Score: After 35 Overs India at 178-4

You think it was an ODI? Nope, its the 2nd Test between India and Sri Lanka.
Up until the 31st over, India were 160odd for No Loss - that's right! A century opening Stand. And then, the famed "middle order" tumbled - and how!

Even as Virendar Sehwaag proves time and again that he's the vital battering ram behind which the infantry of Sachin Tendulkar,  Raahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman arrive, the seniors seem to be having quite a few, umm, "senior" moments!

As Ian Chappell noted, amongst the best things to have happened in the last year was the coming together of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwaag as an opening pair in ODIs - and Suresh Raina seems to have embossed himself in the One-Drop slot. This partnership's transition to Tests is now apparent. But why is the middle order crumbling like a cookie?

Here's what Rediff's report states:

The Indian openers looked determined to counter Mendis in an effective manner as Sehwag hit the mystery spinner for a huge six over long-on and a boundary through the covers in his second over.

Mendis was taken off after giving away 37 runs in his first spell of six overs

Why would you crumble after that? Why go 4 wickets down for nothing - after a start, in Tests where the run rate is upwards of 5 runs an over?

That, is the crucial difference between an Australian side and most others - even 3rd best (by ranking) and 2nd best (according to some pundits) India.

There is also the other big problem - Rahul Dravid's loss of form. In the seasons since  2001, it has invariably been Sehwag giving a start followed by Rahul Dravid's consolidation - with the rest of the middle order, that has won India many series - and pushed it to the ranking it has, currently. Without Dravid, there's only Sehwag - and even though he's in brilliant form, he cant always score a triple hundred. Sometimes, even after he scores 195, in 2 sessions, India goes on to lose! (link)

Tag: Cricket, India, Sehwag, India - SL Tests, 2008, 2nd Test, Batting Collapse.

From Rediff: "I don't know what terrorism means"

Rohit Mathurdas, 10, is in deep coma. His tiny body is hurt in some 10 places by Saturday's bomb blast outside the trauma ward of the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad at around 7 pm.Now, Rohit is lying in the B-4 ward of the Civil Hospital without being given much attention. His poor father, who hardly earns Rs 1,200 every month as a farm labourer in the nearby town of Kapadvanj, is a such a stranger to life in a metropolitan city that he is feeling numb.

Father and son were leaving the hospital after visiting a relative when the blast occured. Mathurdas hardly knows anybody in Ahmedabad and has no idea how things work in big cities. Rediff.com tried to ask him more about his life, but he said he was a rustic man and doesn't know what "terrorism" is and what "bomb blast" means.

Mathurdas said his son was born after the birth of five daughters. "His deteriorating health worries me," he said.

Half of Rohit's face is burnt. One leg is broken and his body pain is so acute that even in coma, he sometimes cries for his mother who is still unaware of his injuries. Rohit's mother is in a distant village.

Yes, Mathurdas doesn't have a cell phone. He belongs to that invisible India.

(link)
 

(adding no other text & emphasis is mine)
 

Security Terror Attacks and a Joke

KP writes,(link) in Churumuri (now you know how much I've been reading it!):

The truth is security in India is a joke. You know it, the terrorists know it, it's just that our political and administrative and police masters think that we don't. So, like Pavlov's pups, we are supposed to feel concerned about what happened in the "IT capital" this afternoon; we are supposed to slam terrorism "in no uncertain terms".; we are supposed to light a candle in our hearts and mourn.

For what?

Truth is we have been there, done that, and bought the lousy blood-stained T-shirt several times before: in Hyderabad, in Bombay, in Delhi, in Jaipur, in Coimbatore, and not necessarily in that order. In buses, in trains, in markets, in temples, in auditoriums.

And you don't need rocket scientists dressed as "intelligence sources" or "security experts" to tell you that it will happen again in Hyderabad, in Bombay, in Delhi, in Jaipur, in Coimbatore, and not necessarily in that order, in buses, in trains, in markets, in temples, in auditoriums, some time soon.

