WOW!!!! This is must-see stuff!!!!!!!! I found it thru this herald article.

The birth of a volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and these guys happened to be passing by as it happened!! How incredible is that.....I only wish there was some video of the volcano as well.

graduation photos have arrived!!! and this time, blogspot let me upload....

more on cricket

In this cricinfo article, Peter English discusses one of the most topical issues in Australian cricket- the retirement of Warne and McGrath (and the imminent retirement of Langer and possibly a few others) and the introduction of young talent into the test arena.

Its a difficult situation for Australia because they have been on top of the cricket world for years- most people would say since the carribean tour of '95 when the West Indies were toppled. The pressure on the selectors and the players is huge- everyone is expecting no less than convincing wins every time they take the field. Thus there has always been a temptation to keep selecting proven performers instead of new talent- "to stick to a winning formula". Whats more, even the new players that have come into the test team have been old, with lots of first class experience- Lehmann, Miller, Hussey, Clark all began their careers at or after the age of 30. Ponting is the only significant exception in the last decade.

So now, with the upcoming retirement of the two men most responsible for Australia's domination of world cricket, there is debate as to what should done in Australia, and muted but excited cries of jubilation from the rest of the cricketing world. India stand to benefit the most as they will be touring down under next season, in what may well be the last tour for some of India's ageing players. Kumble is still the fittest man in the team at 37, so he'll probably continue on. But Tendulkar, Ganguly and possibly Laxman and Dravid are the right age and stage of their careers to consider retirement. What better way than to be part of the first ever Indian team to win a test series in Australia.

India's ageing middle order has given its selectors similar headaches to Australia. However, over the last years there has been a definite attempt to bring in the next generation. Yuvraj Singh, Kaif, Raina, Venugopal Rao, Gambhir and Uthappa have all been given opportunities in tests and ODI's, yet they've all been failures. Yuvraj Singh has been the best of the lot with a long run of ODI successes against Sri Lanka and South Africa last year. Kaif scored two tough fifties against Australia in the home defeat two years ago, but has failed to capitalize against weaker opposition whilst the others have not impressed much at all. So overall, India is desperately short of batting talent- the real reason underlying Ganguly's recall to the test team. In truth, India has been heavily reliant on Pathan's batting in recent times.

The next big hope for Indian cricket is Cheteshwar Pujara, the young opener from Gujarat who won the player of the tournament in the last youth world cup in '05. Unlike the average Indian ODI batsman who flashes at everything and scores the occasional hundred, Pujara batted with a maturity rarely seen at his age. He played the anchor role for India with many long innings with old-fashioned strike rates of around 70. Yet while he did this, flashy batsmen like Gaurav Dhiman did the big hitting around him. Obviously with only half a Ranji season under his belt, it will be a while before he becomes a real contender....

Anyway, I've drifted off the topic. The point is, there should be some interesting changes to both the Australian and Indian test teams before the test series next year. With McGrath retiring next week, India will certainly come here with a quiet confidence; whether it will be justified by their batsmen remains to be seen.

Fitzroy Falls

Next stop from the Bradman Museum was Fitzroy Falls. To be honest I'd never before heard of this place and was a bit skeptical about it, but it turned out my suspicions were unnecessary. The waterfall itself is small and not special in any sense, but the surrounding scenery was quite spectacular. The lookout at the waterfall opens out to a deep valley, with mist shrouding the depths of the valley floor where the water falls and flows eastward to the ocean.

The rainforest scenery was really beautiful on this overcast, somewhat wet day. The cool, still air and the pleasant but sharp smell of the foliage combined with the vibrant, colourful wildflowers to make it a wonderful walk from the carpark to the two lookouts.There was even a termite mound on the way.Here are some wild berries we spotted, which are apparently good "bush tucker".At the second lookout, we noted that something odd was happening on the valley floor. Possibly due to a change in wind direction, the mass of fog started moving up the incline and over the ridge on the opposite side. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the valley was completely covered in thick fog and the fog began to move towards us. Within seconds, we were enveloped in thick, white, wet fog. The cloud passed through us at amazing speed; it felt like we were in an imax theatre. Unfortunately, my camera batteries went flat at the worst time and I dont have any photo evidence. But, some of the kids did take photos and hopefully they will send them to me as they were instructed.....

After having lunch, we headed off again, this time to Kiama, to see the blowholes (I must say, I've been there so many times its a bit tiresome now, but anyway...). On the way, we went through Jamberoo Road, scenic drive no.9 (or thereabouts). Never has a scenic drive designation been more justified. At first, we drove through thick fog which reduced visibility to about 10 metres, and then we came out onto green meadows, and fields of wildflowers, and pine plantations, and grazing cattle, and quaint farmhouses, and rolls of hay, and little ponds overflowing with the unseasonal rain. Soon, the road meandered into some steep hilly country, and the picturesque farms are replaced by luxuriant rainforest. The canopy is so thick that the sky is often not visible through it. The leaves of the ferns and other rainforest trees are an unbelievably bright green. And the chilled air carries the cloying scent of the wet earth mixed with the pungence of the dense foliage.

So impressed was everyone that we planned to detour to the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre, but we missed the turn and decided not to turn around. At Kiama, because of low tide (there was no shortage of wind), the blowhole was not blowing much to the disappointment of all. So most of us decided to have a coffee and relax. I went out to the rocks and sat for a while watching the grey waves crash upon the grey rocks, against the backdrop of a grey sky.

After much arguing, it was decided that to a beach we must go, even if it was raining and getting late. So we plotted a course for 7 mile beach, a long unbroken unspoilt stretch of grey sand situated in a national park. With the mist shrouding the horizon, we could not see the ends of the beach from where we were. The sand was wet and compact- perfect for a game of cricket. It was decided that the water was too cold for swimming. I think everyone had fun at the beach- whether playing cricket, watching the waves or just chatting. There was a cool seabreeze and the lightest of sprinkles, which could just have been the spray from the ocean, to keep us comfortable. I was very impressed by this beach as it was spotless- not a single piece of rubbish. Compare this to beaches of Sydney, littered with garbage. Even beaches in Wollongong and Kiama have some rubbish, but 7 mile beach was pristine. I wonder if that's because not many people use the beach, or because the people that go there are more thoughtful than the average person, or because the park rangers are clean freaks.

By now, it was nearly 7pm. So we packed up and headed home, through more fog, which became especially thick in the stretch between Wollongong and Helensburgh....

The Bradman Museum

This is the portrait I want in my living room!!


And wouldn't this bust look nice in the foyer.And of course, the immortal cover drive; perfect for the study desk....


After spending the morning at the Bradman museum, we decided that about two-thirds of the stuff on display would look much better in our houses. For any cricket enthusiast, this place is a must-see. Contrary to what the name suggests, the Bradman museum is actually a museum of cricket history that happens to contain lots of Bradman-related items. Apart from exhibits pertaining to Sir Donald, there are also sections devoted to the history of cricket, the origins of the game in Europe, the development of equipment, Australian cricket history and stuff relating to landmark series and events in cricket.

A team portrait of the 1882 test squad, the first to win a series against England. After the loss, some clever Englishmen burnt the bails and put the ashes in a little urn to symbolize the death of English cricket. Hence, the Ashes!!!
Collectibles from the immortals tour of 1948.



Sir Donald in his retirement.

19th century cricket in the meadows of England.
Bats from the 19th century!!

The Seeker

Siddhartha is the son of a brahmin priest- a promising, intelligent young pupil. He excels at the chanting of the mantras, recitation of the scriptures and scholarly debates on religious matters. His proud father believes that Siddhartha is destined to become the greatest amongst the priests.

