An interesting piece on

what India should be doing in Afghanistan here at filtercoffee

A nice piece on the

perils faced by cricket highlighted here by Gideon Haigh

Damning yet

the necessary action for the scandal is prescribed here by Sambit Bal

Mohammad Amir must either stand tall or never bowl a ball again. Nothing in between is acceptable.

China flirting with democracy?

Think again say this Mint article

Sense and sensitivity (as published by the Economist)

Immensely sensible piece on why building a Mosque near WTC is not wrong here!

Some excerpts

But that simply invites the question of why building the mosque is so tactless. It certainly would be insensitive, to use Mr Gingrich’s terms, to wave swastikas by the Holocaust Museum. But for this analogy to work, a mosque must be to 9/11 what a swastika is to the Holocaust. Happily, however, most politicians are reluctant to suggest that mosques are symbols of terrorism, or that Muslims are all terrorists.

Instead, the complaint seems to boil down to a vague sense that doing Muslim stuff near ground zero is an unhappy reminder of terrorism, because the terrorists claimed to be acting in the name of Islam. That smacks of collective punishment: I doubt, somehow, that Mr Obama or Mrs Palin would consider it insensitive to build a church near the site, say, of a cross burning carried out by the Ku Klux Klan or an abortion clinic bombed by Christian fundamentalists. I doubt also that they would want, if they thought about it a bit harder, to accept the 9/11 attackers’ assertion that they were acting on behalf of their Muslim brothers.

A general rant on Kumar Sangakkara

I think he is a born cheater. He appeals for stuff that is clearly (i mean blatantly) not out. Then comes out and talks as if he is a kid. Moreover he talks of things like sportsmanship and honesty. Please dude gimme a break. At least the Australians agree they play a tough game. You are a slithering snake worse than that! Anyway

Finally

a problem of utmost importance has been identified by the Prime Minister on the eve of the 64th Independence Day

Ian Chappell on the brilliance of Sehwag

Well, Ian Chappell compares how Sehwag is like an Australian legend named Don Bradman here.

Could you have guessed this?

Read th full piece here

With Sehwag you have fear and hope, with Gavaskar it was like hitting your head on a rock at the sheer futility of bowling. Gavaskar would never have got stumped on 99, and he wouldn't have tried to hit a six on 195 either. Two different styles you could not hope to see in a lifetime. But at the corresponding points in their career (79 Tests each), a mere 88 runs separate them. The difference in batting average is but 0.68.

Will the US government never

learn from the crisis of 2008. Still you see such schemes!
The damning statement from the piece!

This is really unfortunate. If you can't afford a substantial downpayment, then you don't need to be buying a home. And you certainly don't need the government urging you on.

Awesome

article by Pratap Bhanu Mehta on the distressing state of affairs under the current congress government.

Excerpts

The sense of crisis brewing across the nation now requires us to ask some graceless questions about political responsibility in the current government. In Kashmir, the government has irretrievably squandered an opportunity for real political progress; instead of hope, the stench of violence, intimidation and resentment again dominates the air. In the Northeast, the era of damaging blockades and political deadlocks is back. In Andhra Pradesh, the success of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi casts a shadow not just on the future of the state, but also on the ability of the Congress to sustain its momentum. Our neighbourhood is in disarray. Although the challenges posed by Pakistan are beyond the control of this government, its inability to swiftly take advantage of the propitious political circumstances in Bangladesh is sending disastrous signals: India is a power that cannot be respected. The modest gains that resulted from welfare outlays have long been dissipated by inflation. There is an odour of corruption and callous squandering of resources on so many fronts. Despite an opposition teetering on the brink of ideological and political bankruptcy, the government seems to be unable to muster confidence, resolve or far-sighted imagination.

I challenge you

to find a more bull shit quote than this one

The captains... say it's a batting wicket, bowlers have no chance. They don't have the bowlers to have a chance
Anurudda Polonowita, Sri Lanka's national curator

Can't an American ever admit

honestly that America funds terrorism in Pakistan (not directly, but thats how its funded). In a typically convoluted fashion Tom Friedman alludes to this fact in his New York Times Column here