Hopefully, later if not sooner.

The truth is security in India is a joke. Unfortunately, it is on you.

 Read the full article, its about the most succinct, accurate one we've had anywhere in the media in a long, long time.

Tag: Media, India, War on Terror, Terrorist State of Pakistan, Churumuri.

(Ironic) Joke of the month: Should Shivraj Patil resign?

Churumuri asks, in a poll, (link) "Should Shivaraj Patil resign?".

It makes the case for the question thus:

Shivaraj Patil is a standout case. Rejected by the voters of Latur in the 2004 elections but resurrected by the Congress in one of those actions that beggars belief, Patil's performance as Union home minister has been dull, lack-lustre and insipid. Not only has Patil presided over blast after serial blast, he has seemed as clueless as everybody else. Even the Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, whom he personally credits for helping him preside over an unruly Lok Sabha as Speaker, seems to be in no position to provide help at this critical juncture.

Question: Should the man who has helplessly watched the Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bombay, Hyderabad, Jaipur blasts and countless other incidents resign? And if the Congress high command is unwilling, should the "new, improved" Manmohan throw him out to show Singh is King after the trust-vote?

Now, having been for the removal of this government for its singular anti-people policies, whether division by reservation, ignoring the terror killings, killing the economy etc., I find it eminently funny that such questions dare even be asked. One terror strike can be an aberration, two maybe misfortune, but a *dozen* in major cities and population centres is nothing short of callousness - worse than even Nero's.


Tag: Media, India, War on Terror, Terrorist State of Pakistan, Churumuri, Shivraj Patil.

Churumuri, with a secular spice.

Churumuri, the online rag that claims to represent all things Mysorean - and does a pretty good job of it, runs this story(link):

During the two-day special session to discuss the trust motion, only Omar Abdullah among the genuinely young pols held his own. Squeezed for time and drowned by the din, the National Conference president called the left bluff on secularism and the right bluff on communalism, refused to view the Indo-US nuclear deal through the Muslim prism, and voted for the motion.

"I am a Muslim and I am an Indian, and I see no distinction between the two. I don't know why should I fear the nuclear deal. It is a deal between two countries which, I hope, will become two equals in the future. The enemies of Indian Muslims are not America or deals like these. The enemies are the same as the enemies of all those who are poor — poverty, hunger, lack of development and the absence of a voice…."

I am not sure if they saw the same chap I did. For this chap was hurling vitriolic at the BJP -

"I am not a member of the UPA and don't aspire to be one. I made a mistake to be with the NDA, especially after Gujarat riots happened. My conscience had asked me to quit NDA but I didn't. My conscience has still not forgiven me."

So he discovered a conscience suddenly, and Churumuri is out honouring him. Boy o boy, why do people get these "secularist" overtones so easily?

Tag: Media, India, Pseudo+Secularism, Parliament, Confidence Vote.

And, in other news, Terrorists welcome the UPA's win

News just coming in reports that Bengalooru has suffered serial blasts across the South/Central parts of the city - some in densely populated areas. News reports suggest that its been probably half-hour to an hour between the blasts - which suggests that it could hardly be a co-incidence or be unplanned.
Even as I extend my condolences to the folks who lost their kith and kin, As a BangaloreGuy, I've been expecting it for sometime, given the UPA's policies and the lack of efforts in curbing terrorism (link). More details awaited.

Tag: Public Policy, India, War on Terror, Terrorist State of Pakistan.

Crime, Punishment and Fairness.

This post is in response to Atanu Dey's post. (Link)

Commenting on an incident of drunken driving resulting in the death of six people - not pedestrians or other fellow road users, but people sleeping on the pavement(news link) (news link2), he has this formula up his sleeve (link):

What would I have ruled had I been the judge? If the prosecution had demonstrated that the driver was drunk and killed a bunch of people, I would throw the book at the criminal. And in the imaginary situation, I would imagine the book to say the following in the case of drunken drivers turned killers.