But Siddhartha is also a spiritual seeker. Despite having 'learned' so much, Siddhartha feels that he has made inadequate progress on the spiritual path. He seeks to understand the highest of mysteries, the nature of the Self. Having realized that such realization he will not arrive at living the life of a brahmin priest, he decides to give up his worldly attachments and joins a group of wandering ascetics to learn about the Self.

Siddhartha is the story of one man's seeking, his teachers, his lessons and his teachings. At every step, Siddhartha learns something new about the world, about himself, about God. Yet at every step, he feels something missing. Until he meets the man who is to be his last, and best teacher, the illiterate ferryman.

Siddhartha is a novel written by the German Nobel-prize winner in literature, Hermann Hesse. Published in 1922, Siddhartha is considered Hesse's finest book, along with Der Steppenwolf.
Hesse had a keen interest in Eastern philosophy, particularly the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and the Buddhist canon. The skill with which the often abstract concepts of Hindu/Buddhist spirituality have been woven into a story that is supposed to be somewhat autobiographical, by a German author who hadnt been to India previously, is quite simply amazing. (Hesse had travelled to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand and so had been exposed directly to Buddhism)

Reindeer Herders of the Kola Peninsula

The Kola Peninsula, in north-west Russia, is a bleak tundra- cold, harsh but loaded with nature's bounties- minerals, fish, and terrain perfect for reindeer herding. It has historically been populated by the nomadic Sami people. As explained here, their plight has been the same as that of many indiginous minorities around the world, particularly but not exclusively in Communist and former Communist countries. Fighting to survive and keep their ancient culture alive, they have been hounded and harried by successive Soviet and Russian governments. The problem is that the ancestral lands of the Sami is full of valuable which the Russian government is keen to exploit maximally. The Sami, who number only a few thousand, are a weak opposition to the forces of economic rationalism, and so many people continue to make their fortunes off the Kola Peninsula whilst the Sami stagnate, as the roubles generated from their land bypasses them completely.

Bobbin Head

Friday 22/12/06

I decided to go to Bobbin Head today to do some bushwalking with a group of friends. Bobbin Head is a little picnic spot-cum-marina situated in valley in the Kuringai National Park, north of Sydney. Its proximity to the city attracts lots of boat owners who flock to the area and sail on the Hawkesbury river and its tributaries. The Kuringai National Park also has lots of bushwalking trails, of all lengths, including a part of the Great North Walk. The terrain varies from pockets of rainforest, stretches of mangrove swamp to the ubiquitous eucalypt forest seen all over Australia.

We decided to start the day on the Sphinx trail, which goes from Bobbin Head to the Sphinx memorial, a replica of the real Sphinx built in honour of the soldiers who perished fighting in Egypt in WWII. Part of this track is pretty heavy going with some tough climbs, but because these are well spaced out and quite short, we made good time walking the 5km in under 2 hours. On the way back, we took the Bobbin Head track which heads back to where we started. Unfortunately, this is a dirt track for offroad vehicles and is situated on top of the ridge. Hence it is exposed and dry making it much less interesting to walk through. The last part however, was lots of fun because we bushbashed down the slope rather than take the winding path down.

It was lunch time, and quite hot by now. Also, one of my friends had bad blisters on both his feet, the worst I've ever seen. So we couldnt do any more walking for the day, which was a shame as I wanted to walk on the other side of the river to the waterholes. Oh well, another time.....

a word on cricket

There's been some very interesting cricket over the last few weeks. Whilst the Pakistan-West Indies series is drawing to a close, the other six major nations are all battling it out in the southern hemisphere. South Africa proved once again that they're a formidable one-day team, crushing India, who've slipped to low after low following the morale-breaking WC final loss in 2003. Australia have regained the Ashes wasting the minimal amount of time, whilst Sri Lanka are locked in a tight battle with the Kiwis.

First to South Africa, where a confident home team went into the test matches after a ruthless display against an Indian team all at sea with the unfamiliar conditions. South Africa played marvellous cricket, dominating with both bat and ball throughout the ODI's. The coach Mickey Arthur publicly asked the curators to prepare bouncy pitches so his pace bowlers could bounce out the Indians. The nation was all abuzz with optimism, but as usual, the South African penchant for going overboard with these things was their undoing. Not only were they under huge pressure from their public to put India to the sword, but their coach piled on the pressure as well, not only to dominate, but to bowl lots of bouncers and have the Indian batsmen ducking and weaving. As Arthur wanted, a bouncy, seaming pitch was delivered at Johannesburgh. To the South Africans' surprise, (though really it shouldnt have been), the Indian pace bowlers utilized the conditions masterfully dismissing the home team for a record-equalling 84 and 278. It shouldnt have surprised them because Indian bowlers have done quite well in South Africa- Srinath, Prasad and Kumble come to mind. This time around, Sreesanth was the hero. I saw this guy make his debut against a lacklustre Sri Lankan team. He conceded 50 runs in 7 overs or so without looking like getting a wicket. But the commentators, Dean Jones, David Hookes and Barry Richards, remarked that Sreesanth was the future of test cricket in India. I was taken aback by this because I didnt see anything remarkable in this slightly built, apparently ordinary medium pacer. A few matches later, he bowled 1/63 from 10 overs, again unflattering figures, but this time he had 4 dropped catches in the slips, gully and outfield. He created these chances through edges, top edges and leading edges, beating the batsmen with cut, swing and pace. But not until now has he truly justified the faith those commentators put in him. His superb performance, along with Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman, has really given the Indians a launching pad to win a series in South Africa.

New Zealand have never quite reached the heights they managed to climb back in 01/02 when they matched Australia with the bat, drew 0-0 in the test series and conspired to keep Australia out of the VB series final and forcing the Australian selectors to drop Steve Waugh. Unfortunately things have not worked out for the New Zealanders since then, particularly in the batting department, where they have continually failed to score large totals and even to unearth any decent batting talent. Sri Lanka have also struggled for a while now, with only the brilliance of Murali and Kumar Sangakkara maintaining a modicum of dignity for the Emerald Isle. So this series is an excellent opportunity for both teams to garner much needed momentum leading into the world cup. Remember, last before the WC, India were butchered 3-0 (tests) and 5-2 (odi) by New Zealand but went on to have a splendid tournament with the exception of two humiliating losses to Australia. Two closely contested matches have resulted in a drawn series 1-1. With 2 20-20's and 5 ODI's coming up, it will interesting to see how these teams fare, both considered stronger in the short format of the game. The state of the pitches in NZ will probably mean that the ODI's will be a shoot-out between the bowlers, though one outstanding batting performance could be the difference. But since neither team is a true contender for the WC, I must say I'm not all that interested in this series.

The Ashes have not lived upto their hype, it has to be said. England's woeful selection policies, together with their outdated tactics, and the absence of key players Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones, left them exposed to a rampant Australian team desperate to regain the Ashes. As far as selection goes, England made three mistakes:

1. not selecting Panesar from the outset- this is a no-brainer. This guy is a genuine wicket-taker. In Jones' absence, this is something England were bound to desperately miss.

2. picking five bowlers- this is completely pointless. Flintoff is not a no.6 batsman- he's simply a bowler who bats better than average (a bowling all-rounder if you will). The South Africans never select Pollock as a batsman, same as Pakistan and Wasim Akram. Flintoff should play as a bowler alongside Hoggard, Harmison and Panesar. It should be noted that the fifth bowlers, Anderson and Mahmood have taken 1 wicket in 3 tests. That way, Ed Joyce or Jamie Dalrymple could bat at no.5 and Collingwood at 6. I know he got the double hundred at 4, but Collingwood is at best a no.6 batsman, Pietersen should be at 4.

