Yup, it seems that the red light has gone on for the Umpire Decision Review System that initially received so much support from players and cricket boards alike. Despite Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of batting his heart out to try and keep the system alive it has just not taken off and is being shot down mercilessly by boards world over. So what is the exact problem? It is not so much the cricketing reasons but the financial ones. Since broadcasters of the series involved and the home cricket board are supposed to bear the costs of the referral system, none is ready to take on the extra expenditure in these tough times.

The on going series between India and Sri Lanka is a prime example where BCCI shot down the idea of using referral system as Nimbus and the board had an issue with spending the money. With the richest cricket board in the world backing out, hope seems pretty bleak elsewhere. But Richardson is hopeful as he tries to garner support from Down Under in Australia where he feels both the ACB and the production channel will be more willing to help out.

While there is no doubt that the system is good for the game and viewers alike, it seems broadcasters are just not willing to go that extra mile on the issue. Or a game that is still largely confined to a handful of post-colonial colonies, it would be better to think long term than bother about short-term savings.

For a generation of loyal Indian cricket fans who saw India lift the world cup at Lords he was the boy who had the potential to replace Sunil Gavaskar, For the next generation he was an icon and inspiration who carried their national side on his young herculean shoulders single-handedly and for the Dhoni-Yuvraj-smitten latest lot he is the senior pro around whom the rest of the team operates. Different though he maybe for different folk, there was one common element about Tendulkar that inspired more than a billion people at home- an ability to put smiles on the faces of those who watched him; those who watched his each and every stroke.

The most captivating aspect about Tendulkar was his ‘boy next door’ persona that would just turn up at the ground against seemingly insurmountable odds, fierce fast bowlers and of course once in a while sell a razor blade or energy drink… doing all that in a shy and humble fashion that floored you with its simplicity; the same simple and uncomplicated approach that translated into his batting and his work ethic at the nets. Yet, once he took guard, the shy boy next door transformed into an all-demon slaying giant for his countrymen and those who watched from the other side of the fence were equally taken in by his batting brilliance.

Yet watching Sachin bat for us commoners was more about waiting to see the brutal destroyer inside being let loose. Batting was the one time when the master of his chosen craft seemed to allow himself some indulgence (and also in case of fast cars), but even that stemmed from countless of hours of practice in the nets- the paddle sweep fine, the scoop over the slips, the late cut and top hand-like flick that sent the ball from an yard outside off step to behind square on the leg. For all his genius, Tendulkar never seemed to enthrall his followers off the field with the eccentricities that come attached.

Watching the master of his chosen craft for two decades has been a unique and captivating privilege and those of us who have been lucky enough to jump onboard have enjoyed it immensely. Even till today as the dust settles and the side screen is set (which is ever so important for Sachin), some wait for the straight drive, some for the cut, some for the paddle sweep and some for the straight hit over the spinners head and Yours truly waits for that vintage and beefy pull into the stands… Different strokes for different folks… all still flowing off of one blade!

Indian cricket is as unpredictable off the field as it is on it and the selection of mercurial (on the borderline of crazy) Sreesanth seems to be another twist in its ever vibrant tale. Announcing the squad for the first two tests against Sri Lanka that will commence at Ahmadabad in less than a week, the selection committee has been anything but decisive in its methods. Announcing the 15-member squad for the first two tests saw the return of Sreesanth and Zaheer Kahn to the Test team while the Tamil Nadu duo of Badrinath and M Vijay made their way into the 15 as well.

What seemed startling though is the fact that the selection committee went in with 3 seamers and two spinners (Harbhajan and Ojha), leaving Dhoni with far few bowling options. So, if he does decide to go in with three pacers and lone spinner on the match day then he has to pick the out of form Ishant Sharma, the guy returning from lay off- Zaheer Khan and the completely unpredictable Sreesanth… Not the way to be stepping in to a test series. With the middle order already packed, and the openers in full fitness, a batting spot seems unlikely for either Vijay or Badrinath.

In short, the selection committee will have some explaining to do if the show flops at Ahmadabad. Even otherwise, the early signs seem to be that the men at the top have been rattled by the Aussie debacle at home and have pinned their hopes on the solid batting lineup to once again save them on home turf!