First, for every person killed, the driver gets a 20 year sentence. Second, he has to pay monetary damages that are set equal to the life-time income of an average person. Ten of the 20 years have to be served in prison and ten outside, with prison years alternating. If the killer has resources to pay for the monetary damages, they will be recovered immediately. Any shortfall in the monetary damages will be recovered from the person's earnings during his time out of jail. After having finished the 20 years of sentence time, he will be free but his earnings will continue to make up for any shortfall in the monetary damages. The monetary damages are to go to the next of kin of the deceased.

So in the case of Alistair Pereira, since he killed 7 people, the total sentence time is set at 140 years. And total monetary damages to be around $200,000 (7 people times $700 person per year times 40 years of working life). He is wealthy and the family will be able to pay that off immediately. Alistair can then settle down to do his time in jail for the rest of his natural life. The $200,000 can go to help the families of those killed by Alistair.

Hmm, Now, they were construction workers, right - which means migrant workers - so what were they doing sleeping on the pavement? Why does Atanu - no fan of the Indian government (link) or politicians - not mention any culpability by

1) Builders for letting the workers sleep on the pavement
2) Government for not providing suitable housing 

Or - most importantly -

3) On the pavement dwellers themselves?

Now, on raising the last question most people would jump to brand me a heartless bastard, but please consider the question yourself - the law has to apply equally.

The law

1) Providing safe and sound work premises
2) Providing safety/ safe environments to citizens
3) Penalises suicide attempts.

So why does the law not apply to everyone equally? Why do most people - including an oft-quoted blogger - not look at such incidents holistically? Because its far easier to blame the individual who actually lost control / drove over the pavement dwellers.

Notice that phrase - pavement dwellers - most drunk driving and subsequent loss of life in Mumbai which our mainstream media reported has that phrase. And little attention paid to it.

Why should we have pavement dwellers at all then? Why is not the Mumbai Corp'n or the Govts. of Maharashtra/India, the courts, citizens or anyone else addressing this point during such incidents? Convenience. If there's one thing we can bet on, its that most people in India want to take the easy route - and that unfortunately doesnt solve real-world problems.

This post, was a result of this(link) post by Atanu Dey.

Tag: Public Policy, Drunk Driving, Indian Law, India, Government of India.

So this is how tough The Indian government is on Terror. Wow.

I quote the Times of India's report (link):

India on Monday risked the future of the composite dialogue with Pakistan by directly accusing it of causing the suicide blast in the embassy in Kabul.

Taking an unusually tough line against Pakistan, foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told journalists after launching the fifth round of composite dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, "All our information in the ongoing investigation points to elements in Pakistan being behind the blast."

Notice what it says "risked the future of the composite dialogue", "an unusually tough line against Pakistan".  Hmm, so our fight against Terror continues. And to start (restart?), we are being unusually tough on Pakistan and risking the dialogue with them. Wow, wow, wow.

(And some time back, I was wondering why it was called Toilet paper.... Of course it having the name India associated with it, I was loathe to use that moniker)

Back to the report. Here's more:
 

India has not confirmed whether there will be any meeting between Pakistan PM Yousaf Gillani and PM Manmohan Singh in Colombo during Saarc, neither has it announced any dates for the anti-terror meet, which is now virtually defunct. Kabul drove the final nail on the joint anti-terror mechanism coffin.

Menon said there were three pillars to the improved relations with Pakistan — absence of violence, addressing all outstanding issues and creating a cooperative atmosphere.

On all three counts, the relationship now comes up short. He listed these as the ceasefire violations, increased infiltration and, interestingly, "incitement of violence within the Indian state of J&K". Although he did not elaborate, security sources said there had been suspicions of ISI incitement during the recent Amarnath-related violence in the state. Menon said there had been a lot of hope pinned on the new government in Islamabad, but after recent incidents, things look very different.

