Month: January 2006

Democrats are Finito!

Judge Alito’s confirmation is more or less guaranteed. It also means the Democrats have lost one more battle. It might serve them well to save their speeches on the Senate floor and instead focus on developing a coherent strategy for the upcoming elections to the Congress.

The Senate Judiciary committee voted along party lines as expected. I think this process is a joke and a complete waste of time. The candidates reveal very little. The Senators get to make some speeches and gain some TV coverage, there is some drama (candidates wife rushing out etc) introduced and finally They vote along party lines. I think they should scrap this process and just have Judges appointed by the President with term limits (say 5 years). There are enough qualified Judges in this country to justify not giving lifetime appointments to a select few.

Disney-Pixar Acquisition

I think is a great move as the entertainment industry is faced with dramatic changes over the next several years. The biggest positive would be Steve Jobs involvement in this time of change. One can’t rule out the possibility of clash of personalities at the Disney Board Room.

There could be some interesting growth opportunities for the bay area as I think Disney is likely to consolidate all their animation work under the locally based Pixar? It could also mean good things for Apple — Steve Jobs undivided attention, potential partnerships with the entertainment industry etc.

Gmail search

I find searching my email in Gmail a little painful. The search results show all the emails in a “discussion” rather than just the email I am looking for. Then, I have to go through the entire bunch to find what I need. Is there a way around this?

Google Contradictions

I was just beginning to admire Google for standing up to the Justice Dept. on the issue of releasing search results. It goes perfectly with their “Do no evil” motto. Unfortunately they have buckled down and agreed to censorship imposed by the Chinese Govt. This approach just mirrors the polices of the US Govt in general. When it suits the US, human rights, dictatorship, corruption, all go out the window. Nothing matters. Economics comes first. Can’t blame Google for being American or business-driven, can you? Maybe as the company grows up they’ll re-write their motto…

Drop Bhajji for Lahore Test

Pak wickets suck! The famous Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi and Chandra saw their careers come to an end after the Pak tour. India should not let the same happen to Bhajji. He is a class bowler struggling on dead pitches. India should rest him for the next Test and play 4 seamers instead. If the pitch turns out to be a turning track, Kumble is always there to take advantage of it.

It might make sense to try out Wasim Jaffer as opener and rest Yuvraj. He is probably used being in and out of the team by now 🙂 If India does not test Wasim Jaffer then they will going into the next series against England without solving the opening problem, if one can call it that.

Australia: To Rotate or not to Rotate?

The Aussie cricket team’s policy of rotating its players has come in under fire from former Aussie greats: Steve Waugh, Taylor, Chappell and others. However, I think they are doing the right thing. Firstly it makes no sense to play so many matches. It would be even crazier to have the same set of players play all of them. In particular, a team like Australia has enough bench strength to beat the finest teams in the world without playing their best team. Then why not experiment? After all this is not the World Cup they are playing for!

The Indian team’s rotation policy has done wonders for it. It has helped unearth some great talent. I think most teams can and must rotate their top players else they’ll get burnt out or be forced out by injuries.

SL fighting back!

SL won two successive matches in the VB series first beating SA and then Australia. For the first time in a long time SL put up a fighting 300+ total. The most heartening was the return of Jayasurya. If he can sustain this form SL’s problem of bad starts might be solved despite Attatpatu’s desire to hide in the lower middle order. The VB series should be interesting if SL can continue to win and put pressure on both SA and Aus.

Its a smart move by the Aussies to rotate their players no matter what Smith and Ranatunga say!

Second Test Day 3: Pak vs. India

The Indian team once again showed a lot of character by stepping up to the challenge of chasing a huge score. With this innings Dhoni has proven that he can adapt to Test cricket. If he can keep up his wicket-keeping standards he can be a fixture in the team for a very long time. Hats off to Pathan, Dravid and VVS. Dravid now has two centuries as opener!

Sachin once again failed when the team needed him to deliver (what as he thinking when he walked before the umpire’s decision?). A sign of how much has changed in Indian cricket. In a moment of crisis Indian fans hope for some Viru magic or some solidity from Dravid. A Sachin knock is only a bonus! Its nice to see the team no longer dependent on him.

I hope the pitch for the third Test suits the bowlers. I would hate to see another high scoring match which produces no result!

Second Test: Pak vs India

It was a great move on the part of the Indian think tank to go in with five bowlers. Even if India loses this Test they at least they went into this match with an intent to win. With four bowlers and a dead pitch India was not going to bowl Pak out twice.

R. P. Singh proved a decent bet right on the first day with three wickets. Agarakar is a joke in any case, so Zaheer can’t do worse. Irfan is a disappointment.

Pak on the other hand seems to have gone on the defensive by playing Abdul Razzack in place of Naved. Though he got thrashed in the first Test definitely Naved is better bowler. Mohammed Asif might be the surprise package that does it for Pak in this match just as Umar Gul did for Pak on India’s last tour.