Illegal whaling ships have been roaming the oceans of the world literally scotch-free for the last couple of decades and most often the only little hindrance they get is from those tiny little ships that have brave volunteers from ‘eco-friendly’ groups trying hard to stop the fast paced giants. Well, finally the huge ships and their sharp harpoons have finally met their match and its is the Ady Gill (formerly known as Earthrace) that will teach them a lesson or two about sneaking up and spoiling the party. Out to nab the bad guys of the world’s oceans, this ultra-sleek and Hollywood-esque mean machine on waves will be used by conservation group Sea Shepherd in their effort to combat whaling.

Sea Shepherd is currently preparing for it’s 6th Whale Defense Campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda. About to be launched in Australia the campaign will man the Southern Ocean and Ady Gill along with another mean machine ‘Steve Irwin’ will try to sneak up and ruin as many whale hunts as possible. Silent, efficient and with a top speed of over 50 knots this amazing piece of engineering and design is sure to finally give the conservation groups a much needed edge over the poachers.

So, come this Christmas time expect the Southern seas to and its mighty giants to receive a dark and dazzling visit from this avenger of those who wish to slaughter the innocent. (You, that was dramatic!) Let’s just hope that at least now that the endangered species is protected from the illegal meat market.

Boingboing/ Life

Playing a 7-match one-day series in this time and age seems a bit outdated, even boring perhaps and that is the general feeling going around both within the players and the spectators despite the two best teams in the world going head on. With cramped international schedule and growing demand on players’ fitness, it seems that this absurdly long and congested series between Australia and India is claiming victims and that too fast. With the hosts going 2-1 up as we head to Mohali, Brett Lee is already out, Clarke was never here and now Sehwag and Gambhir seem to be destined for the sidelines.

Team India will be stepping out at the beautiful stadium in Mohali knowing that a win here will give them the number one spot in one-day team rankings and Australia will be motivated enough as a defeat here would make their task of winning the series almost impossible.

Key Factors:

Ponting and Hussey: They have carried Australia through this series so far and they might have to do it again here. While the captain seems to be in sublime touch, Mr. Cricket is getting his touch back against a deliciously easy Indian attack.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj: While the senior partner needs to put up a big one on the board, the local boy will be looking to raise his bat after a ton in front of his adoring home-town fans. Sachin’s start will be crucial, all the more if the Delhi-duo is forced to sit out and Yuvi’s blitz will be equally vital.
Dew: If the pitch remains good for 100 overs expect the team that wins the toss to bowl first as gripping the ball will be a nightmare later on. That sail, it could seam a bit up there at the PCB stadium under lights.

Prediction: Brett Lee’s absence could be the factor that allows India to sneak in with a win at a place where they have generally done poorly and Australia have found plenty of success.

Don’t you know how to use Twitter? Don’t you understand the concept of real-time web? Or even don’t know what Twitter is? How about doing a course (with a certificate and everything) on the most talked about “social system” nowadays?

More than something that looks like a joke, courses on how to use Twitter are becoming mandatory in several universities all around the world, as in the case below.
The Griffith University in Australia, will offer a course to teach techniques for using Twitter for Journalism students. The measure aims to instruct students on how to take advantage of disclosed information in the microblogging network.

The initiative of Griffith University follows recent measures of educational institutions in the U.S., such as DePaul, to fit the so-called new media. Recently, the University of Missouri required that students acquire Journalism iPod devices to attend classes. The course will also address the authenticity of amateur sources, as well as the relationship between new media and contemporary coverage. Other courses also linked to new media and the impact on journalism are offered to students of the university.

Via: PSFK.

Two books translated to English with lectures and speeches from the former-president’s Jiang Zemin are among the official releases in the Frankfurt Book Fair. The largest commercial event of the literary world has China as the honored country, what already provokes enough controversy _ China censures about 600 books a year, foreign publications are forbidden of entering and several writers were arrested by political subjects and freedom of expression.

Critical Chinese writers from the communist regime of Peking have been “uninvited” to round tables and debates in the Fair of Frankfurt, due to the Chinese government’s pressure. China already threatened to boycott the event if dissidents were invited.