(all emphasis mine)

So after nearly 5 years of dialogue these have been discovered. The three pillars of improved relations do not exist. Arent they bright or what?

Oh by the by, the UPA government is seeking a Trust vote this evening at 6pm IST. With such achievements as above, wouldn't you have trust in them?

Tag: Public Policy, India, War on Terror, Terrorist State of Pakistan.

And now lets add some lime to that..

This headline was kinda inspired by the following article which reports that adding lime to the ocean can increase its CO2 absorbing capacity And that they've found a CO2 neutral way to do it.

Excerpts (link) :

The addition of lime to seawater decreases the alkalinity, this aids in boosting the sea water's ability to absorb CO2 from the air, and also aids in the reduction of the waters tendency to release CO2 back into the air.

The idea has been in the works for almost four years, but in the past it has been deemed unworkable because of the high cost of obtaining lime from limestone and additionally how much CO2 is released during the process.

Tim Kruger, a management and consultant ant at London firm Corven is the brains behind the lime resurrection process. He believes that this process could be made possible by locating it in regions where there is a combination of low-cost "stranded" energy that is considered far to remote to be able to exploit- for instance flared natural gas, or solar energy in desert areas- and areas that are also rich in limestone so that calincation can take place on site.

Kruger stated, "There are many such places – for example, Australia's Nullarbor Plain would be a prime location for this process, as it has 10 000km3 of limestone and soaks up roughly 20MJ/m2 of solar irradiation every day."

The process of making lime generates CO2, but when you add the lime to seawater it aids in the absorption of twice as much CO2 thus making the process carbon negative.

"This process has the potential to reverse the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. It would be possible to reduce CO2 to pre-industrial levels," Kruger says.

And Professor Klaus Lackner, a researcher in the field from Columbia University, stated, "The theoretical CO2 balance is roughly right…it is certainly worth thinking through carefully."

Tag: Research & Development, Global Warming, Reduced Emissions, Environment.

The Economist Debate Redux - "Corporations and meaningful actions on sustainability"

In my original post on the debate(link), I had listed the argument I had made in the debate, and why I believed that Corporations cannot/do not take meaningful actions on Sustainability without external impetus.

And very pleasingly, the Economist has taken notice. In their conclusion newsletter, they report:

All good things must come to an end. Alas, that includes our spirited
debate on corporate social responsibility. I declare the pro team to
be the clear winner, by 73% to 27%.

This house believes that "without outside pressure, corporations will
not take meaningful action on sustainability".

Over the past week or so, the two sides have jousted valiantly in an
effort to win over you fickle punters.

The pro side, led by Mindy Lubbers' charge, got off to a fiery start.
She was supported by a majority of readers, including some who
disagreed with her conclusions. A thoughtful representative of such
supporters was pruz: "On its own, a corporation exists to provide
maximum profitability, growth, shareholder value. Unless we put a
price on the earth, the environment and all such related
'commodities', with consequent losses or profit to business,
businesses will not take meaningful action on sustainability. So
expecting corporations, proactively, without any outside pressure, to
take 'meaningful' action on sustainability is expecting pigs to fly."

But the con side, led by Bjorn Stigson, was unbowed. Through robust
rebuttals, they managed to claw back some of the pro team's initial
overwhelming lead. Neil Shrubak's comments are a revealing example.
In agreement with pruz, he starts with this guiding first principle:
"The corporations are not good or evil. They are vehicles for making
money for investors by providing useful goods and services to
consumers." But unlike the commentators from the opposite side, he
argues that meaningful change comes from individual decisions made
by consumers, not top-down pressure. A new movement should be started,
he says: "Something like 'Friends don't let friends drive Hummers'."

In the end, however, the con team proved unable to move the needle
sufficiently to reverse its early disadvantage.

Thank you all for your contributions. We have adjourned, but you can
continue to post comments and debate the issue until Friday July 4th.
I look forward to reading what else you have to say over the coming
week.