3. Geraint Jones- I have not seen a more redundant selection than England's persistence with Jones. He's not a good keeper (admittedly, he has dropped way fewer balls this time around, though he missed a crucial stumping off Monty in Perth) and he's a hopeless batsman. Chris Read simply has to come in. When Alec Stewart was keeping, the odd mistake could be accepted because of his consistent contributions with the bat, but Jones is a joke.

Having said all of this, even if England picked their best XI (Cook, Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Joyce/Dalrymple, Collingwood, Flintoff, Read, Harmison, Panesar, Hoggard) I dont think the result would be any different. Australia are too good at the moment. Mike Hussey is simply unstoppable, as is Ponting. With McGrath and Warne somewhat out of sorts, Stuart Clark has stepped up and delivered with the ball. And once Gilchrist hits form, you know your in trouble. The Aussies are looking pretty good in terms of retaining the WC right now. It's take a huge reversal of fortunes for it to be otherwise, remembering that Australia is far more dominant in ODI's than in test matches.

They'll drink our water, say the people of Tamworth

Pauline Hanson must've woken up this morning a satisfied woman. Despite the fact that her One Nation Party has no political power, it is still strong in spirit, as you can see from this article in todays Sydney Morning Herald. This is quite disgusting actually; some of the Tamworth councillors' comments are sickening, not to mention displaying a breadth of arrogance and ignorance.

--"Earlier this month Tamworth won the Best Western Friendly Town award. It's hypocritical."--

I feel sorry for the few councillors who made an effort to accomodate the Sudanese refugees, and for the church that raised money for them. It is sad that they will all be lumped together and branded racist.

A Chinese friend of mine went on a road trip last year, after which he commented that of all the towns he travelled through, Tamworth was the least friendly and most racist. He felt so unwelcome that he cut short his stay and moved on. At the time I was surprised, mainly because I had never experienced this sort of thing in Australia, but obviously it exists.

-- several residents had said they did "not want the refugees coming and drinking our water supply, or taking our jobs, that sort of thing", Cr Woodley said. "I think you would have to say there was a racist element at play there."--

I've heard the "they'll take our jobs" argument often enough (there's a really cool south park episode on this issue), but "they'll drink our water"???????? Wow, the drought has really taken hold hasnt it?? I bet when they need cheap labour to dig a few more wells, they wont be complaining about bringing in a few refugees, at least temporarily.

Here are all the comments made by the councillors of Tamworth. I think Councillor Warren Woodley sums it up pretty well:

--"The explanations of my fellow councillors who voted against this proposal held no substance. In fact they reminded me of the ultra-conservative, right wing guard of the past that once ruled this region."--

The comments of those who opposed the refugee settlement all revolved around a few key key themes:

1. washing their own hands clean- it wasnt my fault, it was the people of this town that rejected the refugees.
2. taking the moral high ground- personally, i'd like to see the refugees settle in tamworth
3. blame someone else- the government has no plans to assist these people long-term. we dont have enough health-care resources for our people as it is.
4. bring in irrelevant material- we dont want cronulla riots in our backyard (excuse me, exactly how are 10 families going to cause cronulla riots. if i remember correctly, those were caused by a bunch of drunken young men. maybe tamworth should ban alcohol while they're at it)

wooohooooooooooo!!!

finally, its over!!! its really all done.....

had my graduation today....boring as anything, but still, i now have that priceless piece of paper...

will put up a few photos sometime, but for now, watching monty bowl and dominate on a fast bowler's pitch...go monty go

Kashmir

In a very interesting development, Pervez Musharraf, the military dictator of Pakistan, has indicated that he is considering lifting his country's claim to the state of Kashmir, if India is willing to do likewise. This is a highly unexpected twist in the Kashmir saga as both India and Pakistan have avidly maintained that Kashmir is a part of their respective countries (though in recent times, India has been pushing for the Line of Control to be declared an international border effectively splitting Kashmir, a solution vehemently opposed by Kashmiri Muslims but supported by all the other minorities).

There is huge pressure now on Indian PM Manmohan Singh to declare that India has no claim on Kashmir and move forward with the peace process. In a brave but brilliant move, Musharraf has stormed onto the moral high ground in this issue making it very difficult for India to do anything but follow suit.

But politics aside, this is fantastic news for Kashmir; the best since Partition surely. If the resources that have gone into fighting the six-decades long war for Kashmir had been put into its development, then Kashmir would probably be a rich, industrialized country by now. But as such, it is one of the most underdeveloped, underprivileged parts of the Indian sub-continent. Rich in natural resources, and natural beauty, Kashmir is well endowed to be successful. After years of war and poverty, there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel......

Vineyard Creek Reserve 2

Since it was such a lovely day in Sydney today, I decided to go out to Vineyard Creek Reserve (its just a small patch of bush in the Telopea valley 5km north-east of Parramatta, 5mins walk from my house) and a find a way down to Kissing Point Road. I know that such a path exists because I have seen it at the Kissing Point Road end. But the directions once you get into the reserve are not easy to discern. Once before, I ended up at the cave when I was looking for Kissing Point Road. This time, I ended up at the Oatlands golf course, so I was closer than before, but still I couldnt find the path I was looking.

But anyway, I found a few other things today. At the end of a small incline, I came across a vast clearing in the middle of which was a large concrete cylindrical structure. Some of the earth was extremely dry and had huge cracks, whilst there was bright green grass nearby. Beyond the clearing, there was a clump of pipes draining into a black reservoir of water. I wondered whether this was the result of the reflection of the sheer sandstone wall, out of which the reservoir and the clearing appear to have been cut, but on closer inspection, the water was in fact, black, and full of junk.

A path off to one side quickly led to a dead end, so I decided to follow the other direction for a while to see where it led. I was hoping that it would curve to the left and climb, as I felt that this was the direction Kissing Point Road was in. As it happened, the path did climb, and did curve to the left somewhat, and led me to a small sheltered creek bed which must have been a wet pocket as it was full of ferns, moss and cool green shade. Presented with two options, either to follow the creek bed or to cross the bed and follow the path as it curved sharply to the left, I took the leftward option.

But it only led me to the golf course. Now I could've gone out through the golf course and continued by street, but I wanted to explore more of the bush so I went back the way I came to the creek bed. By my reckoning, given that the golf course was where it was, I needed a right turn to get to my objective, so I kept an eye out for right forks, but alas, none materialized. So I ended up back at the creek bed, and so walked along it for a few minutes. There were lots of birds in this part of the reserve, especially kookaburras. But the creek bed became impassable after a short distance so I headed back.

The reserve was full of wild flowers today, though most of them were out of reach of my camera, with its crappy digital zoom. But there was one plant with white flowers that I could get near. These flowers looked vaguely familiar, but I cant recall seeing them in anyone's garden.

On the way out, I followed Vineyard Creek on the other side of Robert Street; this area isnt really part of Vineyard Creek Reserve. But this section is only about 400m long, and ends up in a little park behind my house.

England hold the Ashes?????

Wow!! Its almost like last year's Ashes didnt happen at all. Nothing has happened over the last two days in Brisbane that didnt happen at the start of Ashes series' from 1989-2003. Few people would believe, based on what we have seen so far, that England are the holders.....well not for long I dont think.

Flintoff was once again colossal, but England lacked bite without Simon Jones, and Harmison, who has terrorized every other batting line-up, was rather docile as he usually is against Australia (barring that time he hit Justin Langer twice on the head). Meanwhile, people continue to ask why it has taken 10 years of domestic cricket for the Aussie selectors to give Mike Hussey a chance. And Ricky Ponting, it must be said, (rather sadly for Tendulkar-ites like myself) is probably the best batsman of the current generation.

Anyway, it'll be a good effort by England to avoid an innings defeat. I think the hype surrounding this Ashes series will quickly deflate, if not after this test match, then surely after the drubbing England are going to receive in Perth (rather like the Indians in South Africa are receiving at the moment, more on that some other time).

Climate Change

The unseasonal weather in Sydney over the last few weeks got me thinking again about climate change, global warming, renewable energy etc...

Every year, as summer approaches, it seems that this summer is going to be the hottest of them all. I would have to say that until 2004/5, that was true from my experience. I skipped last summer (I was in India for four months, sweet tropical winter.....) but my family and friends tell me that it was undoubtedly the hottest summer ever. This year however, things have been a little bit strange. There have repeated cool changes throughout the spring months, and even the hottest days havent been all that hot. Also, it has been a rather humid summer; generally, the bushfire-prone summer months are bone dry in Sydney. So what's been happening??

I'm no meteorologist, but weather patterns are supposed to be complex, and this sort of aberration could be put down to pure chance alone. But over the last few years, there have numerous instances of unprecedented weather patterns around the world. Hurricane Katrina is probably the most famous example, but it is only of many hurricanes that have arisen from the Gulf of Mexico. Cyclone Larry wreaked havoc on the northern Queensland coast earlier this year. Rising sea levels have flooded vast tracts of the Bangladesh coastline. Europe has experienced three years of summer heatwaves, with temperatures rising as high as 35-40 C. Glaciers are disappearing in Nepal and mountain lakes are overfilling and rupturing their banks. The delayed monsoonal downpour has hit parts of India with unexpected ferocity and caused widespread flooding for two years in a row (I was stuck in the Chennai floods last year). And to add to all this, we have Sydney's strange weather.

I guess it's easy to put all the blame onto global warming. There is clear evidence that air and sea temperatures around the world have been on the increase as far back as the records stretch. Alarmingly, the rate of increase has closely followed global development trends i.e. energy consumption i.e. CO2 emissions. Satellite data shows that the polar ice caps have been receding adding further proof that temperatures are rising. Then there is the famous "hole in the ozone layer". I dont know how they actually measure that, but people claim its getting bigger too (there's supposed to a big one over Antarctica).

But there is a school of thought that global warming is fictitious and that the Earth goes through cycles, certain stages of which involve rising temperatures, sea levels, CO2 concentration etc. People who espouse this theory are ridiculed and sidelined by the mainstream scientific community, but I wonder if that is the right way to deal with these people. There is good evidence to support global warming and its link to human activity. There should be a legitimate way to discredit this anti-global warming minority, rather than resorting to bully tactics. I think the best way to achieve this is to show that taking measures to reduce CO2 emissions can reverse global warming. If this could be demonstrated then there would be no such questions raised. The problem is that tackling climate change is rather more easily said than done.

What I actually wanted to write about was ways in which we can reduce emissions and why we dont take up these practices, on a global, national and individual level. But this post is already too long, so I'll write another piece soon and continue from where I stopped...

At long last.....

At long last, I've finished my degree!!! Its been six long years, and finally, I can honestly say that I dont know when I have my next exam. Hopefully not for two or three years at least.....On the eve of the last exam, my friend commented that our lives have been dominated by exams for the last twelve years. I hadnt thought of it that way before, its an interesting observation. Of course, the first few years of high school hardly counts, but still, twelve years of exams.......

So you can imagine how relieved I was when marks were released on Friday afternoon. (they fast-track marking for final years..) The prospect of absolute freedom for 2 months...........

So how have I been using my freedom???

Well, I've just been reading books...literally just reading books. Its been so long since I just sat down and read a book continuously for hours. Probably not since high school, with a couple of exceptions, maybe. So I just got my hands on some books and started reading. In fact, my family's complaints about my insatiable reading hunger brought back memories from my high school, which would've been the last time I heard such complaints. In between books, I've also tried to start to exercising again- its proving to be rather difficult, I didnt realize how inertia I'd built up during the exams. Oh yes, the garden needs fixing as well (remember the roses).

Now that I have some time on my hands, I have to blog about all those ideas that came to my mind during the exam period. The problem is, when I have to study, all these (irrelevant, at that time) ideas pop into my head, and its often hard not to daydream and focus on studying. But now that all that's over, I seem to have forgotten what I was going to write about.....

Anyway, I'm sure it'll come to me...My apologies to all those who have been checking my blog over the last month or so, I hope I havent lost you. There should be regular posts from now on...

The art of car-theft

This article had me rolling around on the floor clutching my stomach- i just couldnt stop laughing....

I'm quite paranoid about leaving the keys in the car, but since I started driving a manual vehicle a couple of years ago I've become less paranoid, because I figured that there arent that many people around who still drive manuals. I guess my faith has been redoubled after reading this.....

Perinatal mortality

Amardeep Singh, inspired by the birth of his son, has written a thought-provoking piece on perinatal mortality in India and the USA. Whilst India has made giant leaps in improving both maternal and neonatal mortality over the last few decades, it still lags well behind the USA (which, incidentally, ranks quite poorly amongst Western countries because of its horrendously poor public health system, horrendous for a rich country that is).

India faces many problems when it comes to child and maternal health. First of all, quite obviously, there is a lack of resources, in terms of trained personnel, training facilities, hospital beds and equipment. Secondly, the medicalization of labour and childbirth that occurred in the West in the 1890's and 1900's has yet to occur amongst the vast masses of India's rural population. It is only the urban middle class and upper classes that utilize obstetric services in India's hospitals. Thirdly, there is a host of traditional practices, which despite being well-intentioned, are often counterproductive and sometimes fatal. I made a comment on Amardeep's post where I described the practice of peri-partum dehydration which contributes to the high rate of stroke amongst women delivering babies in South India. Dehydration, combined with pregnancy, which in itself predisposes women to clots, leads to clots or thrombi forming in various areas of the body; particularly the legs, but also more dangerously in the brain. The clots in the legs go to the lungs and can cause instant death, whilst the brain clots cause strokes, either killing or leaving the women with a range of disabilities.

I learnt of this when I spent a month training in neurology at NIMHAMS, Bangalore. Had I spent some time doing obstetrics, I may well have come across many more similar practices that contribute to perinatal mortality. I know that in certain parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the umbilicus of the newborn baby is smeared with cow dung. Faeces is 70-80% bacteria by mass. This practice results in a massive rate of neonatal infections, and hence mortality. I wonder whether there are other such traditions around the world which are responsible for perinatal deaths. If people know of such things, I'd like to hear about it. These are the sorts of things that should be targeted by primary prevention and rural education programs in India, Africa and other areas where adequate obstetric care cannot be delivered...

Jambur

Check out this BBC feature on African communities in India. No-one really knows where they came from, though it is likely that they were brought as slaves by the European invaders. I'd never heard of Africans in India before I read this, though apparently some sections of the Dalit Panthers movement in the 50's claimed African ancestry as a way of seperating themselves from the Hindu mainstream. Anyway, an interesting piece.....

Roses

Our roses are out in bloom!!

From the standard red rose to the exquisite orange-pink "lotus" coloured rose, the delicate white rose to the fragrant pink garland rose, the little bouquet rose and the gorgeous, pristine yellow rose (obviously my favourite)...........

Of course, its only the start of the rose season. Soon, much of the green rose bush will be hidden by the enormous numbers of flowers. Already, the sweet smell of spring has been enhanced by a hint of rose fragrance, especially near gardens which have heaps of roses. Within the next few weeks, all the rose bushes will be in full bloom and the spring air will smell of roses.

And then, the germaniums are just beginning to bloom. So are the wierd purple flowers which grow on the vine that has parasitized our frangipani tree and the other purple-flower tree. The oleander, hibiscus, chrysanthemum, gardenia and jasmine plants are yet to flower this season.

Blogspot once again refuses to upload my photos, so please go to photos.yahoo.com/xyztgh/ and click on "roses" if you want to see some (poor quality) photos of the roses in our garden.

Vineyard Creek Reserve

Whilst I've known for years that this little patch of bush 5 minutes walk from my house exists, I've never actually bothered to walk through to whats there. Seeing that today was such a perfect spring day in Sydney, I decided that the time had come to explore the Vineyard Creek Reserve.

On the way there, I noticed that the theme for this spring must be pink-purple because all the gardens were aflush with white, pinksh-white, pink, purple and violet coloured flowers. It was amazing to see how many gardens, despite differences in landscaping and plant choice, were full of white-pink-purple flowers. There were of course, plenty of yellow weed flowers, as in natural in spring, and the odd rose bush (the lady two houses down with her gigantic 2.5m tall rose bushes!!!). The only plants that didnt fit were the multitude of dark orange orchids which were also featured in every third or fourth garden. As I walked down to the reserve, I thought I would take photos on the way back; as it turned out, my phone battery went dead when I was down by the creek....

Its quite amazing that in the middle of a residential suburb is hidden this quiet, green and surprisingly unlittered patch of forest can exist. On the peripheries, the noise of day-to-day life, domestic squabbles, cars and kids playing can intrude on the calm, but a bit deeper in, the only sounds one can hear are those of nature.

The song of the birds, the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze, the slow flow of the creek, the scampering of lizards (snakes, perhaps?? who knows...) and of course, the buzzing of bees, the most recognizable sound of spring.

I even found a nice little cave to sit in; its actually just an overhanging rock with erosion underneath, but still, its the perfect spot to sit and think, or contemplate, or just daydream.

At the halfway point, down by the creek, I was lamenting the dearth of wild flowers; the only I'd seen were some small fluffy white ones hanging down from a tree. But almost as soon as this thought came, I came upon a clump of yellow wattle. When I tried to take a photo, my battery died! After this, I walked past dozens of flowering bushes. Cursing my luck, I came upon the overhang that served as my cave, and I took a little break, thinking about what a wonderul evening I had out in the radiant spring sun.....

[I tried to post some photos but blogspot wont let me for some reason...]

Everybody Hurts, by R.E.M.

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone

I cannot believe I have been in Wagga for 5 weeks now. Just one more week to go. I cant wait to finally get back home. Of course, as soon as I get home, I'll have to start preparing in earnest for final exams.....

Only 8 weeks to go before exams. Six years of study comes down to six hours of exams this October/November!!! But then there's holidays to look forward to after that, and then finally start working as a doctor in January...

Obesity Epidemic

More people in the world are obese than are starving!! This BBC article estimates that over 1 billion people in the world are obese compared to the 800 million who are undernourished.

The story is the same across the world. Easier access to larger quantities of food, particularly processed food high in oils, sugars and salt, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have combined to generate a global obesity epidemic. Regardles of whether the population in question is urban or rural, rich or poor, "first world" or "third world", the trends are identical; obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.

From my perspective, it is the hospital system that deals with the end-results of all this. The obese are overrepresented in hospitals in general, but also in intensive care, coronary care and high dependency units. They are at the sickest end of the spectrum for most diseases. They have longer hospital stays and more complications from many treatments. Their risk of dying from anaesthesia for an operation is higher than the average person (of course, that phrase will have no meaning soon because the "average" person will be obese).

So the point I am trying to make is that something has to be done soon. The current generation of kids are already much more obese than my generation. The next generation of kids must be raised properly, with the right health education, so that they do not continue the trend. Today's eating habits, including the preference for fast food, junk food, soft drinks and general overeating, have to be fixed. The junk/fast food companies have to take part of the blame for their role in promoting obesity by advertising their......well, junk, to schoolkids in particular. It is quite similar to the cigarette companies which for years lied about the effects of smoking on the lungs, and advertised heavily to get millions of people addicted to nicotine.

But the main problem in my opinion is the modern sedentary lifestyle. Seriously, we are required to do no more than the barest minimum of physical activity in the course of an average day. People whinge and whine about having to walk for 10-15 minutes. Half the population doesnt know how to ride a bicycle. Even less have ever jogged or ran outside of PE class in high school. No longer are kids encouraged to play sports- they can do that on their playstations!!

When I was growing up in India, we hardly used to be indoors when there was daylight. Whether it was cricket, football, cycling or just running around chasing each other, we were always doing something. Even after moving to Australia, we (my brother and I) played lots of cricket and footy. It was only in high school, hooked to stupid computer games, that I fell into the path of sloth. But luckily, after high school, I began playing lots of sport and going to the gym (which I stopped 3 years ago). Anyway, the point is that in my generation I am basically at or slightly below average in terms of physical activity. But compared to the average teenager today, I must be close to being a semiprofessional athlete......

My brother and I had a conversation about blogging yesterday....

We dont like each others blogs!! So our blogging conversations usually amount to little more than back-and-forth slandering. During the course of yesterdays slander-session, this particular segment was especially amusing....

M: ....have u even read my blog??

D: No of course not!! Its like reading a bloody book.

M: So whats wrong with that. (I'd be happy if someone other than my brother told me that my blog read like a book)

D: Whats the point of reading a book?? All the good books get made into movies.......

M: AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!........(howl of frustration followed by sigh of exasperation/resignation to defeat)

Vagabonding

Check out this blog. This guy is amazing. He is cycling through the Himalaya and Karokaram ranges, into Turkestan (or Chinese Xinjiang) and through the Tibetan plateau to finish in Nepal. He rides his bike, carrying 40kg of gear, at impossible altitudes of over 5000m, where ordinary people such as myself would be breathless at rest, let alone when cycling and lugging along an extra 40 kg. Be sure to check out his planned route on the sidebar of the blog. And the photos!! What can I say, absolutely breathtaking......

The disappearing nomads

I've been thinking about this one for a few months now but I've been unable to write anything meaningful about it. I'm not sure that even now I have anything particularly worthy to say, but I'm going to try....

Several months ago, on SBS news, there was a feature on the dwindling number of nomads in Mongolia. It seems that most of the nomads have given up their ancestral way of life and moved to the cities in search of stable empl0yment, which of course they dont usually find, being illiterate and often having the wrong skill set for city life. They end up living in large slums and being exploited for manual labour and other low-paying odd jobs.

The nomadic way of life is being stifled not just in Mongolia but in many parts of Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The nomads of the Central Asian plateau, tribal peoples such as the Kazaks, Uighurs, Tajiks, Tatars, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, over the course of the 20th century have become increasingly urbanized and given up their traditional lifestyles. The same is true for the tribes of the western Himalayas in India such as the Gujjars and the Gaddis. It is true that the government of India has done more to preserve the ancestral traditions of the Himalayan nomads compared to the USSR, PRC and the new Central Asian republics, but there is still undoubtedly a shift from nomadic to static urban lifestyles amongst these people. In the far east of India, the tribal way of life (not always nomadic in these more fertile areas I must point out) is under threat because of different reasons. Here, political instability, rebellion and near civil war is the main threat.

So what are the reasons for this shift?? It is apparent that the lives these people lead when they give up their nomadic lifestyle and take up residence in the cities is often riddled with poverty and exploitation. Yet they must feel that this is the only way to give themselves and their children a better chance in life. It is known that with increasing populations and increasing consumption, land use is becoming increasingly intensive. And land that was previously unused for whatever reason (quality of natural resources, access etc) is becoming more attractive to use. For the "greater good", it is often the indigenous nomads whose priorities are ignored. Historically, certain regions in the world became populated by nomads because the land was not fertile or hospitable enough for sustaining a permanent population. These regions are hence sparsely populated and in certain seasons unpopulated by humans. By necessity, the land required to support a certain number of people is quite large, in contrast to say the floodplains of the Ganga which contains extremely fertile land and has supported massive static populations.

But with improved technology, human beings are able to utilize much of this 'poor' quality land. As the need arises, many of these previously 'untouched' areas are being encroached upon. The amount of land available to indigenous nomads dwindles as a result. Areas of Kashmir and Himachal in northern India have been reserved by the Indian government for exclusive use of the indigenous nomads, but actions such as this are the exception rather than the rule. This issue has been in focus in India over the last few months (sadly for the wrong reasons much of the time) with the planned construction of a dam on the river Narmada. If this dam is built, acres of land upstream will be flooded, thereby displacing many thousands of local nomads. But the government argues that while several thousands will suffer, lakhs (1 lakh= 1,00,000) and lakhs will benefit from improved irrigation and more constant electricity.

So what are the solutions?? Will the vibrant nomadic cultures of Asia be alive and functioning or will they be superceded by hyperintense agriculture etc. within a generation or two? What is the exact responsibility of governments, remembering that 21st century national boundaries are an artificial imposition which have little meaning for the wandering nomads of Central Asia particularly?

Lake Albert

I went out for a bike ride today- a long, at times rather difficult but ultimately fulfilling ride. Apart from the fact that I needed the exercise, the bike ride was necessary to release some of the pent-up energy from two weeks of absolutely minimal physical activity.

I decided to ride out to Lake Albert to see if it had any water. Some of the locals were saying that last time they went out there, in the middle of summer, there was no water in the lake at all and there was talk of developing the land. So I wasnt sure that I would see any water today but was determined to go there if only to do some cycling.

The first 15-20 minutes was all at a slight incline, the sort that makes you work but doesnt drain energy too quickly. That was fine I suppose until I had to take a left turn and the road suddenly steepened. Now I was really working and wondering whether I should just turn back and head to the botanical gardens. But I persisted for a few more minutes hoping for some softening of the gradient. Instead I came upon a steep ridge that I didnt think I could climb. But in a moment of unexpected adventurousness, I decided to shift down to 1st gear and ride off the saddle. Within an agonizing minute, I found myself atop the ridge with my heart racing at some ridiculously high rate and threatening to burst out of my chest, so forcefully could I feel the contractions. The view from the top was worth it, even though it took a few minutes of rest and half a litre of water before I could appreciate it. The gentle rolling hills (not so gentle if you try to climb them on a bicycle) in the background encircled Lake Albert, sprakling in the evening sun. Enough of the lake was hidden by greenery to suggest that it would be a pleasant ride through some wooded country to reach the lake from this spot.

As it turned out, most of the way I was passing through newly built suburbs, with freshly constructed houses and recently planted trees (hence the greenery). The road was now thankfully near-flat making it a gentle ride into the surrounds of Lake Albert. The Lake itself is fairly large and full considering the dryness of central New South Wales. The sparkling blue water is actually brown on closer inspection. At some angles from the track that circumambulates the lake, the water appears as alternating bands of blue and brown; a bizarre effect that I have never seen before. Sure, Sydney Harbour looks blue from afar and green close-up, but its not quite the same as this.....

After finding a suitable spot, I hopped off the bike to do some stretching. My legs were comfortably sore and I had a thin film of sweat covering my body; mmmmm, that feeling of much needed exercise....I then decided to sit on a tree and continue reading Lipika (this book is so good that it deserves a post of its own once I finish reading it). After a few minutes, some schoolgirls passed by, trying hard to stifle their giggles. I'm not sure whats so funny about a person sitting on a tree reading a book but obviously that doesnt happen often round these parts. They eventually worked up the courage to say hello and waved as walked past.

As the sun descended closer to the horizon I decided to head back, the long way. I would like to say that I took this option to explore more of Wagga, but the reality is that I didnt know if I could climb that hill a second time. The "long way back" proved to be a delightful high gear cruise through open country. I love cruising on flat ground because it allows me to get into a cycling rhythm and really enjoy the scenery. I love cutting through the fresh air with warm sunlight on my arms and clear blue sky merging with the grey-green of the drought-stricken countryside. I love riding a bicycle!!!

Wagga Wagga

The whole building stank from the fish some guy decided to cook tonight, so I had to escape to the library. Its quite useful to have after-hours access to the library it turns out, and not just for study. The nights are far too cold in Wagga Wagga to go anywhere outside. So, when someone cooks something that has a disgusting, penetrating smell, one has two options- go to the library or go inside the hospital. The hospital has its own assortment of olfactory delights in store for the unwary wanderer, in fact, to get from the dorm to the library requires one to pass through the hospital kitchen area....

I've only been in Wagga for one week in my six week attachment, but it already feels as if I'm completely out of touch with the outside world. Kind of like when I was staying at NIMHANS in Bangalore, except that then I could go to my aunt's place on weekends. But despite being isolated and sequestered in what seems like the middle of nowhere, I've had a pretty good time here. The hospital is quite decent considering its isolation and lack of senior staff. Sure it could use some touching-up but all the equipment is up-to-date and things seem to work quite well here. The teaching is also quite good considering the lack of teaching resources and personnel.

Around Wagga, there isnt much to do!! I walked down to the river which is quite muddy and hardly flows even though the grass fields and forests at the banks of the Murrumbidgee are quiet and peaceful. The botanical gardens, in the middle of a residential area, are also very peaceful, if a little featureless. The other major "attraction" in Wagga is Lake Albert, which I hear is basically dry, I havent as yet visited. I'm planning to ride there on the bicycle that the clinical school has generously lent me for my stay here.

The advantage of rural towns is that hospitals often (not always), are situated near the town centre. So all the shops in Wagga are easily accessible to me by walk or bike if I need. This is very convenient as I can quickly duck down to the shops whenever I need something. Some of my friends had a tough time when they went to Broken Hill and had to walk over 30 minutes to the nearest shop for basic supplies. In Grafton, the hospital is right opposite a maximum security prison, so obviously you've got to walk a fair way before there'll be any shops. So thats been pretty good I suppose.

But the best thing about Wagga is probably that because there is nothing to do, I've been doing a lot of studying. This is very useful with final exams coming up in October. I've studied, in the last week, as much as I studied in the whole year before I came to Wagga. So hopefully by the time I'm back in Sydney, I'll be ready at least in terms of theory, for the big exams...

The trouble with India......

The terrorist attacks on Mumbai's railway network have once again brought India's internal problems to the fore. India has the image of a large, stable, mostly peaceful country, partly because of the atrocious conditions in neighbouring countries Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Tibet. But a quick glance over recent events in India will confirm that this is hardly the case.

Last week, Kashmiri terrorists cashed in on burgeoning tourism in their state by launching a grenade attack on tourist vehicles, killing eight people. Earlier, a gathering at a sufi shrine outside of Srinagar was attacked, with the intended victim possibly a politician. In fact, there have been plenty of terrorist attacks in Kashmir particularly since the earthquake made border crossings less dangerous. The "ceasefire" after the Kargil crisis in 2003 had only a limited impact on de-escalating violence. Even the bus service linking Srinagar with Muzzafarabad to enable Kashmiri families to re-unite after decades has been targeted.

