It was the Arabs that developed the 0, and which part of present European civilization to you imagine came from which part of Asia? Do Rome and Greece count as Asia?
I think that Dineshjee is right - why bother being pro- or anti-American? Could it possibly be because the US is the largest contributor to your INGO funds at USD $40 million in 2008 and growing (from a single country - not a UN group like World Food Programme); or that the US is the largest contributor to UN programs (at USD $10 BILLION estimated for 2008) versus the next largest, Japan, (at USD $4 Billion); or that the line for visas to go to the United States is on average longer than any other country here and at almost any other embassy in the world for education; or perhaps it is just that the human nature is to always put down the most successful.
In Nepal the 601 assembly members who WON their constituents votes are already at the hands of the wolves - those same constituents.
We don’t need to be pro or anti-American but we should ALL appreciate the amount of money they give away at the expense of their own citizens… that’s right - most Americans would not stand for it (according to discussions with Americans during my 6 years there in university) but the undercurrent is to pull back on all of the outgoing funds to the rest of the world and give them to US citizens - but they don’t. As Huna ta ho said, American people have good hearts and want to give. I was in Florida during the hurricane Katrina and saw how many of the people donated so much food and clothes and also all of their churches collected money and it was all spent on important things like shelter and food and clothes because the churches would tell their members and show them the bills for what they bought with the money. So they are both giving and honorable.
One only hopes that the Nepal government can take this kind of honesty and eliminate corruption. Maybe we should call on the Prime Minister donation fund to report in the paper everything that the money is spent on - it would go a very long way in showing the Nepali people that the promise of corruption elimination is being done from the top down.