Tag: Corporations, The economist, Environment.

Just aint (good) cricket!

Is it just me or have most people forgotten that to be a good captain you need to user your bowlers *and* fielders in limited overs games?

One hears all these good things about M S Dhoni these days, that one would be led to believe M S Dhoni's among the best captains, and that man-management is the be-all and end-all of captaincy. If only!

Its one thing to keep one's cool, and be positive even in tight matches and close situations, its another to actually take decisions that influence the game in a positive way.  This is not to discount MS' inspired decisions during the T20 cup, and how he led India to victory there, but the spark's been missing of late – and it seems like just as the T20 fanatics look at it, it seems MS's become to look on at bowlers as back-up, and batsmen as the main weapon in his teams armoury.

Catches have been going astray, and fielders haven't been at their best – despite MS getting the "youth" (and only the youth) in the side. MS will have to do more than make inspired changes to prove that victory in aus-land was not a flash in the pan.

One of the startling things today – and one which stuck any viewer right on the face was the bizarre lack of differing field placements. Younis Khan and  Misbah-ul-Haq were going steady, collecting singles – and most runs being scored square of the wicket – not behind it, just square and in front of it.

It wasn't rocket science to put more men inside the ring when the Pakistani (stand-in) captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, walked-in, but there was no slip in place and singles were given away easily – on a good, flat batting track.

If your bowlers cant bowl straight, and most runs are going in a single region, wouldn't you wanna try and block that – challenge the batsmen to score differently, and think? None of that happened. Among the other things that MSD didn't try but could've was stand up to Irfan Pathan – which would've given the Pakistani batsmen some things to think about – and they wouldn't have shuffled so easily around the crease to wallop Pathan!

Now, one only hopes Gary Kirsten puts some of these inputs and more into MS and the team's minds, or pushes them into thinking on their feet when in bad situations - after all he aint playing back-to-back ODIs and shouldnt be fatigued! ;)

Tag: Cricket, Asia Cup, Indian Cricket, India, Captaincy.

--
Bob Hope  - "Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle."

Governance, Karnataka and the BJP - a welcome "Development"!

Cruising around South Bangalore this weekend, I noticed that a lot of new road surfaces had been laid out - and this was a big surprise - a very welcome one at that. In the last 15 plus years or so that I have been actually following politics, this is the first time that any government has started development works, so soon after coming to power! (link)

In less than a month surfaces have been relaid - this despite it being the monsoon season - and a lot of the work has been done during the night - reducing the hassle to the public in general. Not just that  - the surfaces have clear neat demarcations for lane markers - and lane ends are visible at night (because of their reflective surfaces)!  Neat!

Having been denied the right of voting, by our Dear Election Commission, (link), I'm absolutely thrilled at the promise of development shown by the BJP. Please continue the good work, folks.

Aside: If the showing here and in Gujurat is any indication of the way the BJP is moving on development and public policy/works, it augurs well for them at the hustings in '09 - and for Indian public as a whole

Tag: Public Policy, India, BJP, Government of India, Government of Karnataka, Governance.

Ireland? India? I'm confused!

This is what I got in the mail, from GreenPeace. They seem a tad confused about Ireland and India. :)

Having said that, please do your bit for the environment!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Greenpeace <email>
Date: Wed, Jun 4, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Subject: Step 6: You're almost there, now tell Ireland's Government to change the bulb

Hi ! Step 6: Petition the Indian Government to Ban the Bulb. Our friends at Greenpeace India have asked us for help. Imagine banning energy wasting lightbulbs in a country with over a billion people! They think they can do it, and want our help. Let's all pool our global effort, and get India to be an energy saving lightbulb champion. Take action now! Thanks! Alex, Andrew, Tanja, Eoin and all of Greenpeace.

To no longer receive these messages, please send a blank email to: OR Send a postal mail to: Ottho Heldringstraat 5, 1066 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands