ScienceDaily — Researchers from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and CREAF have developed the Suitability Atlas of Woody Plants of the Iberian Peninsula, a series of digital maps available online which for the first time reveal the present and future degree of adaptation to climate conditions of the main plant species found in the forests throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Data shows the tendency of forests to move higher in altitude and migrate towards the north.
Today, territory and species conservation managers need to rely on data and empirical methods on which to base their protection policies. Within the context of Global Change, the maps offered can be useful to evaluate possible changes in the distribution of forests in the future, which could lead to an in depth study of mitigation and/or adaptation tools needed to face these changes.
Until now, a few maps had been drawn for specific woody plants or for partial areas of the peninsula. The Suitability Atlas of Woody Plants however offers a global view of the Iberian Peninsula. The series of maps were created to determine the degree of suitability to climate and/or topographic conditions of the forests' main woody plants. With the help of these maps one can verify, in an area of 200 metres, the topo-climatic suitability of the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, these values can be consulted for the current climatic scenario (1950-1998) and for future projections proposed by one of the foremost research centres dedicated to climate change, the Hadley Centre, located in Exeter, UK.
The Atlas combines advanced methodologies and technologies such as Geographic Information Systems, multivariate statistics and interoperable geoportals to offer both rigorous cartographic standards and information that can be consulted by the general public.
The Atlas was developed by a group of researchers from the UAB Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, in collaboration with the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), under the framework of the R&D&I National Plan.
Main features of the Atlas
* Completeness: covering almost all woody species found in forests
* Quality initial data: both the Digital Climate Atlas of the Iberian Peninsula (ACDPI) and the third National Forest Inventory are cartography databases with high spatial resolution and with proven data quality.
* Detailed resolution: 200 m spatial resolution
* Objectivity: numerical quality (known level of error) calculated and documented for each map.
* Interoperability: format in which maps can be viewed allows users to contrast information with other map databases
* Accessibility: maps can be consulted online in GIS format without the need of additional installations.
First results
Researchers have already obtained the first scientific results with the help of Atlas data. They were able to verify that many species could be affected by the reduction in suitability in the regions they currently inhabit. They detected a tendency in forests to migrate towards higher altitudes and more northern latitudes. In this sense, mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees are seen as important protection areas of biodiversity within the context of Climate Change.
Nevertheless, not all species react the same when suffering the consequences of climate change. Species such as aleppo pine, stone pine, or holm oak are more resistant and may even occupy larger areas in the future. In contrast, species such as scots pine or beech are more affected by rising temperatures and longer dry periods and therefore the space they occupy may begin to decrease.
At these moments researchers are studying the total forest surface which could be lost or substituted by scrubs, as well as interactions between forest species when their area of distribution is modified. The fact that forest surfaces are decreasing is of great relevance, since this represents a reduction in CO2 consumption, an increase in the risk of land erosion and modifications in water cycles.
Showing posts with label lovingnepal news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lovingnepal news. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wikileaks release of embassy cables reveals US concerns
Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has released 250,000 secret messages sent by US embassies which give an insight into current American global concerns.
They include reports of some Arab leaders - including the Saudi king - urging the US to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons programme.
Other concerns include the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon.
The widespread use of hacking by the Chinese government is also reported.
The leaked US embassy cables also reportedly include accounts of:
* Corruption within the Afghan government, with concerns heightened when a senior official was found to be carrying more than $50m in cash on a foreign trip
* Bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp - including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner if they wanted to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama
* The extraordinarily close relationship between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi
* Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime
* American and South Korean officials' discussions about the prospects for a unified Korea should North Korea collapse as a viable state
* Sharply critical accounts of UK military operations in Afghanistan
The US government has condemned the release of state department documents.
"President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world, but this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal," a White House statement said.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information."
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, says the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
Earlier, Wikileaks said it had come under attack from a computer-hacking operation.
"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it reported on its Twitter feed.
No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Mr Assange's organisation.
Wikileaks argues that the site's previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They include reports of some Arab leaders - including the Saudi king - urging the US to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons programme.
Other concerns include the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon.
The widespread use of hacking by the Chinese government is also reported.
The leaked US embassy cables also reportedly include accounts of:
* Corruption within the Afghan government, with concerns heightened when a senior official was found to be carrying more than $50m in cash on a foreign trip
* Bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp - including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner if they wanted to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama
* The extraordinarily close relationship between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi
* Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime
* American and South Korean officials' discussions about the prospects for a unified Korea should North Korea collapse as a viable state
* Sharply critical accounts of UK military operations in Afghanistan
The US government has condemned the release of state department documents.
"President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world, but this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal," a White House statement said.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information."
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, says the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
Earlier, Wikileaks said it had come under attack from a computer-hacking operation.
"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it reported on its Twitter feed.
No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Mr Assange's organisation.
Wikileaks argues that the site's previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Engineers Assessing Cassini Spacecraft
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are working to understand what caused NASA's Cassini spacecraft to put itself into "safe mode," a precautionary standby mode. Cassini entered safe mode around 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Since going into safe mode, the spacecraft has performed as expected, suspending the flow of science data and sending back only data about engineering and spacecraft health. Cassini is programmed to put itself into safe mode automatically any time it detects a condition on the spacecraft that requires action from mission controllers on the ground.
Engineers say it is not likely that Cassini will be able to resume full operations before a planned Nov. 11 flyby of Saturn's moon Titan. But Cassini has 53 more Titan flybys planned in its extended mission, which lasts until 2017.
"The spacecraft responded exactly as it should have, and I fully expect that we will get Cassini back up and running with no problems," said Bob Mitchell, Cassini program manager based at JPL. "Over the more than six years we have been at Saturn, this is only the second safing event. So considering the complexity of demands we have made on Cassini, the spacecraft has performed exceptionally well for us."
Since Cassini launched in 1997, Cassini has put itself into safe mode a total of six times.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington
Since going into safe mode, the spacecraft has performed as expected, suspending the flow of science data and sending back only data about engineering and spacecraft health. Cassini is programmed to put itself into safe mode automatically any time it detects a condition on the spacecraft that requires action from mission controllers on the ground.
Engineers say it is not likely that Cassini will be able to resume full operations before a planned Nov. 11 flyby of Saturn's moon Titan. But Cassini has 53 more Titan flybys planned in its extended mission, which lasts until 2017.
"The spacecraft responded exactly as it should have, and I fully expect that we will get Cassini back up and running with no problems," said Bob Mitchell, Cassini program manager based at JPL. "Over the more than six years we have been at Saturn, this is only the second safing event. So considering the complexity of demands we have made on Cassini, the spacecraft has performed exceptionally well for us."
Since Cassini launched in 1997, Cassini has put itself into safe mode a total of six times.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington
Thirty-three whales die after becoming beached off Irish coast
Environmentalists are trying to establish what made them cast themselves onto the shore amid fears it could have been caused by Royal Navy sonar equipment.
The whales were found off Rutland Island near Burtonport in County Donegal on Saturday.
It's thought they were the same group spotted in the Inner Hebrides at the end of October.
Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said it was one of the biggest mass deaths of whales in Irish history.
He said: "Thirty or 40 pilot whales were spotted off the Inner Hebrides at South Uist last week.
"It looked like they were going to strand. It was bad weather. They were not seen again."
Dr Berrow told the BBC that the Royal Navy had been in the area off South Uist and had moved away.
Campaigners were concerned that the latest sonar equipment could affect the navigational skills of this species deep-diving whales.
But a spokeswoman from the Royal Navy said that when the whales were spotted near South Uist, the closest navy ship was 50 miles away.
At that distance, she said, there was no way that the sonar equipment could have affected them.
In the past, the navy has denied that sonar noise from their warships could cause whales to beach.
However, in America, the US Navy was ordered not to use mid-frequency sonar during training exercises from 2007 and 2009, after a judge found in favour of campaigners who argued the devices harmed marine mammals in the area.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology has travelled to the scene off Donegal to investigate.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology travelled to the scene off Donegal at the weekend to see if they could determine what had happened.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001
The whales were found off Rutland Island near Burtonport in County Donegal on Saturday.
It's thought they were the same group spotted in the Inner Hebrides at the end of October.
Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said it was one of the biggest mass deaths of whales in Irish history.
He said: "Thirty or 40 pilot whales were spotted off the Inner Hebrides at South Uist last week.
"It looked like they were going to strand. It was bad weather. They were not seen again."
Dr Berrow told the BBC that the Royal Navy had been in the area off South Uist and had moved away.
Campaigners were concerned that the latest sonar equipment could affect the navigational skills of this species deep-diving whales.
But a spokeswoman from the Royal Navy said that when the whales were spotted near South Uist, the closest navy ship was 50 miles away.
At that distance, she said, there was no way that the sonar equipment could have affected them.
In the past, the navy has denied that sonar noise from their warships could cause whales to beach.
However, in America, the US Navy was ordered not to use mid-frequency sonar during training exercises from 2007 and 2009, after a judge found in favour of campaigners who argued the devices harmed marine mammals in the area.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology has travelled to the scene off Donegal to investigate.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology travelled to the scene off Donegal at the weekend to see if they could determine what had happened.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Strange Facebook Love Story Is Big Screen Hit
While the upcoming movie The Social Network is offering one view of Facebook, another big-screen release is taking a personal look at the power of internet site on a shoestring.
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Strange Facebook Love Story Is Big Screen Hit
While the upcoming movie The Social Network is offering one view of Facebook, another big-screen release is taking a personal look at the power of internet site on a shoestring.
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
China Piracy Makes Microsoft Head Nervous
Illegal piracy needs to be addressed and intellectual property needs better protection in China, the Microsoft CEO has told students in London.
Steve Ballmer said that piracy in China is twenty times worse than the UK and twelve times worse than in India.
That, coupled with the fact that China will soon be the world’s number economy, makes him "nervous".
The Microsoft head was speaking to students, academics and the media at the London School of Economics (LSE) where he gave a lecture entitled 'Seizing the Opportunity of the Cloud: the Next Wave of Business Growth'.
Mr Ballmer said that while consumers had embraced the always-on connectivity that is possible with smartphones and similar devices, business had been slower to see the potential.
He argued that in the field of science, communities of joined-up computer users will be able to achieve far more than one machine of whatever size can alone.
He called on governments to see the potential for efficiencies through the use of cloud based services - something his company will sell you for a price.
And he argued that while there might be some job losses in some areas of IT as a result of better use of automation, there was the possibility of a net increase in jobs with more people designing and managing more services.
Steve Ballmer praised the UK’s role as home to great innovators, both as app creators and as consumers keen to embrace new technologies.
That is one reason why the new Windows 7 phone will have its global launch here, he said.
"We know that this is a place where if we get a product right, we'll get a good early reception," he told his audience.
Mr Ballmer admitted Microsoft had been a little slow to the smartphone market, but promised a real wow factor when new handsets become available later in the autumn.
The Microsoft CEO choose to ignore questions about the future of the operating system (such as XP and Vista, the mainstay of profit for Microsoft) – and the threat from Google’s, proposed, free, Chrome OS.
He also appeared horrified at the suggestion that Microsoft, like so many tech companies, might, one day, fail.
"Very few tech companies have stayed at the top for a long time," he admitted.
But he said that Microsoft would, under his leadership thrive, as long "as we continue to innovate and change".
Steve Ballmer said that piracy in China is twenty times worse than the UK and twelve times worse than in India.
That, coupled with the fact that China will soon be the world’s number economy, makes him "nervous".
The Microsoft head was speaking to students, academics and the media at the London School of Economics (LSE) where he gave a lecture entitled 'Seizing the Opportunity of the Cloud: the Next Wave of Business Growth'.
