121
Cricket Anyone / Ganga new Career
« on: May 09, 2010, 12:17:58 PM »
cricket commentator....thought he did a good job today
June 15, 2024, 11:03:28 PM
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122
2010 World Cup - South Africa / England Picks for the World Cup
« on: April 27, 2010, 08:28:12 AM »
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/football_focus/8641742.stm
Ah like d question d fella pose at d end of d clip?
Ah like d question d fella pose at d end of d clip?
123
General Discussion / Aliens may exist but contact would hurt humans: Hawking
« on: April 25, 2010, 09:22:27 PM »
Aliens may exist but contact would hurt humans: Hawking
Sun Apr 25
LONDON (AFP) – Aliens may exist but mankind should avoid contact with them as the consequences could be devastating, British scientist Stephen Hawking warned Sunday.
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," said the astrophysicist in a new television series, according to British media reports.
The programmes depict an imagined universe featuring alien life forms in huge spaceships on the hunt for resources after draining their own planet dry.
"Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach," warned Hawking.
The doomsday scenario is suggested in the series "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking" on the Discovery Channel, which began airing in the United States on Sunday.
On the probability of alien life existing, he says: "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
"The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."
Glowing squid-like creatures, herds of herbivores that can hang onto a cliff face and bright yellow predators that kill their prey with stinging tails are among the creatures that stalk the scientist's fantastical cosmos.
Mankind has already made a number of attempts to contact extraterrestrial civilisations.
In 2008, American space agency NASA beamed the Beatles song "Across the Universe" into deep space to send a message of peace to any alien that happens to be in the region of Polaris -- also known as the North Star -- in 2439.
But the history of humanity's efforts to contact aliens stretches back some years.
The US probes Pioneer 10 and 11 were launched in 1972 and 1973 bearing plaques of a naked man and woman and symbols seeking to convey the positions of the Earth and the Sun.
Voyager 1 and 2, launched in 1977, each carry a gold-plated copper phonogram disk with recordings of sounds and images on Earth.
Sun Apr 25
LONDON (AFP) – Aliens may exist but mankind should avoid contact with them as the consequences could be devastating, British scientist Stephen Hawking warned Sunday.
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," said the astrophysicist in a new television series, according to British media reports.
The programmes depict an imagined universe featuring alien life forms in huge spaceships on the hunt for resources after draining their own planet dry.
"Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach," warned Hawking.
The doomsday scenario is suggested in the series "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking" on the Discovery Channel, which began airing in the United States on Sunday.
On the probability of alien life existing, he says: "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
"The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."
Glowing squid-like creatures, herds of herbivores that can hang onto a cliff face and bright yellow predators that kill their prey with stinging tails are among the creatures that stalk the scientist's fantastical cosmos.
Mankind has already made a number of attempts to contact extraterrestrial civilisations.
In 2008, American space agency NASA beamed the Beatles song "Across the Universe" into deep space to send a message of peace to any alien that happens to be in the region of Polaris -- also known as the North Star -- in 2439.
But the history of humanity's efforts to contact aliens stretches back some years.
The US probes Pioneer 10 and 11 were launched in 1972 and 1973 bearing plaques of a naked man and woman and symbols seeking to convey the positions of the Earth and the Sun.
Voyager 1 and 2, launched in 1977, each carry a gold-plated copper phonogram disk with recordings of sounds and images on Earth.
124
Cricket Anyone / Twenty20 shouldn't be played between countries
« on: March 28, 2010, 02:08:40 AM »
Twenty20 shouldn't be played between countries Ian Chappell March 28, 2010
The international schedule is under pressure from the shortest format. The way forward is a dedicated season for Twenty20, which should use a franchise model to grow the game across the world
The IPL's announcement that it will expand by two teams next season could force the ICC to confront an issue it has so far sidestepped - that of a wide-ranging vision for the game's future. While the IPL insists the expansion won't result in a longer tournament, it's abundantly clear that the rise and rise of Twenty20 cricket has already put the squeeze on scheduling. Now is the time to rationalise cricket's various itineraries and decide what role each version has in the game's future.
One way to clarify this situation would be to scrap country-versus-country Twenty20 contests and make the highest level of competition a battle between cities. This way a Twenty20 season could evolve, with the champions of each domestic league playing off to decide the best side. To start with, the ideal windows for these tournaments would be in March-April and September-October. Eventually a World Series could be held, pitting the IPL champions against the winner of the domestic-teams competition in a best-of-three play-off series.
The way to globalise cricket is via Twenty20 and the most effective method of achieving this would be to employ a franchise system, especially in the non-traditional cricket regions. The big question is: what form should these franchises take?
