Video shows Dahal admitting real strength of PLA not more than 8,000; sharing plans to control army and capture state (updated)

Video shows Dahal admitting real strength of PLA not more than 8,000; sharing plans to control army and capture state (updated)
In a shocking revelation, it appears that the actual strength of the Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) was between 7,000 and 8,000 and not 35,000 as reported by Maoists before United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) started the verification process.
In a video telecast by Kathmandu-based Image Channel Monday afternoon, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is seen telling PLA combatants in a meeting at Shaktikhor located cantonment in Chitwan how the party swindled all into believing that the number of PLA was 35,000 when it was actually not more than 8,000, ultimately leading to the increase in PLA's strength rather than its reduction as has been assumed.
Dahal is seen further justifying the inflated figure in the video which the channel claimed was from January 2, 2008 when the Maoists were an important constituent of the Girija Prasad Koirala led interim government
"We were (PLA's strength) somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000. If we had reported the correct figure of the PLA, then it would then have been reduced to around 4,000."
"But our party's leadership decided to report PLA strength as 35,000, and thanks to it the PLA's strength is now 20,000 at least," he said smilingly, evoking peels of laughter around him.
"So our strength has actually increased. You and I know the truth, but why should we tell it to others."
He said the apart from the PLA, which he said is now already a "regular army", the party has also formed YCL comprising thousands of youths despite various difficulties and "who now add to our strength".
The Maoist chairman also revealed that a significant share of the money that will go to "our martyrs" in villages throughout the country and the PLA in cantonments will be used by the party to prepare for revolt and ultimately capture the state.
"You all know that if we have enough money in our hands we can prepare a good battle plan. So, the party needs a good amount of money for the revolt," he said.
He further said that though the party may appear to have again reached a compromise (with the state and political parties), "but if you look deeply then you will know how seriously the party is preparing for the ultimate revolt".
Thereafter, Dahal talked about the difficulties that exist in the wholesale integration of PLA combatants into the Nepal Army (NA).
Claiming that PLA combatants are "politically aware", he said even a small number of their entry into NA is enough to establish complete Maoist control over the army.
This was why Army chief Rookmangud Katawal was against our soldiers entry into the army, he said.
Meanwhile, in reaction to the airing of the footage, cadres of the Unified Maoist affiliated Young Communist League gathered outside the Image Channel TV premises at Lazimpat in the evening and shouted slogans against the TV management. They dispersed after the police arrived. nepalnews.com May 05 09
Maoist chairman Dahal on army number & verification

US astronauts equip Hubble on third spacewalk

UHOUSTON, Texas: Spacewalking astronauts revived a crippled camera and installed a second new scientific instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope
on Saturday, extending an ambitious effort by the crew of the shuttle Atlantis to overhaul the 19-year-old observatory into the weekend. The nearly seven-hour spacewalk by John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel will be followed on Sunday by the fourth in a series of five daily excursions intended to equip the high flying telescope for at least another five years of observations. Since hoisting Hubble into Atlantis's cargo bay last week, the shuttle's seven astronauts have achieved six of the mission's highest priorities. In addition to the Saturday's revival of the Advanced Camera for Survey and installation of the new Cosmic Origin Spectrograph, the list of achievements include the addition of the Wide Field Camera-3, a new science computer, gyroscopes and power storage batteries. Hubble, a cooperative project between NASA and the European Space Agency, is headed for a new scientific summit, a perch from which astronomers can search for the oldest star systems, map the large scale structure of the universe and study planet forming processes around other stars. "We are batting 1000," said Dave Leckrone, NASA's chief Hubble astronomer, told a news briefing. "We have just an extraordinary capability to image the universe, much more powerfully that what we had before by far." Saturday's spacewalk breathed new life into camera for surveys, a seven-year-old instrument that was crippled by a short circuit in January 2007. The breakdown slowed a campaign to unravel the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, two little understood forces that influence the structure and expansion of the universe. During the repair, Grunsfeld, a 50-year-old astronomer, and Feustel, a 43-year-old geologist, opened the camera to extract and replace four circuit boards and attach a new external power source. Grunsfeld, who is visiting the space telescope for a third time, removed 32 tiny screws using an assortment of hand ratchets and cutters to revive the imager. A custom cover plate kept the tiny fasteners from floating into the telescope, where it could have caused harm. Saturday's outing began with the installation of the new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, an instrument that analyzes the light from stars, planets and other astronomicalS astronauts equip Hubble on third spacewalk