This will be a very short diary.  I wasn't there, because I'm geographically challenged.  But one of my children was there to hear Barack Obama speak at Beloit College, in Beloit, WI tonight.  

edit:  I should note, Chelsea Clinton was also in Beloit, but in the morning, and classes conflicted for my student, so I have no first hand accounts of that.

I wasn’t sure the day would ever come that I’d write a diary on dkos.  I’m frankly intimidated by the great writers here, and unsure that I can rise to the challenge of producing something that will interest you.

This week, however, two things happened to make me dare to try.  First, was a vivid diary about May Day in Nepal that garnered some attention and made me want to share my perspectives more than was possible there.  And second, was an incident that occurred (not unusual in type, but extreme in severity, at least here in Kathmandu), that is still, some six days later, troubling me greatly.  If you follow me below the fold, I’d like to share it with you, as a way of illustrating my deep concern about the Maoist movement in Nepal, and my frustration with those among my compatriots on the left who too are too eager, in my view, to paint them as noble freedom fighters for the people.