One lucrative income stream has already bypassed the ICC. The IPL franchises are run by Indian entrepreneurs and the substantial money returned to cricket benefits the BCCI. The ICC would only jettison the current World Twenty20 if it could replace the income it receives from this competition. Therefore it needs to ensure that any franchise system it devises results in a reasonable percentage of the money being ploughed back into the development of the game. This means coming up with a formula that involves cricket administrators working with entrepreneurial businessmen. It will be a difficult balance to strike, asking conservative officials to form a harmonious relationship with strident capitalists.
However, handled efficiently it could be a way for regions like the Caribbean to have more control over funds for their player-development schemes. And if an infusion of business acumen also happens to improve the efficiency of cricket administration in places like Pakistan and the West Indies, it could only benefit the game.
If the ICC doesn't take firm control over the rampant Twenty20 expansion, the IPL will. The IPL will quickly spread its wings, ensuring the bulk of the income will end up either in the bulging pockets of rich entrepreneurs or the abundant coffers of the BCCI. If this occurs, it will be a glorious opportunity missed, the international playing field will remain tilted, and the overall development of cricket will suffer.
Countries like Australia have a dilemma: the domestic Twenty20 competition is becoming more popular with each game but this has diluted the fans' spending power for international cricket.
If, on the other hand, the ICC develops the right formula for franchising, it could have a profound effect on the direction the game takes. Not only could it result in cricket successfully expanding to regions like North America, Europe and the non-traditional cricket areas of Asia, it may also mean a marked change in the way the game is run.
Currently, countries like Australia have a dilemma; the domestic Twenty20 competition is becoming more popular with each game but this has diluted the fans' spending power for international cricket. Consequently the crowds at limited-overs internationals have reduced. In most parts of the cricketing world this is a common problem; one form of the game is cannibalising another.
India is the only country with the population, the thriving economy and the fanatical interest in the game to be able to programme matches at virtually any time and still attract big crowds.
Hence the ICC needs to explore other potentially productive markets that will decrease the dependence on India's financial clout, while also adding to the number of venues available at different times of the year.
There is the possibility that if you allocate separate sections of the season to different forms of the game it will divide the spectators. It could become a case of: "I'm a Test match supporter" or "I'm a Twenty20 fan". Nevertheless, it could also help players transition more easily from one form to another.
If what Harsha Bhogle tells me is true, that India thrives in chaos, then the rest of the cricket world is in trouble. Currently, cricket's scheduling is chaotic.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell is now a cricket commentator and columnist
RSS Feeds: Ian Chappell
The international schedule is under pressure from the shortest format. The way forward is a dedicated season for Twenty20, which should use a franchise model to grow the game across the world
The IPL's announcement that it will expand by two teams next season could force the ICC to confront an issue it has so far sidestepped - that of a wide-ranging vision for the game's future. While the IPL insists the expansion won't result in a longer tournament, it's abundantly clear that the rise and rise of Twenty20 cricket has already put the squeeze on scheduling. Now is the time to rationalise cricket's various itineraries and decide what role each version has in the game's future.
One way to clarify this situation would be to scrap country-versus-country Twenty20 contests and make the highest level of competition a battle between cities. This way a Twenty20 season could evolve, with the champions of each domestic league playing off to decide the best side. To start with, the ideal windows for these tournaments would be in March-April and September-October. Eventually a World Series could be held, pitting the IPL champions against the winner of the domestic-teams competition in a best-of-three play-off series.
The way to globalise cricket is via Twenty20 and the most effective method of achieving this would be to employ a franchise system, especially in the non-traditional cricket regions. The big question is: what form should these franchises take?
One lucrative income stream has already bypassed the ICC. The IPL franchises are run by Indian entrepreneurs and the substantial money returned to cricket benefits the BCCI. The ICC would only jettison the current World Twenty20 if it could replace the income it receives from this competition. Therefore it needs to ensure that any franchise system it devises results in a reasonable percentage of the money being ploughed back into the development of the game. This means coming up with a formula that involves cricket administrators working with entrepreneurial businessmen. It will be a difficult balance to strike, asking conservative officials to form a harmonious relationship with strident capitalists.
However, handled efficiently it could be a way for regions like the Caribbean to have more control over funds for their player-development schemes. And if an infusion of business acumen also happens to improve the efficiency of cricket administration in places like Pakistan and the West Indies, it could only benefit the game.
If the ICC doesn't take firm control over the rampant Twenty20 expansion, the IPL will. The IPL will quickly spread its wings, ensuring the bulk of the income will end up either in the bulging pockets of rich entrepreneurs or the abundant coffers of the BCCI. If this occurs, it will be a glorious opportunity missed, the international playing field will remain tilted, and the overall development of cricket will suffer.
Countries like Australia have a dilemma: the domestic Twenty20 competition is becoming more popular with each game but this has diluted the fans' spending power for international cricket.
If, on the other hand, the ICC develops the right formula for franchising, it could have a profound effect on the direction the game takes. Not only could it result in cricket successfully expanding to regions like North America, Europe and the non-traditional cricket areas of Asia, it may also mean a marked change in the way the game is run.
Currently, countries like Australia have a dilemma; the domestic Twenty20 competition is becoming more popular with each game but this has diluted the fans' spending power for international cricket. Consequently the crowds at limited-overs internationals have reduced. In most parts of the cricketing world this is a common problem; one form of the game is cannibalising another.
India is the only country with the population, the thriving economy and the fanatical interest in the game to be able to programme matches at virtually any time and still attract big crowds.
Hence the ICC needs to explore other potentially productive markets that will decrease the dependence on India's financial clout, while also adding to the number of venues available at different times of the year.
There is the possibility that if you allocate separate sections of the season to different forms of the game it will divide the spectators. It could become a case of: "I'm a Test match supporter" or "I'm a Twenty20 fan". Nevertheless, it could also help players transition more easily from one form to another.
If what Harsha Bhogle tells me is true, that India thrives in chaos, then the rest of the cricket world is in trouble. Currently, cricket's scheduling is chaotic.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell is now a cricket commentator and columnist
RSS Feeds: Ian Chappell
125
Cricket Anyone / Players complaining about conditions
« on: March 27, 2010, 06:04:49 AM »
Players complaining about conditions
Vinode Mamchan 27 Mar 2010
West Indies Players Association (WIPA) chief Dinanath Ramnarine says that West Indies cricket will get worse if things go unchecked. In a rare interview yesterday, Ramnarine told the Trinidad Guardian: “The players are not happy with the way things are going in West Indies cricket at the moment and they have complained about a number of issues to us. “We have since taken it up with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and if they don’t act decisively, West Indies cricket is going to get worse. They are in breach of the ‘minimum standards requirement’ which we have signed and we have taken up the matter.
“Imagine, players complaining in this day and age about the state of hotels, no practice facilities, some had to sleep on the floor in a hotel in T&T and one player even had to bathe by a stand pipe in Jamaica. These are the same players that you expect to go out there and give off their best but what are we putting in place for them?”
WIPA, one of the more respected players bodies in the world, has been negotiating different aspects of players terms and conditions with the WICB for many years now and there still seem to be problems in the two bodies agreeing on terms. Earlier this season, WIPA was unhappy with the fact that the WICB was playing just one round of matches in the premier regional tournament. Last week, WICB director Dr Allen Sammy said he supported the idea of one round of matches and planning more ‘A’ team tours.
While agreeing with Sammy that ‘A’ team tours are important, Ramnarine said he could not believe the director supported the one-round idea. “We are playing the least amount of cricket in the world at the First Class level. I noted that a director of the WICB said he was in support of the idea but while I agree with him that ‘A’ team tours are important, I differ with him in terms of the one round tournament. “If we want our players to improve and be competitive in the international arena, we must give them better conditions and a good First Class structure is essential.
“When we think that having the cream of the crop playing ‘A’ team, rather than having them play with players of lesser abilities, what are we telling those players? Are we just leaving them behind as lesser players and not giving them ample chance to improve their standard.” Ramnarine, who has been credited for running a very professional WIPA outfit, says: “What is lacking in West Indies cricket at the moment is professionalism. Once we continue to operate in an ‘anything goes’ way, then we are in for more problems and when one thinks that things are bad right now, it would get worse. “It is our sincere hope that the WICB get their act together and look into the problems in West Indies cricket and get things back on the right track.”
Aye be thankful d standpipe had water...It have some countries where water does be wasting tuh water lawns
Vinode Mamchan 27 Mar 2010
West Indies Players Association (WIPA) chief Dinanath Ramnarine says that West Indies cricket will get worse if things go unchecked. In a rare interview yesterday, Ramnarine told the Trinidad Guardian: “The players are not happy with the way things are going in West Indies cricket at the moment and they have complained about a number of issues to us. “We have since taken it up with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and if they don’t act decisively, West Indies cricket is going to get worse. They are in breach of the ‘minimum standards requirement’ which we have signed and we have taken up the matter.
“Imagine, players complaining in this day and age about the state of hotels, no practice facilities, some had to sleep on the floor in a hotel in T&T and one player even had to bathe by a stand pipe in Jamaica. These are the same players that you expect to go out there and give off their best but what are we putting in place for them?”
WIPA, one of the more respected players bodies in the world, has been negotiating different aspects of players terms and conditions with the WICB for many years now and there still seem to be problems in the two bodies agreeing on terms. Earlier this season, WIPA was unhappy with the fact that the WICB was playing just one round of matches in the premier regional tournament. Last week, WICB director Dr Allen Sammy said he supported the idea of one round of matches and planning more ‘A’ team tours.
While agreeing with Sammy that ‘A’ team tours are important, Ramnarine said he could not believe the director supported the one-round idea. “We are playing the least amount of cricket in the world at the First Class level. I noted that a director of the WICB said he was in support of the idea but while I agree with him that ‘A’ team tours are important, I differ with him in terms of the one round tournament. “If we want our players to improve and be competitive in the international arena, we must give them better conditions and a good First Class structure is essential.
“When we think that having the cream of the crop playing ‘A’ team, rather than having them play with players of lesser abilities, what are we telling those players? Are we just leaving them behind as lesser players and not giving them ample chance to improve their standard.” Ramnarine, who has been credited for running a very professional WIPA outfit, says: “What is lacking in West Indies cricket at the moment is professionalism. Once we continue to operate in an ‘anything goes’ way, then we are in for more problems and when one thinks that things are bad right now, it would get worse. “It is our sincere hope that the WICB get their act together and look into the problems in West Indies cricket and get things back on the right track.”
Aye be thankful d standpipe had water...It have some countries where water does be wasting tuh water lawns
126
General Discussion / Gay couple turned away from B&B in Cookham
« on: March 22, 2010, 05:13:12 AM »
BBC News
A gay couple were turned away from a Berkshire guest house by the owner who said it was "against her convictions" for two men to share a bed.
Michael Black and John Morgan, from Brampton, Cambridgeshire, had booked a double room at the Swiss B&B, Terry's Lane, in Cookham, for Friday night.
But when they arrived owner Susanne Wilkinson refused to let them stay.
She admitted she did turn the couple away because it was against her policy to accommodate same sex couples.
She said if we'd told her in advance she would have told us not to come
Michael Black
The couple have now reported the matter to Thames Valley Police.
Under the Equality Act 2006 it is illegal to discriminate against people on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Ms Wilkinson told the BBC: "They gave me no prior warning and I couldn't offer them another room as I was fully booked.
"I don't see why I should change my mind and my beliefs I've held for years just because the government should force it on me.
"I am not a hotel, I am a guest house and this is a private house."
Mr Black and Mr Morgan were in the village, near Maidenhead, to meet some friends for dinner and to see a local play.
Mr Black told the BBC: "We're two respectable middle-aged men - John is leader of the Lib Dem group on Huntingdon Town Council.
Owner apologised
"This was the first time either of us had experienced homophobia at first hand, despite being aged 56 and 62. We were shocked and embarrassed.
"Mrs Wilkinson saw us both before we got out of the car and immediately acted in an unwelcoming, cold way, but my boyfriend and I were polite and friendly.
"She said if we'd told her in advance she would have told us not to come.
"She apologised for turning us away. I asked for a refund of the deposit, which she gave me without quibble.
"We stayed polite and, to be fair, she wasn't rude or abusive.
'Civil matter'
"All she said about her reasons for turning us away was that it went against her convictions for us to stay there.
"We've since told a large number of friends and acquaintances and the reaction has consistently been amazement that this should have happened.
"I've reported the matter to Thames Valley Police who have confirmed that they are following it up."
Thames Valley Police said the call had been logged as a homophobic incident.
A spokeswoman said: "As the people live outside of the force area, we have asked Cambridgeshire Constabulary to speak to the individuals concerned."
A spokesman for Stonewall, which campaigns for equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, said turning someone away on the grounds of sexual orientation was illegal.
Derek Munn, director of public affairs, said: "Stonewall was delighted when the law changed in 2007 so that lesbian and gay couples could go on their holidays like anyone else.
"In open and shut cases of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation the law's quite clear - it's illegal for businesses to turn away gay customers or discriminate against them when providing goods or services, and this can't be overridden by personal prejudice."
A gay couple were turned away from a Berkshire guest house by the owner who said it was "against her convictions" for two men to share a bed.
Michael Black and John Morgan, from Brampton, Cambridgeshire, had booked a double room at the Swiss B&B, Terry's Lane, in Cookham, for Friday night.
But when they arrived owner Susanne Wilkinson refused to let them stay.
She admitted she did turn the couple away because it was against her policy to accommodate same sex couples.
She said if we'd told her in advance she would have told us not to come
Michael Black
The couple have now reported the matter to Thames Valley Police.
Under the Equality Act 2006 it is illegal to discriminate against people on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Ms Wilkinson told the BBC: "They gave me no prior warning and I couldn't offer them another room as I was fully booked.
"I don't see why I should change my mind and my beliefs I've held for years just because the government should force it on me.
"I am not a hotel, I am a guest house and this is a private house."
Mr Black and Mr Morgan were in the village, near Maidenhead, to meet some friends for dinner and to see a local play.
Mr Black told the BBC: "We're two respectable middle-aged men - John is leader of the Lib Dem group on Huntingdon Town Council.
Owner apologised
"This was the first time either of us had experienced homophobia at first hand, despite being aged 56 and 62. We were shocked and embarrassed.
"Mrs Wilkinson saw us both before we got out of the car and immediately acted in an unwelcoming, cold way, but my boyfriend and I were polite and friendly.
"She said if we'd told her in advance she would have told us not to come.
"She apologised for turning us away. I asked for a refund of the deposit, which she gave me without quibble.
"We stayed polite and, to be fair, she wasn't rude or abusive.
'Civil matter'
"All she said about her reasons for turning us away was that it went against her convictions for us to stay there.
"We've since told a large number of friends and acquaintances and the reaction has consistently been amazement that this should have happened.
"I've reported the matter to Thames Valley Police who have confirmed that they are following it up."
Thames Valley Police said the call had been logged as a homophobic incident.
A spokeswoman said: "As the people live outside of the force area, we have asked Cambridgeshire Constabulary to speak to the individuals concerned."
A spokesman for Stonewall, which campaigns for equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, said turning someone away on the grounds of sexual orientation was illegal.
Derek Munn, director of public affairs, said: "Stonewall was delighted when the law changed in 2007 so that lesbian and gay couples could go on their holidays like anyone else.
"In open and shut cases of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation the law's quite clear - it's illegal for businesses to turn away gay customers or discriminate against them when providing goods or services, and this can't be overridden by personal prejudice."
127
General Discussion / Foreign judge 'blown away' by pannists
« on: March 21, 2010, 02:22:28 AM »
Foreign judge 'blown away' by pannists
Gary Cardinez
Wednesday, March 3rd 2010
A challenge has been thrown out by Managing Director of ScotiaBank Trinidad and Tobago, Richard Young, to Music Festival Association President Dr Dorrell Phillip to get the permission from ’the powers that be’ to hold the grand finals at the brand new National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain.
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Young pointed out that NAPA was a venue where they can accommodate several hundred more patrons. Young said he was pleased to be associated with the festival as it brings out the best in the youths, their behaviour and values and is an opportunity to show off their talent.
He said he was disappointed that the opening was not held at NAPA.
Meanwhile one of the foreign judges expressed complete awe at the talent displayed when bpTT Renegades played at the Queen’s Hall opening.
’Awesome, fantastic, it is an honour to be here to listen to the band, that is the greatest pan orchestra I have ever heard,’ said Dr John Paul Johnson.
Dr Johnson is the Director of the School of Music at Wichita State University and has more than 30 years teaching experience in college, public school and church music.
He is here in Trinidad as one of three foreign judges for the current music festival.
The occasion was the Gala Opening of the 29th Biennial Music Festival which was officially opened by President of the Republic, Prof George Maxwell Richards.
Dr Johnson continued, ’I was blown away, I tried not to cry, the players were very good and so young, it is wonderful to see how they play. I wish some pianists could hear how they (pannist) played Chopin.
’Every University I go to in the US has a steel orchestra but they cannot compare to this one, I have also been to 600 music festivals but this is an experience. I would love to have some of their music to take back with me.’
Under the baton of Desmond Waithe, bpTT Renegades played three pieces, ’Grande Valse Brillante’, ’Etude in E Minor’ and ’Polonaise in A flat major’
The band also played for Baritone, Marvin Smith who sang a Spiritual ’O What a beautiful day’ and Dramatic Soprano Anne Fridal who performed ’Habanera’.
But Dr Johnson was not finished nor could he contain his excitement, holding his head he continued, ’What a performance, (this time he was referring to Mungal Patasar and Pantar). I wish my students could be here to hear it. I teach World Music and they don’t believe anyone can fuse Rock, Reggae, Pan, Calypso and Drums and come up with such great music.
’They really need to come to other parts of the World to see and hear. I have been to the Caribbean before, places like Dominica, Puerto Rico, Martinique and Guadeloupe but people always tell me I have seen nothing until I visit Trinidad. I now understand what they were saying.’
Dr Johnson could not find words to describe what he saw on stage as Robert Munro and Friends played. It’s impossible,’ was all he could say. The Professor of Music, director of Graduate Studies and director of Choral Activities said it was only until he got to Queen’s Hall did he understand the true purpose of his visit. ’I am looking forward to hearing the young musicians during the Festival.’
Gary Cardinez
Wednesday, March 3rd 2010
A challenge has been thrown out by Managing Director of ScotiaBank Trinidad and Tobago, Richard Young, to Music Festival Association President Dr Dorrell Phillip to get the permission from ’the powers that be’ to hold the grand finals at the brand new National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain.
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Young pointed out that NAPA was a venue where they can accommodate several hundred more patrons. Young said he was pleased to be associated with the festival as it brings out the best in the youths, their behaviour and values and is an opportunity to show off their talent.
He said he was disappointed that the opening was not held at NAPA.
Meanwhile one of the foreign judges expressed complete awe at the talent displayed when bpTT Renegades played at the Queen’s Hall opening.
’Awesome, fantastic, it is an honour to be here to listen to the band, that is the greatest pan orchestra I have ever heard,’ said Dr John Paul Johnson.
Dr Johnson is the Director of the School of Music at Wichita State University and has more than 30 years teaching experience in college, public school and church music.
He is here in Trinidad as one of three foreign judges for the current music festival.
The occasion was the Gala Opening of the 29th Biennial Music Festival which was officially opened by President of the Republic, Prof George Maxwell Richards.
Dr Johnson continued, ’I was blown away, I tried not to cry, the players were very good and so young, it is wonderful to see how they play. I wish some pianists could hear how they (pannist) played Chopin.
’Every University I go to in the US has a steel orchestra but they cannot compare to this one, I have also been to 600 music festivals but this is an experience. I would love to have some of their music to take back with me.’
Under the baton of Desmond Waithe, bpTT Renegades played three pieces, ’Grande Valse Brillante’, ’Etude in E Minor’ and ’Polonaise in A flat major’
The band also played for Baritone, Marvin Smith who sang a Spiritual ’O What a beautiful day’ and Dramatic Soprano Anne Fridal who performed ’Habanera’.
But Dr Johnson was not finished nor could he contain his excitement, holding his head he continued, ’What a performance, (this time he was referring to Mungal Patasar and Pantar). I wish my students could be here to hear it. I teach World Music and they don’t believe anyone can fuse Rock, Reggae, Pan, Calypso and Drums and come up with such great music.
’They really need to come to other parts of the World to see and hear. I have been to the Caribbean before, places like Dominica, Puerto Rico, Martinique and Guadeloupe but people always tell me I have seen nothing until I visit Trinidad. I now understand what they were saying.’
Dr Johnson could not find words to describe what he saw on stage as Robert Munro and Friends played. It’s impossible,’ was all he could say. The Professor of Music, director of Graduate Studies and director of Choral Activities said it was only until he got to Queen’s Hall did he understand the true purpose of his visit. ’I am looking forward to hearing the young musicians during the Festival.’
128
General Discussion / Summit plans still up in the air
« on: March 21, 2010, 12:12:57 AM »
Summit plans still up in the air
Malissa Lara
Published: 21 Mar 2010
Plans for next month’s one-day Caricom Heads of Government summit are still up in the air. Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon yesterday said they had not come up with a cost for the event yet. “We haven’t sat down to plan this meeting, we’ll probably do that this week,” she added. And although the meeting has been planned for the first half of April, no date has been set for it. This one-day summit comes just a few months after T&T hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November and the Fifth Summit of the Americas earlier. Gopee-Scoon stuck to her previous statement, last Thursday, that the cost is expected to be minimal as it will be a one-day meeting.
“You cannot compare the costs of hosting a one-day meeting to the gains to be made for public security and confidence.” She said all of the Heads of the Caricom have been invited. While the Government would pay for the accommodation for the attendees, Goppee-Scoon said they would be footing their airfare. “They (Caricom countries) usually bare the cost of the airfare,” she said. Gopee-Scoon said the Caribbean community stands to benefit from the upcoming summit. “At the meeting there will be a communique,” she said. The Minister said on the agenda was the discussion of national security matters, which are of a confidential nature. Therefore, some of these matters would not be put out in the public domain, she explained.
Gopee-Scoon continued the war of words between her and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. “Kamla Persad-Bissessar should be occupied with the nation’s business not Caricom. She is not in that league and she should be out of Caricom business.” She said the meeting would be with the heads of state of the Caribbean. “It’s beyond her,” she said. Persad-Bissessar had recently made a statement that the summit was a “Summit of Distraction.”
Madame Minister I guess you really put her in her place...Afterall she is only d leader of the Opposition and that portfolio is definately minor league...
Malissa Lara
Published: 21 Mar 2010
Plans for next month’s one-day Caricom Heads of Government summit are still up in the air. Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon yesterday said they had not come up with a cost for the event yet. “We haven’t sat down to plan this meeting, we’ll probably do that this week,” she added. And although the meeting has been planned for the first half of April, no date has been set for it. This one-day summit comes just a few months after T&T hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November and the Fifth Summit of the Americas earlier. Gopee-Scoon stuck to her previous statement, last Thursday, that the cost is expected to be minimal as it will be a one-day meeting.
“You cannot compare the costs of hosting a one-day meeting to the gains to be made for public security and confidence.” She said all of the Heads of the Caricom have been invited. While the Government would pay for the accommodation for the attendees, Goppee-Scoon said they would be footing their airfare. “They (Caricom countries) usually bare the cost of the airfare,” she said. Gopee-Scoon said the Caribbean community stands to benefit from the upcoming summit. “At the meeting there will be a communique,” she said. The Minister said on the agenda was the discussion of national security matters, which are of a confidential nature. Therefore, some of these matters would not be put out in the public domain, she explained.
Gopee-Scoon continued the war of words between her and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. “Kamla Persad-Bissessar should be occupied with the nation’s business not Caricom. She is not in that league and she should be out of Caricom business.” She said the meeting would be with the heads of state of the Caribbean. “It’s beyond her,” she said. Persad-Bissessar had recently made a statement that the summit was a “Summit of Distraction.”
Madame Minister I guess you really put her in her place...Afterall she is only d leader of the Opposition and that portfolio is definately minor league...
131
Cricket Anyone / Biggest Shittong Batsman tuh play for WI
« on: March 15, 2010, 10:50:49 AM »
This may seem vague so I shall limit d focus to an individual selected as a Batsmen who has not scored many runs but continued to be selected in the 1990's until today.....
I myself cannot presently think of who to pick because their are several renowned Shittongs out there....
I myself cannot presently think of who to pick because their are several renowned Shittongs out there....
133
2010 World Cup - South Africa / Long shot PREDICTIONS for this year World Cup
« on: February 22, 2010, 10:21:51 AM »
Anybody have any football predictions for d World Cup??
Bobby Zamora get selected to play in d World Cup for England?
Bobby Zamora score in D FINAL and England win d World Cup...
Bobby Zamora get selected to play in d World Cup for England?
Bobby Zamora score in D FINAL and England win d World Cup...
134
2010 World Cup - South Africa / Fifa President Sepp Blatter blasts South Africa critics
« on: February 11, 2010, 09:45:50 AM »
Blatter has hit back at critics of South Africa hosting the World Cup
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has hit back at critics of South Africa hosting the World Cup.
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has said awarding the tournament to South Africa was "the biggest wrong decision" Fifa has made.
But Blatter says these comments mask a disrespectful prejudice.
"It's an anti-Africa prejudice. There is still in the so-called 'old world' a feeling that why the hell should Africa organise a World Cup," Blatter said.
Hull manager Phil Brown has previously said the terrorist attack on the Togo team bus in Angola which killed two members of the support staff put a question mark against this summer's finals.
But Blatter said: "I think it's a nonsense to combine what has happened in Angola, a terrorist attack for political reasons, and mix it up with the World Cup in South Africa.
"In Germany people like Uli Hoeness and also representatives of the professional leagues are saying we should not go there.
"But every year 11 million tourists go to South Africa and nobody says they should not go there.
"Colonialists over the past 100 years have gone to Africa and taken out all the best things, and now they are taking all the best footballers. There's no respect."
Africa's first ever World Cup kicks off in Johannesburg on 11 June.
Good job Sepp...finally yuh say something ah agree with...
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has hit back at critics of South Africa hosting the World Cup.
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has said awarding the tournament to South Africa was "the biggest wrong decision" Fifa has made.
But Blatter says these comments mask a disrespectful prejudice.
"It's an anti-Africa prejudice. There is still in the so-called 'old world' a feeling that why the hell should Africa organise a World Cup," Blatter said.
Hull manager Phil Brown has previously said the terrorist attack on the Togo team bus in Angola which killed two members of the support staff put a question mark against this summer's finals.
But Blatter said: "I think it's a nonsense to combine what has happened in Angola, a terrorist attack for political reasons, and mix it up with the World Cup in South Africa.
"In Germany people like Uli Hoeness and also representatives of the professional leagues are saying we should not go there.
