Nageswaran puts it so succintly

 

In the final scenes of the Tamil film Anniyan, the hero reminds his audience in a stadium that the problem is not bad politicians, bad bureaucrats and bad leaders, but us. If the weakness of the rupee holds a mirror to inflation, if inflation holds a mirror to our governments’ budget deficits, if budget deficits hold a mirror to our politicians’ hunger for power, their behaviour holds a mirror to our ignorance, to our willingness to fall for gimmicks and free goods, and to the poor quality of our public discourse on these matters.

In the process, all of us are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren. That is, we are borrowing their future for our present. So, who is responsible for the Indian rupee’s collapse against other world currencies? Is it the US? I do not think so. It is “us”.

(Emphasis mine). Full article here

 

Nice piece. .. But will things change

Views | Shut up and look pretty - Views

Manmohan Singh please read this

The anatomy of a stationary state - Views

Anybody who welcomes social interventions should see how the most well meaning plans distort the economy.

Anyway... I dream but somebody will listen..

Winter is here

View from my office

The 1000m barrier

Well today i broke this one. Pretty thrilled.

More on Apartheid

From Wikipedia

The first of the "White Bans" occurred in 1971 when the Chairman of the Australian Cricketing Association, Don Bradman flew to South Africa to meet with the South African Prime Minister John Vorster. The Prime Minister had expected Bradman to allow the tour of the Australian cricket team to go ahead, but things became heated after Bradman asked why black sportsmen were not allowed to play cricket. Vorster stated that blacks were intellectually inferior and had no finesse for the game. Bradman, thinking this ignorant and repugnant, asked Vorster if he had heard of a man namedGarry Sobers. On his return to Australia, Bradman released a one sentence statement:

"We will not play them until they choose a team on a non-racist basis."

In South Africa, Vorster vented his anger publicly against Bradman, while the African National Congress rejoiced. This was the first time a predominantly white nation had taken the side of multiracial sport, producing an unsettling resonance that more "White" boycotts were coming. ^[88] Almost twenty years later, on his release from prison, Nelson Mandela asked a visiting Australian statesman if Donald Bradman, his childhood hero, was still alive.

Don Bradman, I doff my hat to you! I always only knew you were good at cricket but this puts you in an entirely different light!

Basil D'Oliveira

Fighting very very high stakes Basil D'Oliveira played cricket. A quote from the man who passed away this week.

"This is a fairy tale come true. Six years ago I was playing on mudheaps. Now I have played for England and met the Queen; what more could I possibly ask?"

Oh, if you were wondering, Basil played 44 tests for England, and was the reason why South Africa was banned from cricket during the Apartheid.

I am so happy cricket is in  my blood. It is such a rewarding exercise to follow a game which opens a window into such a huge spectrum of humanity. 

Some sensible argues against smaller states

Ourview | The more the merrier? - Views

Rahul Dravid

Views | Dravid: The man and his credo - Views

750

Yes.. That's how many meters i swam today. Not bad ha!
The progress from 200 to 750 in a matter of less than 2months. Makes me pretty happy. Its whole together another matter that that's the only progress i made.
Anyway..

Upa does take care of farmers

Oh sorry i meant the rich people who categorize themselves as farmers.
The mystery of the boom in farm credit - Home

All the educated class please do continue to support the secular party.

How can you not love this guy

Sewhag's statements

 

When Sehwag was told West Indies wanted to set 400, he said with scarcely disguised disdain, "We thought we would make a 1000 runs in the first innings. But to say and to do are two different things. Anyone can say what they want."

Full piece here

 

A sad day indeed

based on the fate of the three Pakistani cricketers. Andrew Miller on the whole sordid affair and the aftermath

Some excerpts

As it is, there's only one way that these players will now be able to rebuild their lives, and that is to serve their time, and then sing like they've never sung before. Other players have already been implicated, and as the sport's rumour mill has been saying for years, the miscreants are not limited to Pakistan. If these men are one day to earn forgiveness in the eyes of their sport, they must be obliged to dismantle the lie they have been living - piece, by piece, by piece.