Mr Ballmer said that while consumers had embraced the always-on connectivity that is possible with smartphones and similar devices, business had been slower to see the potential.
He argued that in the field of science, communities of joined-up computer users will be able to achieve far more than one machine of whatever size can alone.
He called on governments to see the potential for efficiencies through the use of cloud based services - something his company will sell you for a price.
And he argued that while there might be some job losses in some areas of IT as a result of better use of automation, there was the possibility of a net increase in jobs with more people designing and managing more services.
Steve Ballmer praised the UK’s role as home to great innovators, both as app creators and as consumers keen to embrace new technologies.
That is one reason why the new Windows 7 phone will have its global launch here, he said.
"We know that this is a place where if we get a product right, we'll get a good early reception," he told his audience.
Mr Ballmer admitted Microsoft had been a little slow to the smartphone market, but promised a real wow factor when new handsets become available later in the autumn.
The Microsoft CEO choose to ignore questions about the future of the operating system (such as XP and Vista, the mainstay of profit for Microsoft) – and the threat from Google’s, proposed, free, Chrome OS.
He also appeared horrified at the suggestion that Microsoft, like so many tech companies, might, one day, fail.
"Very few tech companies have stayed at the top for a long time," he admitted.
But he said that Microsoft would, under his leadership thrive, as long "as we continue to innovate and change".
Monday, September 27, 2010
Current Situation of Nepal
It is generally conceded that at the moment there are three main actors in Nepal and it is the conflict among the three groups that has produced instability and insecurity among the people and many think that the country is moving towards a "failed state" mode. While the situation should be cause for concern, it is not yet a failed state and there is still hope that Nepal could recover back to normalcy though it could be a long drawn process.
First is the monarchy, the security forces and the Kathmandu elite who generally favour the royalty and believe in an active role for the King to solve the current crisis in Nepal. Second are the political parties of all hues who by their mis-governance, infighting, corruption and ego clashes have reached a point when the common man or woman has contempt for them. Most of the leaders are stay put in the capital or in the district headquarters and have not moved out to visit their native places or their constituencies for fear of their lives. Third are the Maoists who since February 1996 by waging a people’s war have considerably strengthened themselves, by exploiting the fractured polity and the social and economic factors prevailing both in the country side and remote places and above all in the over- confidence displayed by the government and the security forces in the first four years of insurgency.
Since all the three actors are antagonistic to each other, there is a kind of equilibrium, with each trying to out do the other. Factors that would affect this equilibrium would be A. if any two of the three join hands to find a solution to the current situation and B. if one of the three actors gets weakened. Right now what is happening is that the political parties are in disarray with no possibility of uniting for the sake of democracy, leaving the field to the King and the army and the elite on one hand and the Maoists on the other. This needs to be corrected. The only solution would be for the political parties to give up their self-destructive course and the monarchy to give up its ambition of taking over and join hands together to uphold the 1990 constitution. This is doable only if both the actors in this drama give up their egos.
The Maoists:
The Maoists are all over the place, running a parallel government in many districts, collecting taxes, meting out punishments and settling disputes. It is no exaggeration that in many outlying areas (leaving the towns and the district headquarters) people generally go to the Maoist representatives and not the government representative or the police with their grievance for settlement and justice is done instantly and swiftly with no scope for appeal! This is also because of the fact that most of the VDCs are non functional and so are the police posts which have disappeared. The security forces do visit frequently but invariably the Maoists get forewarned and leave the scene only to come back as soon as the forces leave. Any informant or suspected informant is severely dealt with and punishment is harsh. Fear has gripped the villagers both from the security forces and the Maoists.
Most of the able-bodied youths have left the villages out of fear of either being harassed by the security forces or being recruited by the Maoists. Many from the western region have fled to India. Kathmandu’s population has dramatically increased and has crossed three million. Land prices have gone up. New boarding schools are coming up in Kathmandu mainly to cater to the children of the rich and non resident Nepalese, and many schools have become non functional in the rural areas.
The Maoist leadership is under the impression that they are winning and the balance of power is in their favour. They continue to maintain that elections to a constituent assembly and mediation by United Nations or similar agency as preconditions to agree for a cease-fire and talks. It is also believed that the military wing of the Maoists is insisting that they should have one or more major attacks on government posts or security posts before agreeing to talk.
But a study of the Maoists’ activities since February 1996 would indicate that they reached the peak sometime in end 2002 and from then there is a downward trend in the incidents both in terms of numbers and in casualties, civilian and the military. There will be many incidents in future also and this cannot be avoided as the security forces cannot be everywhere, but the initiative has been wrested from the Maoists.
Two recent incidents give an idea of the capability of the Maoists and their training. A video footage of the ambush at Krishna Bhir in Dhading on November 16 showed that the Maoists ( with many female cadres) were moving aimlessly soon after the incident which they cannot afford to do. It showed a lack of professionalism. On the other hand, the ambush near Banke on November 18 indicated that the Maoists had prior information about the movement of the patrol of the security forces which perhaps was obtained by interception.
The Maoists are also seen to have moved onto softer targets like the bombing of an empty building right in the heart of Sundara in Kathmandu on November 9. Kidnapping, extortion and destruction of infra structure may increase. Where the Maoists appear to have succeeded, is in causing panic and fear among the people. When a two-day hartal (strike) was declared by the Maoists in Dhading district soon after the ambush at Krishna Bhir there were long queues in petrol outlets in Kathmandu valley fearing a blockade. Surprisingly the government did nothing to assuage the fears of the public.
Security in the Indo Nepal border has also been tightened and the SSB on the Indian side are alert. Most of the top leaders have moved into their traditional stronghold in western Nepal.
Some analysts would like compare the position of the Maoists with that of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. This is not correct. The Maoists still do not have a secure base area like the LTTE and are not in a position to wage a conventional battle with the security forces.
The Security forces on the other hand make it a point not to allow the Maoists a base in western Nepal where they are strong and disturb the cells and units located in the valley and its surrounding districts of Kathmandu regularly.
The King:
The King is in a position similar to what his grand father Tribhuvan experienced soon after his return after the tripartite agreement between the King, the political parties and the Rana oligarchy in 1950. The problem for the present King is his credibility. No one believes him when he swears by the 1990 constitution and his determination to strengthen multi party democracy and constitutional monarchy. His actions since the sacking of Deuba government for incompetence on October 4, 2002, his choice of Prime ministers one after the other, reluctantly giving executive powers to the last prime minister Deuba and the behaviour of some ministers supposedly included on his recommendation give the impression that the King has not given up his ambitions to revert the country back to the Panchayat days.
Going by King Tribhuvan’s experience, besides handing over power to an able and decisive political leader who could be seen and known to be independent of the monarchy, the present King could be thinking of two other options- one, rule with an advisory council in place or take over direct administration for a limited period, set right the law and order problem and then go for the democratic process. The latter two have serious drawbacks and will not work in the current political and international environment and the likely result could be the end of monarchy itself.
Nepal needs monarchy which is the only unifying factor in the country that is multi ethnic, multi lingual with a majority of dissatisfied people belonging to non Chetri and non Brahmin communities like the Magars & Gurungs ( Janajathi) and the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. But the institution cannot survive if those representing the system do not understand their own limitations as Nepal has come a long way from the days of Prithvi Narayan Shah.
The Political Parties:
The saddest part of the whole situation in Nepal is that the political parties are disunited and they do not seem to realise that by their actions they are undermining democracy for which they fought and suffered so much before the 1990 revolution. The present prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba lost his youth in jail for nearly nine years and so were many others. The leading cadres of all the democratic groups seem to have forgotten their sacrifices and are more eager to seek offices under any circumstances and most of them if not all are corrupt.
The common man or woman in the streets has contempt for them. The leaders are unable to stir out of the valley or from district headquarters and the most they do is to regularly issue statements. Most of the cadres in the country side have no choice but to go along with the Maoists and many have been killed for not conforming to the dictates of the Maoists.
Every party is split and there are serious differences within all parties. Of the three major parties, the Nepali Congress is split vertically and the two sides do not seem to be getting closer. The UML (United Marxist Leninist) has too many leaders at the top each talking differently on every issue.
The RPP is also getting split with Surya Bahadur Thapa getting ready to start a new party due to his differences with the Pasupathi Samsher Rana and Lokendra Bahadur Chand.
The Nepal Sadhbhavana Party is split with one party in the government and the other faction joining the opposition coalition led by Nepali Congress of G.P.Koirala.
One senior political leader G.P.Koirala who has the stature, following and the ability to take strong and decisive steps has unfortunately driven himself to a corner. His one line remedy for all the evils Nepal is facing today is to restore the parliament that was dissolved by the King in late 2002. Once the parliament is restored, he has said that he would not disturb the present Prime Minister Sher Bhadur Deuba and the two factions of the Nepali Congress would automatically merge. But Deuba does not trust him. After all GP ditched Madhav Nepal of UML of prime ministership after openly agreeing to nominate him!
The Way Out:
The plan of the Maoists should be very clear to all. If election to the constituent assembly is accepted, there will have to be an interim administration and the Maoists will demand a dominant role. This they had already expressed forcefully. Then would come the demand for the merger of their "People’s liberation Army" with that of the security forces, then the "peoples’ demand" for the abolition of monarchy to the final stage where they could capture power in a weakened polity. If a ‘benefit analysis’ is made, it should be obvious as to who would gain most!
If the Maoists’ demands are not met, there are only two options left. Either restore the parliament or conduct the elections. Both have serious drawbacks but some move has to be made to get out of the constitutional limbo, the country is now in. The country cannot go on indefinitely hoping that the security forces in course of time will be able to get the better of the Maoists and establish peace and security in the country side. There could be no military solution and for a holistic approach, a stable political environment is necessary.
Legal authorities believe that the parliament could be restored not by recourse to Article 127 of the 1990 Constitution to which many political parties are opposed, but by invoking the "doctrine of necessity" as the late Zia ul Haq legitimised himself in Pakistan. The fear is that if the doctrine of necessity is invoked to reinstate the parliament and make it a precedent, the same doctrine could be invoked to do many other unconstitutional things that include snuffing out democracy itself.
Having restored the Parliament the political leaders do not seem to have a plan for the next steps to restore law and order. The main problem would continue to be "how to bring the Maoists to the table for a dialogue." Of the forty demands made by the Maoists before starting the peoples’ war in 1996, many of them are genuine grievances of the people and would need immediate attention. All that would happen is that the political leaders would revert to their old habits and not address the problems that created the insurgency!
The second option is to go for elections for whatever it is worth. In the present security scenario, elections will have to be done in stages with not more than five districts at a time. For 75 districts it would take 15 stages spread over many months and even then there is no guarantee that full security could be given to the candidates or to the polling booths. There will be many killings of candidates, political cadres of parties participating in the elections and supporters.
Many point out that if India could conduct elections in Kashmir with twenty percent polling, it can be done in Nepal also and that sixty percent of polling is assured. The government is perhaps taking in to account that most of the people in the Terai, Kathmandu and other big towns would come forward to vote. But the Maoists are in a position to disturb the elections even in the valley.
It is a difficult decision to make but there has to be a move forward either way and it is better than what we see today with an indecisive government, with ministers and political leaders pulling in different directions, with the threat of the King taking over or of Maoists over running Kathmandu eventually. Making no move is not a viable approach at all and the government will have to act and act fast.
A list of incidents relating to Maoist insurgency since the last list is given as an appendix.
Appendix
Incidents
October 2004
12. Three Maoists were killed in a security action at Sukkhad area of Kailali district
14. Five Maoist militants were gunned down in Chitrebhanjyang, a bordering area between Syangja and Tanahun districts.
15. Five militants were killed at Mulkharka of Okhaldhunga district in an encounter with security forces.
Maoist militants torched two passenger buses in Malka of Kailali district.
16. Nine Maoist militants were killed in clashes with security personnel in western region of the country.
In Siraha, three Maoist militants were killed at Mainawati Khola. The incident occurred when six arrested militants were being transferred to an army post.
17. Two militants were killed in security action at Peterhwa VDC of Dhanusha district.
Maoist militants attacked a rally organised by pro-left Jana Morcha Nepal in western district of Baglung (People's Front Nepal-PFN) and abducted 52 PFN activists.
18. Maoists killed two youths at Okhre, Dhankuta district. The militants accused them of spying.
21. Maoists exploded a bomb at Chun Danda of Liku VDC in Dolpa district. Nobody was injured in the incident.
29. The Maoists abducted 12 youths from Hapure, Dang district, after a mass meeting in the area.
In Saptari, a group of armed Maoists abducted two civilians, one from Pipra area and another from Baitawa VDC.
30. A local Maoist commander was killed in an offensive of the security forces at a Dadeldhura village, far-western Nepal.
31. The Maoist militants shot dead a civilian named Chhotlal Prasad Yadav in Parsa district. The militants abducted Yadav, a resident of Chhat Pipara VDC-1, accusing him of being involved in different incidents of robbery and kidnapping in Bara and Parsa districts and spying against the party.
At least three Maoist militants were killed in separate encounters with the security forces in Dailekh and Taplejung district.
Maoists attacked Mugu district headquarters. They reportedly detonated bombs and set over a dozen government offices and private houses on fire in the district headquarters and they also damaged the District Education Office.
November 2004
3. At least three security personnel were injured during a clash with Maoist militants in the western district of Palpa.
Five civilians were injured when the Maoist detonated a powerful bomb in front of a hotel at Gothalopani Bazaar in the district headquarters of Baitadi.
4. Two security men were injured when a patrolling team fell prey to Maoist laid ambush at Maidika Danda of Palung Mainali VDC-5 along Palpa-Tansen road.
At least six Maoist militants were killed in separate clashes with the security forces in Rolpa, Kalikot and Gorkha districts.
5. Maoist militants set fire on a Mid-Marsyangdi vehicle in the western district of Lamjung. Three armed militants sprayed diesel on the vehicle at Khahare khola in Udipur VDC when it was parked there for cleaning. They also exploded four bombs within the bus and damaged two other vehicles belonging to the project.
6. A 12-year-old boy was killed in Kalideu of Rukum district , when a Maoist-planted bomb exploded in the premises of Laxmi Lower secondary School.
Two suspected Maoist militants were killed in latest security action in Bardiya district.
At least two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Palpa district.
Armed Maoists abducted two persons in Rautahat district. Pradeep Shah, former chairman of Piprapokharia VDC and his brother, Pratap, were abducted from their home. The militants accused them of spying.
7. At least five Maoists were killed in separate security actions in Gorkha and Doti districts.
Three Maoists including an area commander were killed in a ‘retaliatory action’ of security forces at Rupasdanda section of the Dadeldhura-Dhangadi highway.
8. Maoist militants abducted ten minors from Bindhyabasini VDC of the mid western district of Dailekh recently.
9. Suspected Maoists detonated a powerful bomb within the premises of the state-owned newly constructed Karmachari Sanchay Kosh (Employees’ Provident Fund) building at Sundhara in the capital, leaving 38 people injured.
Suspected Maoists exploded a bomb at the Internal Revenue Office in Bhaktapur, injuring two people, one serious.
CPN-UML district committee member and area incharge Bhojraj Bhattarai was shot dead by the Maoists nearby his house at Tapumath Lakuribot.
10. The Maoist gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on a group of four local youths at Ward No. 8 of Birendranagar Municipality, killing three on the spot It is yet not known why the ultras killed them. Fourth person was seriously injured in the incident.
In Khalanga of Jumla district, an eight-year-old child was killed when a bomb laid by the Maoists went off at the premises of a bordering school.
13. Maoist militants shot dead a police constable in Dang.
Maoist militants fired indiscriminately and shot five youths at Malakheti VDC in far-western district of Kailali.
The militants killed Lacchu Sah Sonar, a resident of Gaira Phetpur VDC in southern district of Mahottari, accusing him of being involved in a number of robbery and murder cases in the district.
14. Maoists militants exploded improvised bombs at the district office of the state-owned Nepal Food Corporation at Dhading besi in Dhading district, adjoining Kathmandu.
Maoists militants caused explosions at the building under-construction of Prithvi Narayan municipality in western district of Gorkha. Nobody was injured in the explosions.
15. Maoists killed police constable Gajendra Bahadur Sahi at Musariya along East-West Highway after taking him out of a passenger’s bus heading for Dhangadi from Sukhad.
16. At least six security personnel were killed when a fresh clash between security forces and Maoists erupted in Kailali district. Two Maoist militants were also killed in the incident.
A policeman and a civilian were killed when Maoist gunmen stormed a police post at Mahendranagar of Dhanusha district.
Maoists abducted at least 53 people of Bajhang district who were heading towards India to resume their work.
17. At least eight security personnel including an inspector of the Armed Police Force were killed in a clash with the Maoists at Khairi Khola area of Banke district.
18. At least four Maoists were killed in fresh encounters with the security forces in different parts of the country.
A Maoist militia commander named Raj Kumar was killed at Balapakhar area of Dhanusha district during a search operation.
19. At least two Maoists were killed in security actions during a search operation in Kailali district.
Maoists killed assistant exam controller Indra Bahadur Acharya, 52, nearby his residence at Baidam in Pokhara.
20. At least two soldiers were killed and another wounded in a Maoist planted landmine explosion in Surkhet.
Maoists shot dead a soldier at Ratnanagar in Chitwan district.
Suspected Maoist detonated a bomb at Triyuga Printing Press situated at Baidhakhana Road, Anamnagar in Kathmandu.
Maoist militants brutally killed three people including an eight-year old child in Dailekh district.
The militants abducted six people including 14-year old child from various VDCs in the district.
At least three Maoist militants were killed while trying to detonate a bomb at Sisuwa Chowk of Lekhnath Municipality-8, in the Pokhara valley
At least 10 security personnel and over 16 Maoist rebels were killed in a clash at Pandaun area of Kailali
22. An Armed Police Force inspector was killed in a Maoist laid ambush at the jungles of Kakani in Nuwakot district Two other APF personal were injured in the incident.
27. At least three children were severely injured while playing with a socket bomb reportedly left behind by the Maoists at Hajaria in Sarlahi.
A policeman and two Maoists were killed in separate clashes in Bardiya and Tehrathum districts.
Two women militants were killed in a security action at Paothi area of Tehrathum district. Security authorities claimed that some Maoist documents and logistics were recovered form the incident site.
Maoists killed three civilians in Sindhuli and Dailekh. In Sindhuli, militants killed Krishna Basnet of Nipane VDC charging him of spying against them.
28. Maoists abducted over 1,500 civilians in 8 different VDCs of the far western district of Bajura. Maoists ordered the villagers to compulsorily provide them (Maoists) at least a member from each family as their fulltime worker, which has led villagers to exodus.
29. At least five Maoist militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in the far western Kailali district.
On the eve of the second International Buddhist Conference in south-western district of Rupandehi, Maoist militants caused a series of bomb explosions, but there are no reports of casualties.
Six Maoists, including two women, were killed in clashes with the security forces in Kalikot and Banke districts.
Kamal Chaudhari, Maoist chief of Banke district was killed in security action. No casualties on the security side were reported. .
30. In Dailekh, Maoists killed Lal Bahadur khadka and Mahendra Subedi. Subedi and Khada were abducted on November 19 on charges of making plans to resist Maoists atrocities in the area.
A civilian was killed when a group of Maoists randomly opened fire at the security personnel guarding the District Administration Office (DAO) of Sindhupalchowk in Chautara. Three other local residents and two policemen were injured in the incident.
Dec 2004
1. Three civilians killed Indra Bahadur Karki alias Debre, Maoist area commander of Nepaldanda of Bhojpur district in east Nepal
2. Suspected Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at the house of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sujata Koirala at Mandikhatar of Kathamndu. Nobody was injured in the incident.
Suspected Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at the premises of the office of the election commission at Sichahiti of Lalitpur district. Main gate of the office building has been destroyed by the blast. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
At least five militants were killed during clashes with security forces in western district of Syangja. The clash had taken place when the militants were laying landmines targeting the security personnel.
3. Maoists militants abducted judge Tanka Bahadur Moktan from his hometown at Jirmale Village Development Committee in Ilam district
Suspected Maoists abducted Dr. Chet Bahadur Kunwar, principal private secretary to late King Birendra, from Madauliya of Rupendehi district.
4. At least six security personnel were killed and two others injured in skirmishes with Maoist militants in Kapilvastu.
The Maoist militants abducted over 150 dalits from ten VDCs of Chauki area in Doti district
5. At least one army man was killed in a gun battle with the Maoists at Chainabar area along the Mahendra Highway in Bardiya district. One security person was injured in the incident.
At least two passengers were killed and over a dozen injured in an indiscriminate firing by a group of Maoists at a bus in Sainawar of the western district of Bardia along the east-west Mahendra Highway.
7. At least four civilians and six militants were killed in a clash between security forces and Maoists in Bangeshal, a bordering area between Pyuthan and Arghakhanchi district
At least one civilian has been killed and over a dozen more injured when a group of armed Maoist militants hurled socket bombs at a peaceful 'resistance' rally organised by local people in the mid-western district of Dailekh.
8. A Maoist captive was killed when Maoist prisoners clashed in the Kanchanpur district prison. Eight other prisoners and nine policemen were injured in the incident.
9. Suspected Maoists exploded a ‘pressure cooker’ bomb at the office of the Agriculture Inputs Company and National Seed Centre at Kuleshwor, Kathmandu.
Suspected Maoist militants shot at police constable Tek Bahadur KC and Jawan Bishnu Chaudhari, who were on duty at a temporary police post near the famous Bindhyabasini temple in Pokhara. The condition of Chaudhari, is reported to be critical.
First is the monarchy, the security forces and the Kathmandu elite who generally favour the royalty and believe in an active role for the King to solve the current crisis in Nepal. Second are the political parties of all hues who by their mis-governance, infighting, corruption and ego clashes have reached a point when the common man or woman has contempt for them. Most of the leaders are stay put in the capital or in the district headquarters and have not moved out to visit their native places or their constituencies for fear of their lives. Third are the Maoists who since February 1996 by waging a people’s war have considerably strengthened themselves, by exploiting the fractured polity and the social and economic factors prevailing both in the country side and remote places and above all in the over- confidence displayed by the government and the security forces in the first four years of insurgency.
Since all the three actors are antagonistic to each other, there is a kind of equilibrium, with each trying to out do the other. Factors that would affect this equilibrium would be A. if any two of the three join hands to find a solution to the current situation and B. if one of the three actors gets weakened. Right now what is happening is that the political parties are in disarray with no possibility of uniting for the sake of democracy, leaving the field to the King and the army and the elite on one hand and the Maoists on the other. This needs to be corrected. The only solution would be for the political parties to give up their self-destructive course and the monarchy to give up its ambition of taking over and join hands together to uphold the 1990 constitution. This is doable only if both the actors in this drama give up their egos.
The Maoists:
The Maoists are all over the place, running a parallel government in many districts, collecting taxes, meting out punishments and settling disputes. It is no exaggeration that in many outlying areas (leaving the towns and the district headquarters) people generally go to the Maoist representatives and not the government representative or the police with their grievance for settlement and justice is done instantly and swiftly with no scope for appeal! This is also because of the fact that most of the VDCs are non functional and so are the police posts which have disappeared. The security forces do visit frequently but invariably the Maoists get forewarned and leave the scene only to come back as soon as the forces leave. Any informant or suspected informant is severely dealt with and punishment is harsh. Fear has gripped the villagers both from the security forces and the Maoists.
Most of the able-bodied youths have left the villages out of fear of either being harassed by the security forces or being recruited by the Maoists. Many from the western region have fled to India. Kathmandu’s population has dramatically increased and has crossed three million. Land prices have gone up. New boarding schools are coming up in Kathmandu mainly to cater to the children of the rich and non resident Nepalese, and many schools have become non functional in the rural areas.
The Maoist leadership is under the impression that they are winning and the balance of power is in their favour. They continue to maintain that elections to a constituent assembly and mediation by United Nations or similar agency as preconditions to agree for a cease-fire and talks. It is also believed that the military wing of the Maoists is insisting that they should have one or more major attacks on government posts or security posts before agreeing to talk.
But a study of the Maoists’ activities since February 1996 would indicate that they reached the peak sometime in end 2002 and from then there is a downward trend in the incidents both in terms of numbers and in casualties, civilian and the military. There will be many incidents in future also and this cannot be avoided as the security forces cannot be everywhere, but the initiative has been wrested from the Maoists.
Two recent incidents give an idea of the capability of the Maoists and their training. A video footage of the ambush at Krishna Bhir in Dhading on November 16 showed that the Maoists ( with many female cadres) were moving aimlessly soon after the incident which they cannot afford to do. It showed a lack of professionalism. On the other hand, the ambush near Banke on November 18 indicated that the Maoists had prior information about the movement of the patrol of the security forces which perhaps was obtained by interception.
The Maoists are also seen to have moved onto softer targets like the bombing of an empty building right in the heart of Sundara in Kathmandu on November 9. Kidnapping, extortion and destruction of infra structure may increase. Where the Maoists appear to have succeeded, is in causing panic and fear among the people. When a two-day hartal (strike) was declared by the Maoists in Dhading district soon after the ambush at Krishna Bhir there were long queues in petrol outlets in Kathmandu valley fearing a blockade. Surprisingly the government did nothing to assuage the fears of the public.
Security in the Indo Nepal border has also been tightened and the SSB on the Indian side are alert. Most of the top leaders have moved into their traditional stronghold in western Nepal.
Some analysts would like compare the position of the Maoists with that of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. This is not correct. The Maoists still do not have a secure base area like the LTTE and are not in a position to wage a conventional battle with the security forces.
The Security forces on the other hand make it a point not to allow the Maoists a base in western Nepal where they are strong and disturb the cells and units located in the valley and its surrounding districts of Kathmandu regularly.
The King:
The King is in a position similar to what his grand father Tribhuvan experienced soon after his return after the tripartite agreement between the King, the political parties and the Rana oligarchy in 1950. The problem for the present King is his credibility. No one believes him when he swears by the 1990 constitution and his determination to strengthen multi party democracy and constitutional monarchy. His actions since the sacking of Deuba government for incompetence on October 4, 2002, his choice of Prime ministers one after the other, reluctantly giving executive powers to the last prime minister Deuba and the behaviour of some ministers supposedly included on his recommendation give the impression that the King has not given up his ambitions to revert the country back to the Panchayat days.
Going by King Tribhuvan’s experience, besides handing over power to an able and decisive political leader who could be seen and known to be independent of the monarchy, the present King could be thinking of two other options- one, rule with an advisory council in place or take over direct administration for a limited period, set right the law and order problem and then go for the democratic process. The latter two have serious drawbacks and will not work in the current political and international environment and the likely result could be the end of monarchy itself.
Nepal needs monarchy which is the only unifying factor in the country that is multi ethnic, multi lingual with a majority of dissatisfied people belonging to non Chetri and non Brahmin communities like the Magars & Gurungs ( Janajathi) and the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. But the institution cannot survive if those representing the system do not understand their own limitations as Nepal has come a long way from the days of Prithvi Narayan Shah.
The Political Parties:
The saddest part of the whole situation in Nepal is that the political parties are disunited and they do not seem to realise that by their actions they are undermining democracy for which they fought and suffered so much before the 1990 revolution. The present prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba lost his youth in jail for nearly nine years and so were many others. The leading cadres of all the democratic groups seem to have forgotten their sacrifices and are more eager to seek offices under any circumstances and most of them if not all are corrupt.
The common man or woman in the streets has contempt for them. The leaders are unable to stir out of the valley or from district headquarters and the most they do is to regularly issue statements. Most of the cadres in the country side have no choice but to go along with the Maoists and many have been killed for not conforming to the dictates of the Maoists.
Every party is split and there are serious differences within all parties. Of the three major parties, the Nepali Congress is split vertically and the two sides do not seem to be getting closer. The UML (United Marxist Leninist) has too many leaders at the top each talking differently on every issue.
The RPP is also getting split with Surya Bahadur Thapa getting ready to start a new party due to his differences with the Pasupathi Samsher Rana and Lokendra Bahadur Chand.
The Nepal Sadhbhavana Party is split with one party in the government and the other faction joining the opposition coalition led by Nepali Congress of G.P.Koirala.
One senior political leader G.P.Koirala who has the stature, following and the ability to take strong and decisive steps has unfortunately driven himself to a corner. His one line remedy for all the evils Nepal is facing today is to restore the parliament that was dissolved by the King in late 2002. Once the parliament is restored, he has said that he would not disturb the present Prime Minister Sher Bhadur Deuba and the two factions of the Nepali Congress would automatically merge. But Deuba does not trust him. After all GP ditched Madhav Nepal of UML of prime ministership after openly agreeing to nominate him!
The Way Out:
The plan of the Maoists should be very clear to all. If election to the constituent assembly is accepted, there will have to be an interim administration and the Maoists will demand a dominant role. This they had already expressed forcefully. Then would come the demand for the merger of their "People’s liberation Army" with that of the security forces, then the "peoples’ demand" for the abolition of monarchy to the final stage where they could capture power in a weakened polity. If a ‘benefit analysis’ is made, it should be obvious as to who would gain most!
If the Maoists’ demands are not met, there are only two options left. Either restore the parliament or conduct the elections. Both have serious drawbacks but some move has to be made to get out of the constitutional limbo, the country is now in. The country cannot go on indefinitely hoping that the security forces in course of time will be able to get the better of the Maoists and establish peace and security in the country side. There could be no military solution and for a holistic approach, a stable political environment is necessary.
Legal authorities believe that the parliament could be restored not by recourse to Article 127 of the 1990 Constitution to which many political parties are opposed, but by invoking the "doctrine of necessity" as the late Zia ul Haq legitimised himself in Pakistan. The fear is that if the doctrine of necessity is invoked to reinstate the parliament and make it a precedent, the same doctrine could be invoked to do many other unconstitutional things that include snuffing out democracy itself.
Having restored the Parliament the political leaders do not seem to have a plan for the next steps to restore law and order. The main problem would continue to be "how to bring the Maoists to the table for a dialogue." Of the forty demands made by the Maoists before starting the peoples’ war in 1996, many of them are genuine grievances of the people and would need immediate attention. All that would happen is that the political leaders would revert to their old habits and not address the problems that created the insurgency!
The second option is to go for elections for whatever it is worth. In the present security scenario, elections will have to be done in stages with not more than five districts at a time. For 75 districts it would take 15 stages spread over many months and even then there is no guarantee that full security could be given to the candidates or to the polling booths. There will be many killings of candidates, political cadres of parties participating in the elections and supporters.
Many point out that if India could conduct elections in Kashmir with twenty percent polling, it can be done in Nepal also and that sixty percent of polling is assured. The government is perhaps taking in to account that most of the people in the Terai, Kathmandu and other big towns would come forward to vote. But the Maoists are in a position to disturb the elections even in the valley.
It is a difficult decision to make but there has to be a move forward either way and it is better than what we see today with an indecisive government, with ministers and political leaders pulling in different directions, with the threat of the King taking over or of Maoists over running Kathmandu eventually. Making no move is not a viable approach at all and the government will have to act and act fast.
A list of incidents relating to Maoist insurgency since the last list is given as an appendix.
Appendix
Incidents
October 2004
12. Three Maoists were killed in a security action at Sukkhad area of Kailali district
14. Five Maoist militants were gunned down in Chitrebhanjyang, a bordering area between Syangja and Tanahun districts.
15. Five militants were killed at Mulkharka of Okhaldhunga district in an encounter with security forces.
Maoist militants torched two passenger buses in Malka of Kailali district.
16. Nine Maoist militants were killed in clashes with security personnel in western region of the country.
In Siraha, three Maoist militants were killed at Mainawati Khola. The incident occurred when six arrested militants were being transferred to an army post.
17. Two militants were killed in security action at Peterhwa VDC of Dhanusha district.
Maoist militants attacked a rally organised by pro-left Jana Morcha Nepal in western district of Baglung (People's Front Nepal-PFN) and abducted 52 PFN activists.
18. Maoists killed two youths at Okhre, Dhankuta district. The militants accused them of spying.
21. Maoists exploded a bomb at Chun Danda of Liku VDC in Dolpa district. Nobody was injured in the incident.
29. The Maoists abducted 12 youths from Hapure, Dang district, after a mass meeting in the area.
In Saptari, a group of armed Maoists abducted two civilians, one from Pipra area and another from Baitawa VDC.
30. A local Maoist commander was killed in an offensive of the security forces at a Dadeldhura village, far-western Nepal.
31. The Maoist militants shot dead a civilian named Chhotlal Prasad Yadav in Parsa district. The militants abducted Yadav, a resident of Chhat Pipara VDC-1, accusing him of being involved in different incidents of robbery and kidnapping in Bara and Parsa districts and spying against the party.
At least three Maoist militants were killed in separate encounters with the security forces in Dailekh and Taplejung district.
Maoists attacked Mugu district headquarters. They reportedly detonated bombs and set over a dozen government offices and private houses on fire in the district headquarters and they also damaged the District Education Office.
November 2004
3. At least three security personnel were injured during a clash with Maoist militants in the western district of Palpa.
Five civilians were injured when the Maoist detonated a powerful bomb in front of a hotel at Gothalopani Bazaar in the district headquarters of Baitadi.
4. Two security men were injured when a patrolling team fell prey to Maoist laid ambush at Maidika Danda of Palung Mainali VDC-5 along Palpa-Tansen road.
At least six Maoist militants were killed in separate clashes with the security forces in Rolpa, Kalikot and Gorkha districts.
5. Maoist militants set fire on a Mid-Marsyangdi vehicle in the western district of Lamjung. Three armed militants sprayed diesel on the vehicle at Khahare khola in Udipur VDC when it was parked there for cleaning. They also exploded four bombs within the bus and damaged two other vehicles belonging to the project.
6. A 12-year-old boy was killed in Kalideu of Rukum district , when a Maoist-planted bomb exploded in the premises of Laxmi Lower secondary School.
Two suspected Maoist militants were killed in latest security action in Bardiya district.
At least two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Palpa district.
Armed Maoists abducted two persons in Rautahat district. Pradeep Shah, former chairman of Piprapokharia VDC and his brother, Pratap, were abducted from their home. The militants accused them of spying.
7. At least five Maoists were killed in separate security actions in Gorkha and Doti districts.
Three Maoists including an area commander were killed in a ‘retaliatory action’ of security forces at Rupasdanda section of the Dadeldhura-Dhangadi highway.
8. Maoist militants abducted ten minors from Bindhyabasini VDC of the mid western district of Dailekh recently.
9. Suspected Maoists detonated a powerful bomb within the premises of the state-owned newly constructed Karmachari Sanchay Kosh (Employees’ Provident Fund) building at Sundhara in the capital, leaving 38 people injured.
Suspected Maoists exploded a bomb at the Internal Revenue Office in Bhaktapur, injuring two people, one serious.
CPN-UML district committee member and area incharge Bhojraj Bhattarai was shot dead by the Maoists nearby his house at Tapumath Lakuribot.
10. The Maoist gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on a group of four local youths at Ward No. 8 of Birendranagar Municipality, killing three on the spot It is yet not known why the ultras killed them. Fourth person was seriously injured in the incident.
In Khalanga of Jumla district, an eight-year-old child was killed when a bomb laid by the Maoists went off at the premises of a bordering school.
13. Maoist militants shot dead a police constable in Dang.
Maoist militants fired indiscriminately and shot five youths at Malakheti VDC in far-western district of Kailali.
The militants killed Lacchu Sah Sonar, a resident of Gaira Phetpur VDC in southern district of Mahottari, accusing him of being involved in a number of robbery and murder cases in the district.
14. Maoists militants exploded improvised bombs at the district office of the state-owned Nepal Food Corporation at Dhading besi in Dhading district, adjoining Kathmandu.
Maoists militants caused explosions at the building under-construction of Prithvi Narayan municipality in western district of Gorkha. Nobody was injured in the explosions.
15. Maoists killed police constable Gajendra Bahadur Sahi at Musariya along East-West Highway after taking him out of a passenger’s bus heading for Dhangadi from Sukhad.
16. At least six security personnel were killed when a fresh clash between security forces and Maoists erupted in Kailali district. Two Maoist militants were also killed in the incident.
A policeman and a civilian were killed when Maoist gunmen stormed a police post at Mahendranagar of Dhanusha district.
Maoists abducted at least 53 people of Bajhang district who were heading towards India to resume their work.
17. At least eight security personnel including an inspector of the Armed Police Force were killed in a clash with the Maoists at Khairi Khola area of Banke district.
18. At least four Maoists were killed in fresh encounters with the security forces in different parts of the country.
A Maoist militia commander named Raj Kumar was killed at Balapakhar area of Dhanusha district during a search operation.
19. At least two Maoists were killed in security actions during a search operation in Kailali district.
Maoists killed assistant exam controller Indra Bahadur Acharya, 52, nearby his residence at Baidam in Pokhara.
20. At least two soldiers were killed and another wounded in a Maoist planted landmine explosion in Surkhet.
Maoists shot dead a soldier at Ratnanagar in Chitwan district.
Suspected Maoist detonated a bomb at Triyuga Printing Press situated at Baidhakhana Road, Anamnagar in Kathmandu.
Maoist militants brutally killed three people including an eight-year old child in Dailekh district.
The militants abducted six people including 14-year old child from various VDCs in the district.
At least three Maoist militants were killed while trying to detonate a bomb at Sisuwa Chowk of Lekhnath Municipality-8, in the Pokhara valley
At least 10 security personnel and over 16 Maoist rebels were killed in a clash at Pandaun area of Kailali
22. An Armed Police Force inspector was killed in a Maoist laid ambush at the jungles of Kakani in Nuwakot district Two other APF personal were injured in the incident.
27. At least three children were severely injured while playing with a socket bomb reportedly left behind by the Maoists at Hajaria in Sarlahi.
A policeman and two Maoists were killed in separate clashes in Bardiya and Tehrathum districts.
Two women militants were killed in a security action at Paothi area of Tehrathum district. Security authorities claimed that some Maoist documents and logistics were recovered form the incident site.
Maoists killed three civilians in Sindhuli and Dailekh. In Sindhuli, militants killed Krishna Basnet of Nipane VDC charging him of spying against them.
28. Maoists abducted over 1,500 civilians in 8 different VDCs of the far western district of Bajura. Maoists ordered the villagers to compulsorily provide them (Maoists) at least a member from each family as their fulltime worker, which has led villagers to exodus.
29. At least five Maoist militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in the far western Kailali district.
On the eve of the second International Buddhist Conference in south-western district of Rupandehi, Maoist militants caused a series of bomb explosions, but there are no reports of casualties.
Six Maoists, including two women, were killed in clashes with the security forces in Kalikot and Banke districts.
Kamal Chaudhari, Maoist chief of Banke district was killed in security action. No casualties on the security side were reported. .
30. In Dailekh, Maoists killed Lal Bahadur khadka and Mahendra Subedi. Subedi and Khada were abducted on November 19 on charges of making plans to resist Maoists atrocities in the area.
A civilian was killed when a group of Maoists randomly opened fire at the security personnel guarding the District Administration Office (DAO) of Sindhupalchowk in Chautara. Three other local residents and two policemen were injured in the incident.
Dec 2004
1. Three civilians killed Indra Bahadur Karki alias Debre, Maoist area commander of Nepaldanda of Bhojpur district in east Nepal
2. Suspected Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at the house of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sujata Koirala at Mandikhatar of Kathamndu. Nobody was injured in the incident.
Suspected Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at the premises of the office of the election commission at Sichahiti of Lalitpur district. Main gate of the office building has been destroyed by the blast. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
At least five militants were killed during clashes with security forces in western district of Syangja. The clash had taken place when the militants were laying landmines targeting the security personnel.
3. Maoists militants abducted judge Tanka Bahadur Moktan from his hometown at Jirmale Village Development Committee in Ilam district
Suspected Maoists abducted Dr. Chet Bahadur Kunwar, principal private secretary to late King Birendra, from Madauliya of Rupendehi district.
4. At least six security personnel were killed and two others injured in skirmishes with Maoist militants in Kapilvastu.
The Maoist militants abducted over 150 dalits from ten VDCs of Chauki area in Doti district
5. At least one army man was killed in a gun battle with the Maoists at Chainabar area along the Mahendra Highway in Bardiya district. One security person was injured in the incident.
At least two passengers were killed and over a dozen injured in an indiscriminate firing by a group of Maoists at a bus in Sainawar of the western district of Bardia along the east-west Mahendra Highway.
7. At least four civilians and six militants were killed in a clash between security forces and Maoists in Bangeshal, a bordering area between Pyuthan and Arghakhanchi district
At least one civilian has been killed and over a dozen more injured when a group of armed Maoist militants hurled socket bombs at a peaceful 'resistance' rally organised by local people in the mid-western district of Dailekh.
8. A Maoist captive was killed when Maoist prisoners clashed in the Kanchanpur district prison. Eight other prisoners and nine policemen were injured in the incident.
9. Suspected Maoists exploded a ‘pressure cooker’ bomb at the office of the Agriculture Inputs Company and National Seed Centre at Kuleshwor, Kathmandu.
Suspected Maoist militants shot at police constable Tek Bahadur KC and Jawan Bishnu Chaudhari, who were on duty at a temporary police post near the famous Bindhyabasini temple in Pokhara. The condition of Chaudhari, is reported to be critical.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Nepali migrant worker dies in Dubai
A Nepali migrant worker, Govind BK of Saljhandi VDC of Kapilvastu district was found dead in the company's camp in Dubai on Friday, the RSS reported today.
However, the family of the deceased came to know about his death only on Sunday, according to Govind’s brother Ganesh BK.
Ganesh mentioned that his brother was learnt to have gone to sleep after attending duty on Thursday night, but didn't wake up till late morning the next day.
"When his friends tried to wake him up, they found him dead," RSS reported quoting Ganesh.
The family of the deceased have appealed to the authorities concerned to help them receive compensation from the Dubai-based company and bring home his dead body. BK is survived by wife, one son and two daughters
However, the family of the deceased came to know about his death only on Sunday, according to Govind’s brother Ganesh BK.
Ganesh mentioned that his brother was learnt to have gone to sleep after attending duty on Thursday night, but didn't wake up till late morning the next day.
"When his friends tried to wake him up, they found him dead," RSS reported quoting Ganesh.
The family of the deceased have appealed to the authorities concerned to help them receive compensation from the Dubai-based company and bring home his dead body. BK is survived by wife, one son and two daughters
Nepal media aggressively targets Indian Embassy, Kantipur takes the lead
Including several professional media organizations, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party and the leaders of various political parties have heavily come down against the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, under the dynamic leadership of Ambassador Rakesh Sood, for violating diplomatic norms and also blamed for blatant interference in Nepal’s media.
The media organizations, the main-opposition and leaders have been criticizing a press-release issued by the Indian mission which claimed referring to Indian Joint-Ventures in Nepal that certain print and television media houses (in Nepal) had approached them for release of advertisements.
The Indian embassy press release also claimed that the Indian JVs were threatened with negative publicity if requests for release of advertisements were not met with.
Money matters!
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and the Press Council-a statutory body constituted and controlled by Nepal government have collectively deplored the press-statement of the Indian Embassy.
Jolt in series. Bad days for India in Nepal. Poor India.
“The Indian Embassy in the past had threatened the media here in Nepal for publishing the news of blocking consignment of newsprints at the Kolkata port by India”, the joint statement made by FNJ-Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur district chapters read.
Friendship shattered! So sad.
“Such events have exposed Indian Interference in series”, the statement also adds insult to injury.
Narayan Sharma of Press-Council states that India has been ignoring diplomatic norms and that it has begun interfering in affairs exclusive to Nepali media.
Mr. Sharma was handpicked by the Maoist led government and made the Press Council Chairman.
Similarly, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party has also deplored the act of the Indian Embassy in making a statement against the Nepali media. The party has also demanded apology from Indian Embassy to the free media here.
Asking the absurd. Good joke indeed.
“Our central committee meeting has deplored the act of Interference of the Indian Embassy”, said vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The so-called democratic parties, the Nepali Congress and the UML are yet to criticize the event.
This has some meaning underneath.
Similarly, making exclusive comments to the Kantipur National Daily August 30, 2010, Chakra Prasad Bastola of the Nepali Congress, Pradip Nepal of UML, Devendra Poudel of Unified Maoists’ Party, Jay Prakash Gupta of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal and Sarita Giri of Sadvawana Party too have criticized the Indian Embassy for targeting the Nepali media.
Those who have made scathing comments against the Indian Embassy, mentioned above, were at one time in the not so distant past very very friendly to India.
But why they are distancing themselves? Naughty Nepali political animals.
Some may have, it could be presumed, talked against the Embassy with “heavy hearts”.
The Kantipur, Nepal’s largest circulating daily has penned an editorial in the issue.
The media organizations, the main-opposition and leaders have been criticizing a press-release issued by the Indian mission which claimed referring to Indian Joint-Ventures in Nepal that certain print and television media houses (in Nepal) had approached them for release of advertisements.
The Indian embassy press release also claimed that the Indian JVs were threatened with negative publicity if requests for release of advertisements were not met with.
Money matters!
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and the Press Council-a statutory body constituted and controlled by Nepal government have collectively deplored the press-statement of the Indian Embassy.
Jolt in series. Bad days for India in Nepal. Poor India.
“The Indian Embassy in the past had threatened the media here in Nepal for publishing the news of blocking consignment of newsprints at the Kolkata port by India”, the joint statement made by FNJ-Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur district chapters read.
Friendship shattered! So sad.
“Such events have exposed Indian Interference in series”, the statement also adds insult to injury.
Narayan Sharma of Press-Council states that India has been ignoring diplomatic norms and that it has begun interfering in affairs exclusive to Nepali media.
Mr. Sharma was handpicked by the Maoist led government and made the Press Council Chairman.
Similarly, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party has also deplored the act of the Indian Embassy in making a statement against the Nepali media. The party has also demanded apology from Indian Embassy to the free media here.
Asking the absurd. Good joke indeed.
“Our central committee meeting has deplored the act of Interference of the Indian Embassy”, said vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The so-called democratic parties, the Nepali Congress and the UML are yet to criticize the event.
This has some meaning underneath.
Similarly, making exclusive comments to the Kantipur National Daily August 30, 2010, Chakra Prasad Bastola of the Nepali Congress, Pradip Nepal of UML, Devendra Poudel of Unified Maoists’ Party, Jay Prakash Gupta of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal and Sarita Giri of Sadvawana Party too have criticized the Indian Embassy for targeting the Nepali media.
Those who have made scathing comments against the Indian Embassy, mentioned above, were at one time in the not so distant past very very friendly to India.
But why they are distancing themselves? Naughty Nepali political animals.
Some may have, it could be presumed, talked against the Embassy with “heavy hearts”.
The Kantipur, Nepal’s largest circulating daily has penned an editorial in the issue.
Stand aside, the behe-moths of the insect world have arrived
With their stunning colours and 12in wingspan they're not the sort of insect you could ignore.
And now not just one but nine of the world's largest moths have hatched at a butterfly sanctuary in Gloucestershire.
The giant Atlas moths emerged from their chrysalises at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House
Atlas moths are named after the intricate, colourful map-like patterns on their wings It is the first time the moths have successfully bred and hatched offspring in two years.
The moths, which do not have fully-formed mouths and survive off fat they built up as caterpillars, only live for a maximum of two weeks.
They are unsteady fliers and they do not stray far. Their sole purpose of life as a moth is to breed. Atlas moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of South-East Asia and are common across the Malay archipelago.
And now not just one but nine of the world's largest moths have hatched at a butterfly sanctuary in Gloucestershire.
The giant Atlas moths emerged from their chrysalises at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House
Atlas moths are named after the intricate, colourful map-like patterns on their wings It is the first time the moths have successfully bred and hatched offspring in two years.
The moths, which do not have fully-formed mouths and survive off fat they built up as caterpillars, only live for a maximum of two weeks.
They are unsteady fliers and they do not stray far. Their sole purpose of life as a moth is to breed. Atlas moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of South-East Asia and are common across the Malay archipelago.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Millions of rural poor in Nepal could face more hunger as a result of climate change; situation “deeply worrying”
Poor crop yields, water shortages and more extreme temperatures are pushing rural villagers closer to the brink as climate change grips Nepal, according to a new report launched by the international aid agency Oxfam.
In the report, “Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal”, farmers told Oxfam that changing weather patterns had dramatically affected crop production, leaving them unable to properly feed themselves and getting into debt. Oxfam called the situation “deeply worrying.”
“Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years. Some said that while they used to grow enough food for three to six months of the year, last year many could only grow enough for one month’s consumption,” said Oxfam’s Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. ”Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family.”
Currently, more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year’s winter drought - one of the worst in the country’s history. Higher food prices have also reduced people’s ability to purchase food. Although single drought events cannot be attributed to climate change, climate models predict less winter rain, indicating how the current situation could get worse.
Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons. The melting of the Himalayan glaciers will also be felt well beyond Nepal’s borders. Scientists warn that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear – with some predicting this could happen within 30 years – the impact would be felt by more than one billion people across Asia.
Some of the heaviest burdens have fallen on women who are on the frontline of climate change. They have to travel further distances to fetch water and take on the responsibility for feeding the family as men in many poor households migrate seasonally to seek work.
“The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards”, said the report.
“Poor and marginalized communities tend to be those most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope with weather-related disasters because of lack of access to information and resources to reduce their risk.”
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 31% of its 28 million population living below the poverty line. Most of Nepal’s poor live in rural areas that are most at risk to disasters such as floods and landslides.
Oxfam says more work needs to be done in Nepal by the government and international organisations to create greater awareness about climate change and its likely impacts, to prioritize and institutionalize actions at national level; and help communities to play a greater role themselves in initiatives to reduce their vulnerability.
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change; yet has one of the lowest emissions in the world – just 0.025% of total global greenhouse gas emissions
In the report, “Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal”, farmers told Oxfam that changing weather patterns had dramatically affected crop production, leaving them unable to properly feed themselves and getting into debt. Oxfam called the situation “deeply worrying.”
“Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years. Some said that while they used to grow enough food for three to six months of the year, last year many could only grow enough for one month’s consumption,” said Oxfam’s Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. ”Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family.”
Currently, more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year’s winter drought - one of the worst in the country’s history. Higher food prices have also reduced people’s ability to purchase food. Although single drought events cannot be attributed to climate change, climate models predict less winter rain, indicating how the current situation could get worse.
Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons. The melting of the Himalayan glaciers will also be felt well beyond Nepal’s borders. Scientists warn that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear – with some predicting this could happen within 30 years – the impact would be felt by more than one billion people across Asia.
Some of the heaviest burdens have fallen on women who are on the frontline of climate change. They have to travel further distances to fetch water and take on the responsibility for feeding the family as men in many poor households migrate seasonally to seek work.
“The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards”, said the report.
“Poor and marginalized communities tend to be those most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope with weather-related disasters because of lack of access to information and resources to reduce their risk.”
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 31% of its 28 million population living below the poverty line. Most of Nepal’s poor live in rural areas that are most at risk to disasters such as floods and landslides.
Oxfam says more work needs to be done in Nepal by the government and international organisations to create greater awareness about climate change and its likely impacts, to prioritize and institutionalize actions at national level; and help communities to play a greater role themselves in initiatives to reduce their vulnerability.
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change; yet has one of the lowest emissions in the world – just 0.025% of total global greenhouse gas emissions
Gurkha rifleman killed in Afghanistan is named
Musa Qala The first Nepalese Gurkha soldier to be killed in Afghanistan has been named as Yubraj Rai, 28, of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. He died on Tuesday in Musa Qala, southern Afghanistan, when a joint patrol with the Afghan National Security Forces was attacked. Rifleman Rai, from the Khotang district of eastern Nepal, had joined the Army in 1999. His commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Darby, said: “He was an extraordinary character and a hard professional soldier with a proven operational record.”
.Moon is shrinking, NASA's LROC mission discovers evidence of lunar contraction
A team of scientists led by Thomas Watters announced in the August 20, 2010 issue of Science that the Moon is shrinking. According to their paper, the radius of the Moon has decreased by about 100 meters in the last billion years or less.
Watters' team studied images of the Moon's surface made with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). The astronomers studied geologic features on the Moon known as lobate scarps with the LROC. Scarps are cliffs caused by fault lines or vertical movement of the crust. Lobate scarps are curved and are indicative that the Moon or planet is shrinking.
The planet Mercury, whose surface is very similar to the cratered highland areas of the Moon, also has many scarps indicating that Mercury has shrunk. Mars also has scarps. The lunar scarps are smaller scale structures than the scarps on Mercury or Mars. Scarps on Mercury or Mars can be more than a kilometer high and extend for hundreds of kilometers. Lunar scarps are less than 100 meters high and a few dozen kilometers long at most.
The Apollo missions imaged scarps near the Moon's equator, but did not study the entire Moon. The new LROC images discovered 14 new scarps distributed over the entire Moon. The global distribution indicates that the Moon is shrinking globally.
Astronomers estimate the age of geologic features on the Moon by the number of craters. More heavily cratered areas are geologically older. The lunar scarps are the youngest tectonic features on the Moon and are less than a billion years old. The scarps most likely formed from the stress on the surface as the Moon contracted, and their scale indicates that the Moon's radius has decreased by about 100 meters.
The Moon has shrunk by about 100 meters in less than the last 1 billion years. Why?
The Moon was hot and molten when it first formed. The Moon gradually cooled and solidified. The lunar interior, while not as hot as Earth's interior, is still warm. So the Moon continues to cool and shrink slightly as it cools.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
condition of nepalese student in London
condition of nepalese student in London
this video is copied from youtube.com composed by bikram shrestha under the heading
dream turning into nightmare for all nepali students in abroad
this video is copied from youtube.com composed by bikram shrestha under the heading
dream turning into nightmare for all nepali students in abroad
Nepal is the land of thrilling adventures, irresistible natural beauties and fabulous cultural diversity. The most extremely varied landscape and the
Nepal is the land of thrilling adventures, irresistible natural beauties and fabulous cultural diversity. The most extremely varied landscape and the amazingly ideal geographical location of this Himalayan Paradise makes it the first choice for exciting adventure trips.
Nepal is a wondrous crossroads of religions, cultures, and geography. Hinduism holds sway throughout the country’s south while Buddhism flows across the northern border from the Tibetan Plateau. Both great faiths uniquely fuse with ancient animist beliefs and shaman rituals. Nepal is home to dozens of linguistic groups, tribes and castes, forming a rich and varied cultural mosaic.
Much of Nepal’s landscape formed from the crash of two continental plates, and the result includes most of the world’s highest and most dramatic peaks—including, of course, Mount Everest. As Rudyard Kipling wrote, the Himalaya is “a revelation of all might, majesty, dominion and power, henceforth, and for ever, in color, form, and substance indescribable.”
There’s hardly a traveler who doesn’t want to go to Nepal to see the world’s highest and most impressive mountains, who doesn’t want to meet its famously big-hearted people, and who isn’t lured by the country’s vibrant, madly chromatic culture.
Geography
Climate
Custom and Religion
Festivals
Currency
Visa Information
Vaccinations
Additional Sources
View all Trips
Nepal is a wondrous crossroads of religions, cultures, and geography. Hinduism holds sway throughout the country’s south while Buddhism flows across the northern border from the Tibetan Plateau. Both great faiths uniquely fuse with ancient animist beliefs and shaman rituals. Nepal is home to dozens of linguistic groups, tribes and castes, forming a rich and varied cultural mosaic.
Much of Nepal’s landscape formed from the crash of two continental plates, and the result includes most of the world’s highest and most dramatic peaks—including, of course, Mount Everest. As Rudyard Kipling wrote, the Himalaya is “a revelation of all might, majesty, dominion and power, henceforth, and for ever, in color, form, and substance indescribable.”
There’s hardly a traveler who doesn’t want to go to Nepal to see the world’s highest and most impressive mountains, who doesn’t want to meet its famously big-hearted people, and who isn’t lured by the country’s vibrant, madly chromatic culture.
Geography
Climate
Custom and Religion
Festivals
Currency
Visa Information
Vaccinations
Additional Sources
View all Trips
History of Nepal
The history of Nepal is characterized by its isolated position in the Himalayas and its two dominant neighbors, India and China.
Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Its population is predominantly Hindu with significant presence of Buddhists, who were in majority at one time in the past. Nepal was split in three kingdoms from the 15th to 18th century, when it was unified under a monarchy. The national language of Nepal is called 'Nepali', a name given - long after unification of Nepal - to the language called Khas Kura.
Nepal experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. During the 1990s and until 2008, the country was in civil strife. A peace treaty was signed in 2008 and elections were held in the same year.
Many of the ills of Nepal have been blamed on the royal family of Nepal. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, Nepalis voted to oust the monarchy in Nepal. In June 2008, Nepalis ousted the royal household. Nepal was formally renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal when it became a federal republic.
Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Its population is predominantly Hindu with significant presence of Buddhists, who were in majority at one time in the past. Nepal was split in three kingdoms from the 15th to 18th century, when it was unified under a monarchy. The national language of Nepal is called 'Nepali', a name given - long after unification of Nepal - to the language called Khas Kura.
Nepal experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. During the 1990s and until 2008, the country was in civil strife. A peace treaty was signed in 2008 and elections were held in the same year.
Many of the ills of Nepal have been blamed on the royal family of Nepal. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, Nepalis voted to oust the monarchy in Nepal. In June 2008, Nepalis ousted the royal household. Nepal was formally renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal when it became a federal republic.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Poor in Nepal face growing hardships
International aid agency Oxfam today warned that the poor people in Nepal are facing growing hardships.
"Economic growth is slowing down to two per cent, inflation is approaching double digits, and public services are not effectively functioning," said Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's Program Manager for South Asia.
Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Now, on top of a decade of conflict, life has become even more difficult, as poor people are facing physical insecurity, shortages, rising costs of basic goods, difficulties in making a living, and reduced access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
Oxfam is urging the international community to facilitate a rapid resolution to the current crisis.
"Overcoming poverty in Nepal is dependent upon peace, and peace is dependent on an inclusive process through which Nepalis determine their own future and where everyone's social, economic and human rights are respected," said Ireland.
"Economic growth is slowing down to two per cent, inflation is approaching double digits, and public services are not effectively functioning," said Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's Program Manager for South Asia.
Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Now, on top of a decade of conflict, life has become even more difficult, as poor people are facing physical insecurity, shortages, rising costs of basic goods, difficulties in making a living, and reduced access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
Oxfam is urging the international community to facilitate a rapid resolution to the current crisis.
"Overcoming poverty in Nepal is dependent upon peace, and peace is dependent on an inclusive process through which Nepalis determine their own future and where everyone's social, economic and human rights are respected," said Ireland.
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared mysteriously. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.[1] Documented evidence indicates that a significant percentage of the incidents were inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.
The Triangle area
The area of the Triangle varies by authorThe boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.
The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.
History
Origins
The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.[2] Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",[3] a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.[4] It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.[5] The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.[6]
Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973);[7] Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974);[8] Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974),[9] and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[10]
Larry Kusche
Lawrence David Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University and author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved (1975)[11] argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were often exaggerated, dubious or unverifiable. Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. Kusche noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Another example was the ore-carrier recounted by Berlitz as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents that sparked allegations of the Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it. Often his research was simple: he would review period newspapers of the dates of reported incidents and find reports on possibly relevant events like unusual weather, that were never mentioned in the disappearance stories.
Kusche concluded that:
The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean.
In an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms.
The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat's disappearance, for example, would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not have been.
Some disappearances had, in fact, never happened. One plane crash was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses; a check of the local papers revealed nothing.
The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism.[11]
Further responses
When the UK Channel 4 television program "The Bermuda Triangle" (c. 1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for the Equinox series, the marine insurer Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's of London determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there.[12]
United States Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis.[11]
The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker SS V. A. Fogg in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies,[13] in contrast with one Triangle author's claim that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup.[7]
The NOVA/Horizon episode The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on June 27, 1976, was highly critical, stating that "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates. Science does not have to answer questions about the Triangle because those questions are not valid in the first place... Ships and planes behave in the Triangle the same way they behave everywhere else in the world."[14]
David Kusche pointed out a common problem with many of the Bermuda Triangle stories and theories: "Say I claim that a parrot has been kidnapped to teach aliens human language and I challenge you to prove that is not true. You can even use Einstein's Theory of Relativity if you like. There is simply no way to prove such a claim untrue. The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpretations are valid, and if they have left anything out."[14]
Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves[15] and Barry Singer,[16] have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or inaccurate, but its producers continue to market it. Accordingly, they have claimed that the market is biased in favor of books, TV specials, and other media that support the Triangle mystery, and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint.
Finally, if the Triangle is assumed to cross land, such as parts of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, or Bermuda itself, there is no evidence for the disappearance of any land-based vehicles or persons.[citation needed] The city of Freeport, located inside the Triangle, operates a major shipyard and an airport that handles 50,000 flights annually and is visited by over a million tourists a year.[17]
Supernatural explanations
Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, though geologists consider it to be of natural origin.[18]
Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.[19] This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees.
Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.[8]
Natural explanations
Compass variations
Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area,[20] such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.[21] But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.[11]
Deliberate acts of destruction
Deliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses. While many sinkings have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in various command log books, many others suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records.
Piracy—the illegal capture of a craft on the high seas—continues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s, and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.[citation needed]
False-color image of the Gulf Stream flowing north through the western Atlantic Ocean. (NASA)Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 metres per second (5.6 mi/h).[22] A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current.
Human error
One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error.[23] Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V.A. Fogg in 1972[citation needed]. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[24]
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are powerful storms, which form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives lost and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.
Methane hydrates
Main article: Methane clathrate
Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996.
Source: USGSAn explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves.[25] Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water;[26] any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.
Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast.[27] However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years.[12]
Rogue waves
In various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sink[28] and oil platforms to topple.[29] These waves, until 1995, were considered to be a mystery and/or a myth.[30][31]
Notable incidents
Main article: List of Bermuda Triangle incidents
Flight 19
US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given[citation needed] that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."
Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion[32] at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol.
While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.[33]
Mary Celeste
The mysterious abandonment in 1872 of the 282-ton brigantine Mary Celeste is often but inaccurately connected to the Triangle, the ship having been abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The event is possibly confused with the loss of a ship with a similar name, the Mari Celeste, a 207-ton paddle steamer that hit a reef and quickly sank off the coast of Bermuda on September 13, 1864.[34][35] Kusche noted that many of the "facts" about this incident were actually about the Marie Celeste, the fictional ship from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (based on the real Mary Celeste incident, but fictionalised).
Ellen Austin
The Ellen Austin supposedly came across a derelict ship, placed on board a prize crew, and attempted to sail with it to New York in 1881. According to the stories, the derelict disappeared; others elaborating further that the derelict reappeared minus the prize crew, then disappeared again with a second prize crew on board. A check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of the Meta, built in 1854 and that in 1880 the Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel, or any vessel at that time, that would suggest a large number of missing men were placed on board a derelict that later disappeared.[36]
USS Cyclops
The incident resulting in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy not related to combat occurred when USS Cyclops, under the command of Lt Cdr G.W. Worley, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many independent theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.[37][38]
Theodosia Burr Alston
Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle.[39] She was a passenger on board the Patriot, which sailed from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. The planned route is well outside all but the most extended versions of the Bermuda Triangle. Both piracy and the War of 1812 have been posited as explanations, as well as a theory placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.
Spray
S.V. Spray was a derelict fishing boat refitted as an ocean cruiser by Joshua Slocum and used by him to complete the first ever single-handed circumnavigation of the world, between 1895 and 1898.
In 1909, Slocum set sail from Vineyard Haven bound for Venezuela. Neither he nor Spray were ever seen again.
There is no evidence they were in the Bermuda Triangle when they disappeared, nor is there any evidence of paranormal activity. The boat was considered in poor condition and a hard boat to handle that Slocum's skill usually overcame.[11]
Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightship on January 29, 1921, two days before she was found deserted in North Carolina. (US Coast Guard)Carroll A. Deering
A five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on January 31, 1921. Rumors and more at the time indicated the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition, and possibly involving another ship, S.S. Hewitt, which disappeared at roughly the same time. Just hours later, an unknown steamer sailed near the lightship along the track of the Deering, and ignored all signals from the lightship. It is speculated that the Hewitt may have been this mystery ship, and possibly involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.[40]
Douglas DC-3
On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people onboard was ever found. From the documentation compiled by the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation, a possible key to the plane's disappearance was found, but barely touched upon by the Triangle writers: the plane's batteries were inspected and found to be low on charge, but ordered back into the plane without a recharge by the pilot while in San Juan. Whether or not this led to complete electrical failure will never be known. However, since piston-engined aircraft rely upon magnetos to provide spark to their cylinders rather than a battery powered ignition coil system, this theory is not strongly convincing.[41]
Star Tiger and Star Ariel
G-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948 on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways.[42] Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.[11]
KC-135 Stratotankers
On August 28, 1963 a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version (Winer, Berlitz, Gaddis[5][8][9]) of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche's research[11] showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second "crash site" was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed and driftwood tangled in an old buoy.
SS Marine Sulphur Queen
SS Marine Sulphur Queen, a T2 tanker converted from oil to sulfur carrier, was last heard from on February 4, 1963 with a crew of 39 near the Florida Keys. Marine Sulphur Queen was the first vessel mentioned in Vincent Gaddis' 1964 Argosy Magazine article,[5] but he left it as having "sailed into the unknown", despite the Coast Guard report, which not only documented the ship's badly-maintained history, but declared that it was an unseaworthy vessel that should never have gone to sea.[43][44]
Raifuku Maru
The Japanese vessel Raifuku Maru (sometimes misidentified as Raikuke Maru) sank with all hands in 1925 after sending a distress signal which has never been fully understood. She left Boston for Hamburg, Germany, on 21 April and was caught in a severe storm in the North Atlantic, nowhere near the Triangle. RMS Homeric unsuccessfully attempted a rescue,[45] and a photograph of the vessel sinking appeared in the New York Times. Nonetheless, some writers speculated that a waterspout was the likely cause of the sinking (Winer).
Connemara IV
A pleasure yacht was found adrift in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually stated in the stories (Berlitz, Winer[8][9]) that the crew vanished while the yacht survived being at sea during three hurricanes. The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season lists only one storm coming near Bermuda towards the end of August, hurricane "Edith"; of the others, "Flora" was too far to the east, and "Katie" arrived after the yacht was recovered. It was confirmed that the Connemara IV was empty and in port when "Edith" may have caused the yacht to slip her moorings and drift out to sea.[11]
Carolyn Cascio
A Cessna piloted by Carolyn Cascio, on June 6, 1969, with one passenger, attempted to travel from Nassau, Bahamas to Cockburn, Grand Turk Island. The plane was witnessed by many air traffic controllers in Cockburn's airport to circle the island for 30 minutes, after which, it flew away apparently for another island. All attempts from the ground to raise Cascio on the radio failed.
Triangle authors
The incidents cited above, apart from the official documentation, come from the following works. Some incidents mentioned as having taken place within the Triangle are found only in these sources:
Gian J. Quasar (2003). Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery ((Reprinted in paperback (2005) ISBN 0-07-145217-6) ed.). International Marine / Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 0-07-142640-X.
[8] Charles Berlitz (1974). The Bermuda Triangle (1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04114-4.
[11] Lawrence David Kusche (1975). The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-971-2.
[7] John Wallace Spencer (1969). Limbo Of The Lost. ISBN 0-686-10658-X.
David Group (1984). The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-413-X.
[35] Daniel Berg (2000). Bermuda Shipwrecks. East Rockaway, N.Y.: Aqua Explorers. ISBN 0-9616167-4-1.
[9] Richard Winer (1974). The Devil's Triangle. ISBN 0553106880.
Richard Winer (1975). The Devil's Triangle 2. ISBN 0553024647.
[39] Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey (1975). The Bermuda Triangle. ISBN 0446599611.
The Triangle area
The area of the Triangle varies by authorThe boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.
The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.
History
Origins
The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.[2] Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",[3] a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.[4] It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.[5] The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.[6]
Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973);[7] Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974);[8] Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974),[9] and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[10]
Larry Kusche
Lawrence David Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University and author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved (1975)[11] argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were often exaggerated, dubious or unverifiable. Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. Kusche noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Another example was the ore-carrier recounted by Berlitz as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents that sparked allegations of the Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it. Often his research was simple: he would review period newspapers of the dates of reported incidents and find reports on possibly relevant events like unusual weather, that were never mentioned in the disappearance stories.