The Maoist rebellion is gaining momentum in central India. The train hijacking in the Latehar region in Jharkhand and the prison break staged in Jehanabad in Bihar are examples of the increasing menace these terrorists pose to India. In recent times, their attacks have become more daring, violent, frequent and widespread, causing much concern amongst the State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhatisgharh and Bihar, the states worst affected by Maoist insurgency. It would be cynical of me, but not entirely unwarranted, to suggest that the targeting of politicians and policemen has made the government take this threat more seriously. The Maoists seem to have finally gotten beyond their initial policies of killing defenceless traffic police and government employees (of any description, usually 'paper-pushers' and other weak targets). They still kill helpless villagers to instill fear in the populace, and still take whatever they can from the land, forcing thousands of poor farmers into further debt. The epidemic of farmer suicides in Andhra Pradesh is not all due to drought and government indifference, though that is certainly a factor.

The far east of India is another region of massive discontent and simmering anger. Assam is continually rocked by attacks on State targets by ULFA (united liberation front assam) and other seperatist organizations. To add further misery to the situation, there has been increased aggression against Bengali Muslims, many of them refugees from Bangladesh, in a overwhelmingly Hindu-majority state. The Nagas, almost entirely converted to Christianity by European missionaries, are demanding a fully independent Christian country in their ancient tribal lands. Ethnic minorities in Nagaland have long faced intense discrimination at the hands of the Nagas. Manipur has at least ten or fifteen seperatist groups controlling parts of the state. The official State government has only a ceremonial role in administration; Manipur is basically run by these various terrorist organizations as they please. Arunachal Pradesh, which the Chinese claim is being "illegally occupied" by India, is another state in the grip of seperatist rebellion. It is now the only site of Sino-Indian border disputes, now that Sikkim has been officially recognized by China, and invaded parts of Ladakh have been ceded to China by India.

Perhaps the most shocking event in India in the last few years was the assault on the Indian parliament in December 2001. Security cannot be expected to be tight on the rail network, in remote villages and in mountainous areas, but surely in the heart of the Indian capital, in the surroundings of the Parlaiment, one would expect greater vigilance.

Even limiting myself to the last few years, it would take me days to get through all the examples of instability in India. I haven't even mentioned the communal violence in Gujrat, the Delhi bombings and the attack on the Sankata Mochan temple in Varanasi. So you can see that the image of India as being largely safe and stable is somewhat exagerrated. So far, India has been held together, giving a semblance of unity. But I do wonder.... Is India on the brink of collapse?? Or am I just too pessimistic at times???

I'm not going to write much about the final- except to say that the best divers did indeed win. Ironically, it was France that scored through a penalty-from-a-dive, but the Italians needn't fear that their place at the top is going to snatched away. They're still the best simulators in my opinion.

I am going to write about a few of the more interesting and important (to me at least) issues from the world cup.

1. The controversies- how can you possibly escape controversy at a world cup. The two are practically synonymous. We've had two-footed lunge tackles, tackles from behind, offside rulings and time wasting in past world cups, but never has there been an issue as hotly debated as simulation. With at least three games decided by dives, and plenty more instances of simulation in almost every match, it is easily the biggest controversy at a world cup since the "Hand of God". FIFA complicated things by their inept handling of the affair. It was obvious that the referees were incapable of dealing with the situation on the ground; surely this was the hardest directive ever given to referees before a world cup. The only ref who handled diving well, Brazilian Carlos Simon, had a shocker in other areas of refereeing and was not given important matches. It is certainly something they will have to think through very soon with the European club season set to resume in a few weeks.

Even the best young player of the tournament was decided on the basis of simulation- I discussed this in an earlier post. The other big controversy was the frequency with which referees lost control of matches, with violent behaviour and needless yellow and red cards being the result. Portugal and Holland played out one of the most heated matches ever seen at a world cup with 16 yellows and 4 red cards- so how many players is that who escaped a booking??

2. The big blunders. Whether Roberto Baggio missing a penalty or the Dutch choking in a semi-final they should easily won or a red-faced David Seaman being caught off his line, world cups always produce some classic bloopers. This time it was no different- even the managers got in on the action. Pekerman and Parreira hamstrung their extraordinarily talented squads with poor selections, tactics and substitutions. Surely the sight of Messi, Aimar, Saviola, Robinho and Cicinho languishing on the bench as their teams were in the process of losing their quarterfinal matches would've constituted the worst nightmares of Agrentine and Brazilian fans. Pauleta's two one-on-one misses with the keeper cost Portugal a place in the final, after Ronaldo and Deco had played their hearts out creating those chances. Roberto Carlos' mystifying decision to initially tag Henry and then not follow him into the box as the free kick was whipped was an equally fatal mistake. And who can forget Zeljko Kalac's attempt at catching perhaps the weakest shot form outside the area in the whole tournament; a screw-up that did not cost Australia thanks to Kewell's late equalizer. There was of course Cristiano Zaccardo's 'clearance' which travelled at 270 degrees to the intended direction and ended up in Buffon's goal. But the biggest blunder was surely committed by Zinedine Zidane in his final game of professional football. An inexplicable headbutt which left the referee without any option but to brandish the red card with a penalty shoot-out so close by was just inexcusable, no matter what Materazzi said to incite him. Zidane won his country a world cup with a virtuoso performance in '98, in '06 he lost a world cup for France.......

3. The classic goals. It is hard to go past Esteban Cambiasso's goal against Serbia, but here are a few others I thought were pretty good too. Maniche's goal against Holland was the result of some fast, incisive passing through the middle involving all of Portugal's talented midfielders. Fernando Torres' effort against Ukraine, created by Puyol's daring raid was another classic. Asamoah Gyan's goal against the Czechs at the end of a sweeping counterattack was pleasing to the eye. As was Ronaldo's superb finish against Ghana which took him past Gerhard Muller as the highest goalscorer at world cups. Bakary Kone's individual effort in a tournament where there was a dearth of solo goals stood out as well. But I dont think Mexico's goal against Italy in 2002 was surpassed in Germany 2006. Borgetti's headed goal was a stupendous demonstration of how to crack the best defence in the business; a lesson that was not heeded by any team in Germany over the last month.

4. The most impressive teams. I'll have to be brief here or I'll end up writing too much. Australia proved that they are not out of their depth amongst the world's best, as the Socceroos have claimed for years but been unable to prove. The key challenge for this team will be to maintain and consolidate their gains without Guus Hiddink at the helm. Ecuador made impressive progress after a subdued debut in '02. However, nerves got the better of them in the 2nd round- any team other than England would've thrashed them severely. The Mexicans will feel hard done by after playing 210 minutes of frighteningly fast, attacking football against higher rated opponents, Argentina and Portugal, and coming away with nothing. But their domination of youth football for the last few years is likely to come to fruition in 2010 where they will field a formidable team featuring the exciting youngsters Giovanni dos Santos and Carlos Vela. Ghana also put in creditable performances against supposedly superior opposition. But the two most impressive teams for me were Spain and Ivory Coast. Spain, with their armada of talented young players will become stronger over the next few years and be real contenders in South Africa in four years time. The Ivorians were the unluckiest of the 32 teams. They are the only team that can truly claim that they dominated the majority of all their matches and yet failed to qualify for the 2nd round. Except for their disappointing finishing, they were one of the most complete teams on display. I hope that they dont suffer from the usual African inconsistency and disappear into oblivion over the next few years.