About 2.000 editors, writers, artists and Chinese journalists will participate at the Fair – the Chinese government invested US$ 15 million in its participation, the first in a great international cultural event.

But that little regime tolerance to critics demonstrates the intention of the powerful communist regime to exporting the censorship for other parts of the world. In August, the Chinese government tried to impede the Festival of Movies of Melbourne (Australia) to exhibit a documentary on Rebiya Kadeer, the uigur exile leader that accuses China of committing “cultural genocide” against uigur etnia.

When the festival maintained the exhibition, Chinese Hackers attacked the event site the and the Chinese government, then, canceled official missions to Australia as retaliation. Chinese film directors, pressed by the Ministry of the Culture, canceled the participation in Melbourne too

Via: Folha.

While Australia’s stock market lost 59 percent and a 5.7 percent unemployment rate also assailed the country, it is ‘the only developed country to avoid technical recession.’ Australia has breezed through the global economic downturn ahead of any other developed country.

The country’s ‘stock market has bounced back almost 30 percent since mid-July, home prices are actually higher now than in the summer of 2007,’ and the country’s central bank raised interest rate by 0.25 percent very recently – sending the signal that the current primary concern has moved to inflation, and no longer growth.

Here are the components of the secret strategy that helped Australia have the easiest time through the global recession, and also the reasons why it managed to escape the doldrums the earliest:

Over the past decade, Australia shifted much of its exports to China. It used to export heavily to the US and the UK, two countries that really felt the economic downturn, making them import less during the recession.

Australia’s ‘overall market for loans is modest.’ Hypercredit has just not been the thing in Australia. Also, the country’s population grew by 2.1 percent before March 2009 through reproduction and immigration – more people, more output. Consequently, the burgeoning population kept a consistent demand for housing, thereby ‘cushioning home prices.’

Australia does offer the other developed countries a glimpse into how recovery from the recession looks like. And the real secret? It’s not a uniquely Australian strategy: the country borrowed lots of money to stimulate the economy.

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Via BNET

Four selections of Europe conquered their vacancy on this Saturday, after the next to the last round of the preliminary rounds for the World Cup of 2010. Denmark, Serbia, Germany and Italy didn’t give chances to their opponents and stamped their respective passports. Of the nine groups, only two will still need to define which will be them classified direct (2 and 3).

In the total, 19 selections are already guaranteed in the World Cup: South Africa, Holland, Japan, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, United States, Korea of the South, Australia, Korea of the North, Ghana, Costa of the Ivory, England, Spain, Serbia, Denmark, Italy and Germany.

In 2010 Africa of the South will be headquarters of the first World Cup in the African continent. The expectation is very big, in spite of being a developing country. There will be nine host cities that will be the nervous center of the Cup 2010.

Several world leaders will give prestige to the event, besides Barack Obama. The President of the United States Barack Obama will be illustrious visitor in the ceremony in the opening of the World Cup of 2010 in South Africa, Blatter said to journalists.

Mr. Obama, whose the father was kenyan, said that will go to participate in the event that will happen on June 11, when the first World Cup will be commemorated in the African continent.

The American leader calendar can change in one year, however, he said that if he can, he will be there.

Via: Copa do Mundo 2010.

According to a recent report by Survival International, a London-based group that advocates for native cultures, ‘native peoples are suffering a swine flu infection rate four to five times higher than that of the general population.’ Native-rights groups assert that the world’s indigenous people such as tribes are at ‘greatest risk from the swine flu pandemic.’

There are several factors as to why native peoples are more susceptible to the latest global pandemic. According to experts, ‘native peoples’ immune systems are particularly vulnerable to outside germs.’ Stephen Corry, director of Survival International, says, “Isolated peoples have little or no immunity to outside diseases, meaning that any contact with outsiders with swine flu could spell disaster for the tribes.”

Add to that is the fact that native groups and tribes ‘often have relatively low standards of living, which puts the groups behind the curve, in terms education, public health, and infrastructure.’ Almost all of these indigenous communities live in poverty and in overcrowded living spaces that are often without proper sanitation and hygiene.

Among the native groups that are more affected by the swine flu virus spread are the Manitoba First Nations in Canada, the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia, and the Machiguenga Indians which is a tribe in southeastern Peru.

Via National Geographic