Kusche concluded that:
The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean.
In an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms.
The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat's disappearance, for example, would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not have been.
Some disappearances had, in fact, never happened. One plane crash was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses; a check of the local papers revealed nothing.
The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism.[11]
Further responses
When the UK Channel 4 television program "The Bermuda Triangle" (c. 1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for the Equinox series, the marine insurer Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's of London determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there.[12]
United States Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis.[11]
The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker SS V. A. Fogg in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies,[13] in contrast with one Triangle author's claim that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup.[7]
The NOVA/Horizon episode The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on June 27, 1976, was highly critical, stating that "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates. Science does not have to answer questions about the Triangle because those questions are not valid in the first place... Ships and planes behave in the Triangle the same way they behave everywhere else in the world."[14]
David Kusche pointed out a common problem with many of the Bermuda Triangle stories and theories: "Say I claim that a parrot has been kidnapped to teach aliens human language and I challenge you to prove that is not true. You can even use Einstein's Theory of Relativity if you like. There is simply no way to prove such a claim untrue. The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpretations are valid, and if they have left anything out."[14]
Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves[15] and Barry Singer,[16] have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or inaccurate, but its producers continue to market it. Accordingly, they have claimed that the market is biased in favor of books, TV specials, and other media that support the Triangle mystery, and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint.
Finally, if the Triangle is assumed to cross land, such as parts of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, or Bermuda itself, there is no evidence for the disappearance of any land-based vehicles or persons.[citation needed] The city of Freeport, located inside the Triangle, operates a major shipyard and an airport that handles 50,000 flights annually and is visited by over a million tourists a year.[17]
Supernatural explanations
Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, though geologists consider it to be of natural origin.[18]
Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.[19] This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees.
Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.[8]
Natural explanations
Compass variations
Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area,[20] such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.[21] But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.[11]
Deliberate acts of destruction
Deliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses. While many sinkings have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in various command log books, many others suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records.
Piracy—the illegal capture of a craft on the high seas—continues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s, and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.[citation needed]
False-color image of the Gulf Stream flowing north through the western Atlantic Ocean. (NASA)Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 metres per second (5.6 mi/h).[22] A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current.
Human error
One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error.[23] Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V.A. Fogg in 1972[citation needed]. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[24]
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are powerful storms, which form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives lost and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.
Methane hydrates
Main article: Methane clathrate
Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996.
Source: USGSAn explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves.[25] Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water;[26] any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.
Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast.[27] However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years.[12]
Rogue waves
In various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sink[28] and oil platforms to topple.[29] These waves, until 1995, were considered to be a mystery and/or a myth.[30][31]
Notable incidents
Main article: List of Bermuda Triangle incidents
Flight 19
US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given[citation needed] that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."
Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion[32] at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol.
While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.[33]
Mary Celeste
The mysterious abandonment in 1872 of the 282-ton brigantine Mary Celeste is often but inaccurately connected to the Triangle, the ship having been abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The event is possibly confused with the loss of a ship with a similar name, the Mari Celeste, a 207-ton paddle steamer that hit a reef and quickly sank off the coast of Bermuda on September 13, 1864.[34][35] Kusche noted that many of the "facts" about this incident were actually about the Marie Celeste, the fictional ship from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (based on the real Mary Celeste incident, but fictionalised).
Ellen Austin
The Ellen Austin supposedly came across a derelict ship, placed on board a prize crew, and attempted to sail with it to New York in 1881. According to the stories, the derelict disappeared; others elaborating further that the derelict reappeared minus the prize crew, then disappeared again with a second prize crew on board. A check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of the Meta, built in 1854 and that in 1880 the Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel, or any vessel at that time, that would suggest a large number of missing men were placed on board a derelict that later disappeared.[36]
USS Cyclops
The incident resulting in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy not related to combat occurred when USS Cyclops, under the command of Lt Cdr G.W. Worley, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many independent theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.[37][38]
Theodosia Burr Alston
Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle.[39] She was a passenger on board the Patriot, which sailed from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. The planned route is well outside all but the most extended versions of the Bermuda Triangle. Both piracy and the War of 1812 have been posited as explanations, as well as a theory placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.
Spray
S.V. Spray was a derelict fishing boat refitted as an ocean cruiser by Joshua Slocum and used by him to complete the first ever single-handed circumnavigation of the world, between 1895 and 1898.
In 1909, Slocum set sail from Vineyard Haven bound for Venezuela. Neither he nor Spray were ever seen again.
There is no evidence they were in the Bermuda Triangle when they disappeared, nor is there any evidence of paranormal activity. The boat was considered in poor condition and a hard boat to handle that Slocum's skill usually overcame.[11]
Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightship on January 29, 1921, two days before she was found deserted in North Carolina. (US Coast Guard)Carroll A. Deering
A five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on January 31, 1921. Rumors and more at the time indicated the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition, and possibly involving another ship, S.S. Hewitt, which disappeared at roughly the same time. Just hours later, an unknown steamer sailed near the lightship along the track of the Deering, and ignored all signals from the lightship. It is speculated that the Hewitt may have been this mystery ship, and possibly involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.[40]
Douglas DC-3
On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people onboard was ever found. From the documentation compiled by the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation, a possible key to the plane's disappearance was found, but barely touched upon by the Triangle writers: the plane's batteries were inspected and found to be low on charge, but ordered back into the plane without a recharge by the pilot while in San Juan. Whether or not this led to complete electrical failure will never be known. However, since piston-engined aircraft rely upon magnetos to provide spark to their cylinders rather than a battery powered ignition coil system, this theory is not strongly convincing.[41]
Star Tiger and Star Ariel
G-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948 on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways.[42] Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.[11]
KC-135 Stratotankers
On August 28, 1963 a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version (Winer, Berlitz, Gaddis[5][8][9]) of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche's research[11] showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second "crash site" was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed and driftwood tangled in an old buoy.
SS Marine Sulphur Queen
SS Marine Sulphur Queen, a T2 tanker converted from oil to sulfur carrier, was last heard from on February 4, 1963 with a crew of 39 near the Florida Keys. Marine Sulphur Queen was the first vessel mentioned in Vincent Gaddis' 1964 Argosy Magazine article,[5] but he left it as having "sailed into the unknown", despite the Coast Guard report, which not only documented the ship's badly-maintained history, but declared that it was an unseaworthy vessel that should never have gone to sea.[43][44]
Raifuku Maru
The Japanese vessel Raifuku Maru (sometimes misidentified as Raikuke Maru) sank with all hands in 1925 after sending a distress signal which has never been fully understood. She left Boston for Hamburg, Germany, on 21 April and was caught in a severe storm in the North Atlantic, nowhere near the Triangle. RMS Homeric unsuccessfully attempted a rescue,[45] and a photograph of the vessel sinking appeared in the New York Times. Nonetheless, some writers speculated that a waterspout was the likely cause of the sinking (Winer).
Connemara IV
A pleasure yacht was found adrift in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually stated in the stories (Berlitz, Winer[8][9]) that the crew vanished while the yacht survived being at sea during three hurricanes. The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season lists only one storm coming near Bermuda towards the end of August, hurricane "Edith"; of the others, "Flora" was too far to the east, and "Katie" arrived after the yacht was recovered. It was confirmed that the Connemara IV was empty and in port when "Edith" may have caused the yacht to slip her moorings and drift out to sea.[11]
Carolyn Cascio
A Cessna piloted by Carolyn Cascio, on June 6, 1969, with one passenger, attempted to travel from Nassau, Bahamas to Cockburn, Grand Turk Island. The plane was witnessed by many air traffic controllers in Cockburn's airport to circle the island for 30 minutes, after which, it flew away apparently for another island. All attempts from the ground to raise Cascio on the radio failed.
Triangle authors
The incidents cited above, apart from the official documentation, come from the following works. Some incidents mentioned as having taken place within the Triangle are found only in these sources:
Gian J. Quasar (2003). Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery ((Reprinted in paperback (2005) ISBN 0-07-145217-6) ed.). International Marine / Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 0-07-142640-X.
[8] Charles Berlitz (1974). The Bermuda Triangle (1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04114-4.
[11] Lawrence David Kusche (1975). The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-971-2.
[7] John Wallace Spencer (1969). Limbo Of The Lost. ISBN 0-686-10658-X.
David Group (1984). The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-413-X.
[35] Daniel Berg (2000). Bermuda Shipwrecks. East Rockaway, N.Y.: Aqua Explorers. ISBN 0-9616167-4-1.
[9] Richard Winer (1974). The Devil's Triangle. ISBN 0553106880.
Richard Winer (1975). The Devil's Triangle 2. ISBN 0553024647.
[39] Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey (1975). The Bermuda Triangle. ISBN 0446599611.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Global Warming is decreasing the peak of Mounteverest
The rising temperature on the mountains has melted much ice and snow on the trail to the summit. It is difficult for climbers to use their crampons on the rocky surfaces,” Apa told reporters after flying to Katmandu on Tuesday.
Apa, who uses only one name, reached the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) summit on Saturday for the 20th time, beating his own previous record. The 49-year-old first climbed Everest in 1989 and has repeated the feat almost every year since. His closest rival is fellow Sherpa guide Chhewang Nima, who has made 16 trips to the summit.
Apa said when he first began climbing Everest, there was hardly any rocky surface on the trail to the summit. Now, he says, the trail is dotted with bare rocks. The melting ice has also exposed deep crevasses, making it dangerous for climbers.
Apa has been campaigning on global warming's negative effect on the Himalayan peaks for the past three years. In a separate environmental campaign to clean up the mountain, his Eco-Everest Expedition team has been collecting garbage from the slopes of Everest. This year the team collected 7,630 pounds (4,770 kilograms) of garbage. Apa grew up in the foothills of Everest and began carrying equipment and supplies for trekkers and mountaineers at age 12. He moved to the United States in 2006 and lives in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper.
Sherpas were mostly yak herders and traders living in the Himalayas until Nepal opened its borders to tourists in 1950. Their stamina and knowledge of the mountains makes them expert guides and porters.
A total of 233 climbers in 25 expedition teams from various nations have been permitted by the Nepalese government to climb Everest during the spring season from the southern face of the peak.
Apa, who uses only one name, reached the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) summit on Saturday for the 20th time, beating his own previous record. The 49-year-old first climbed Everest in 1989 and has repeated the feat almost every year since. His closest rival is fellow Sherpa guide Chhewang Nima, who has made 16 trips to the summit.
Apa said when he first began climbing Everest, there was hardly any rocky surface on the trail to the summit. Now, he says, the trail is dotted with bare rocks. The melting ice has also exposed deep crevasses, making it dangerous for climbers.
Apa has been campaigning on global warming's negative effect on the Himalayan peaks for the past three years. In a separate environmental campaign to clean up the mountain, his Eco-Everest Expedition team has been collecting garbage from the slopes of Everest. This year the team collected 7,630 pounds (4,770 kilograms) of garbage. Apa grew up in the foothills of Everest and began carrying equipment and supplies for trekkers and mountaineers at age 12. He moved to the United States in 2006 and lives in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper.
Sherpas were mostly yak herders and traders living in the Himalayas until Nepal opened its borders to tourists in 1950. Their stamina and knowledge of the mountains makes them expert guides and porters.
A total of 233 climbers in 25 expedition teams from various nations have been permitted by the Nepalese government to climb Everest during the spring season from the southern face of the peak.
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