5. The finest players. This is always a difficult topic because of the huge range of game times we see amongst various players. Whilst Robinho and Messi were easily the most impressive youngsters on show, they hardly managed a combined game time of 200 minutes. Torres was the player of the tournament for me- he displayed great pace, courage, ball skills, finishing as well as the vital ability to run into gaps at the right time. Yaya Toure and Didier Zokora, the Ivorian central midfielders, were also highly impressive with their dogged defence and speed of turnovers. Toure's passing and Zokora's running were blended together perfectly by coach Henri Michel. Steffan Appiah's tireless tournament was, in cricketing terms, a true "captain's knock". Roberto Ayala's defending was once again world class, as was Lucas Neill's, in all fairness. Vincenzo Grella capped his meteoric rise in international football with an expert exhibition of how to play as an anchorman. However, my favourite player in this world cup was Ecuadorian Luis Antonio Valencia. He has a touch of class about everything he does on the football field; one of the stars of the next world cup, I am sure.....

Vive Le France

Disclaimer- I must disclose my biases right at the outset. Firstly, in any argument between the colonized and the colonizers, I am likely to sympathize with the colonized. Secondly, I have an inherent bias against the French; their self-aggrandizement and their ingratiousness. And finally, I have no first hand knowledge of the topic I am writing about here. So expect that what I am about to write does not represent an impartial, objective viewpoint.

While thousands of French people have been celebrating their team's winning run at the world cup this week, the Les Bleus' success has not gone down well with one Frenchman. Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the National Front Party, believed to be one of the contenders for the Presidential elections when Jacques Chirac steps down, has been grumbling that the French team is not truly representative of the country, and that French people cannot see themselves reflected in this team. Obviously, somebody forgot to tell the thousands of people, white, black and all colours between, celebrating on the streets of Paris this week following France's contentious semi-final win over Portugal.

Le Pen has a long and distinguished career of anti-Semitism, anti-Arabic and anti-Black racism. His portfolio is further bolstered by his calls for stricter persecution of homosexuals, reduction in social welfare benefits for the disabled and stringent opposition to immigration from non-European countries. People in Australia and USA often complain about the intolerant right-wing tactics of respective heads-of-state Howard and Bush Junior, but I believe the French public has much more to complain about if Le Pen were to replace Chirac as President. Even Chirac himself has been actively trying to prevent this eventuality by strongly backing unpopular Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.

Le Pen's outburst was met with indifference by the French soccer team, particularly veteran Lilian Thuram who dismissed the remarks as insignificant. But the undercurrents of discontent in French soceity have once more been stirred. The country is still recovering from the crippling riots of November 2005 when hordes of discontented youth took to the streets of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Strasbourg and many other French cities and torched cars, buses and buildings. In April 2006, there were further protests by the growing masses of French unmeployed and by unions protesting the weakening of labour laws allowing employers more control over "hiring and firing".

So what is wrong with France?? Unfortunately, I dont know much about France, certainly I have no first hand information whatsoever. But I felt that this was a topic worth writing anyway, using second hand sources, internet articles and TV documentaries. If there are any mistakes, I'd like to hear about it and would be happy to make changes....

France does not recognize minorities- "everyone is equal in the Republic" is the official line. The French census does not include questions regarding ethnic origin. So there is no accurate data to determine exactly how many people of non-French origin live in France. It is estimated that 1.5 million of the total population of 59 million is of black African origin, with a further 3 million of Arabic/North African origin, but there is no way to be sure. Almost all of these people originate from former French colonies such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ivory Coast etc. There are European minorities including Basque, Portuguese, German, Italian, Polish and of course, Jews, who are not strictly European.

The big social problem in France seem to be that despite State rhetoric about equality and "colour-blindness", discrimination is rife. This is borne out by the statistics- the unemployment rates for Arabic and Black people is twice that of the national average. This is particularly true for the 20-35 age group, which is worrying because these young people are French born and educated, they have never been to Africa and dont speak their parents' mother tongues fluently. They are French, technically, unlike their parents when they first migrated. But they are discriminated against in the same way the previous generation was. In fact, their parents generation found work quite easily because France was in severe shortage of manual labour to power the bustling economy. The illiterate African (from now on, I'm going to use "African" to refer to both black West Africans and Arabic North Africans) was highly sought after, because he was cheap, tolerated all sorts of abuse and still worked hard. Educated Africans, or Africans who could read and write French, found it much harder because employers were suspicious of them and refused to give them work. They were much more likely to revolt, to join the strong trade union movement and to vociferously demand basic human rights. It is interesting that now, the French-educated second generation Africans face the same hurdles that the minority of their educated predecessors faced.

French-Africans (sorry!! I'm not making a conscious effort to sound American...) are underrepresented, or unrepresented to be accurate, in French government. There is the odd token African government official, but no high profile African holds any post of significance. This is the same for corporate France, and for French universities. African schoolkids often complain that they are discouraged from pursuing higher studies and are told to undertake vocational training in the trades or go into unskilled labour. As a result, they are given poor recommendations from their school teachers and principals on their tertiary studies applications. Those that do manage to get an education find it hard to get interviews- Arabic students half-jokingly remark that their chances of getting an interview would be greatly enhanced if their name was Jean or Jacques as opposed to Mohammed or Abdul. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy had these sort of comments in mind when he wanted to pass a bill which would force jobseekers to disclose their ethnic origin on their resumes. (it was duly rejected- there is little overt racism in France, it is all subtle and hidden beneath the surface, at least its supposed to be)

Such discrimination has meant that there is now a whole of French youth feel displaced and unwanted in their own country. Chronic unemployment and lack of means to move forward in soceity has created a strong feeling of resentment, anger and even hatred amongst these young men. The Paris riots were merely a burst of steam from an overflow valve, an indicator that something is going to explode if changes arent made.

This is not the first time that France has been hit by such unrest. In 1961, thousands of Algerians were massacred on the streets of Paris by the Parisian police, for peacefully protesting against the mass-murder of tens of thousands of Algerians in Algeria by the French military. The French response then was to brutally silence the protests and then pretend that nothing happened. In the 21st century, the chances of success with such a strategy are slim, though Sarkozy and Le Pen would surely disagree. Maurice Papon, the chief of Police who was responsible for the 1961 massacre, was finally convicted for his crimes in 1999. But other French criminals still wander free. Le Pen, himself a war criminal from his days in Algeria, is the prime example. Him and other French commanders were responsible for killing large numbers of Algerians and displacing millions from their homes in one of the largest oppression campaigns since World War II. But all Frenchmen involved in the Algerian Independance war were given unquestioned pardons, so Le Pen and others were prosecuted. The French atrocities in Algeria were not dissimilar to Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on Muslims, Kosovars and other minorities in Serbia, except that the scale was much larger in Algeria. In fact, France has history of ignoring war crimes as well. Very few French criminals stood trial after World War II despite being responsible for the horrendous slaughter of surrendered enemies. After the Americans liberated France, many of the fragmented Axis squadrons in France surrendered. Those that surrendered to British and American troops were taken to POW camps for war tribunals. Those unfortunates that surrendered to the French were stripped naked and paraded through the streets of French towns before being hung or shot for public entertainment.

France is a country in which racism appears to have deep roots along with an attitude of non-recognition of events and realities that run contrary to the French Revolution motto of liberty, equality and brotherhood. While the abuse suffered by previous generations was overt, but nonetheless tolerated, the discrimination against people of African origin in the 21st century is more subtle, and (poorly) hidden behind rhetoric. The situation has been further inflamed by popular leaders like Sarkozy and Le Pen who push their agenda of intolerance and hatred without any inhibition. The telling remark came from Nicolas Sarkozy, himself the son of Hungarian immigrants, when he stated that he would "scrub" the "filth" off French soceity, referring to the young men, mostly French-born Arabic and black men, who participated in the riots last year.