"But every year 11 million tourists go to South Africa and nobody says they should not go there.
"Colonialists over the past 100 years have gone to Africa and taken out all the best things, and now they are taking all the best footballers. There's no respect."
Africa's first ever World Cup kicks off in Johannesburg on 11 June.
Good job Sepp...finally yuh say something ah agree with...
135
General Discussion / Body of lottery winner found buried in Florida !!
« on: January 30, 2010, 08:47:49 PM »136
Cricket Anyone / Pollard hits the jackpot
« on: January 23, 2010, 09:39:57 PM »
Pollard hits the jackpot
Tony Cozier
Sunday, January 24th 2010
HE hasn’t played a single Test match.
His batting average in 15 One-Day Internationals is 11.30, in ten Twenty20 Internationals, 17.20. His top score in either version is 42.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) doesn’t even consider him worthy of one of the retainer contracts it has so liberally handed out recently to others on dubious grounds.
Yet at the age of 22, Kieron Pollard is one of the wealthiest, most sought-after cricketers on the planet; the personification of the brazen new world of what had been the most traditional of all the many sports created by the English and exported to the scattered outposts of what was once its global empire.
He is the first West Indian whose superstar reputation and mega-rich bank account has been made purely through the shortest version of the game yet devised, the Twenty20 phenomenon that has swept all before it across the cricketing map (with the exception, of course, of the West Indies where the WICB can’t yet get a regional tournament going).
Other players, such as the equally big-hitting Chris Gayle and the ebullient all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, have quickly adapted to the all-action format, but their status had been long since made in the more conventional formats.
Pollard’s has been purely as a Twenty20 specialist.
For all his modest statistics, the massive Trinidadian’s high-priced value to a game, in which the action is crammed into 20 overs an innings, is based on his physical power and hand-eye coordination that allow him to belt five-and-half-ounces of leather further, and more regularly, than most contemporary batsmen.
Almost entirely through his Twenty20 exploits, Pollard has already filled his bank account with numbers well in excess of even the greatest players of earlier generations.
He shared in Trinidad and Tobago’s US$1.5 million prize money in the two Stanford tournaments and US$1.3 million in the 2009 Champions League and earned US$1 million as one of Stanford’s Superstars that beat England in the contentious 20/20 for 20 million match in 2008.
He signed lucrative contracts with the South Australian Redbacks, for the inter-state Big Bash that ended yesterday (he clubbed the top score 44 off 33 balls with two sixes in a losing cause), and Somerset for next season’s county Twenty20.
To top it off, he fetched the maximum US$750,000 from the Mumbai Indians in last week’s Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, forcing a scrap between the four franchises who were all willing to go beyond the IPL cap to secure him. Mumbai won, by putting up what has been variously estimated as between an additional US$1 million and US$2 million.
All this has not come as a complete surprise to West Indians who have followed Pollard’s pyrotechnics since he began his first-class career, at 19, by hitting seven sixes in 126 from 150 balls against Barbados on debut.
He followed that with six sixes in 117 off 87 balls against the Leewards and a 58-ball 87 against Guyana in a KFC Cup one-day match. More such devastation followed in the Stanford tournaments.
His 174 against Barbados last season showed that he is capable of long innings as well, but it was the global stage of the inaugural Champions League, with its wide television coverage, and significantly, in India, the home of the IPL, that propelled Pollard into million-dollar prominence.
He was one of the many heroes of a Trinidad and Tobago team that advanced to the final and was the talk of the tournament.
He hoisted 14 sixes high into the Hyderbad night sky and far back into the stands of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
His unbeaten 54 from 18 balls, with five sixes and five fours, effectively trounced New South Wales Blues by itself. His 146 runs in five innings were made at a strike rate of 197.29 runs per 100 balls.
It was just what the billionaire tycoons and Bollywood stars who own IPL franchises were looking for, Pollard’s stiff medium-paced bowling and safe outfield catching boosting his value.
Pollard is shrewd enough to appreciate the pressure he is now under. Club owners in every sport don’t make such investments without expecting returns-and, in the case of the IPL, immediately.
’The biggest challenge would be to sustain what I’ve started as there would be big expectations of me,’ he said after the IPL auction. ’But cricket is a funny game, it can go anyway. I’m just going to go there and play my best.’
Whatever else, Pollard’s example has suddenly altered the overall approach to the game.
Since it was in its infancy, the need for a balance between defence and attack, and an appreciation of when to apply each, was drilled into batsmen.
Concentration and application were key words. A century was the first aim. Brian Lara went past 300 and 400 in Tests and reached 500 in a county match.
In contrast, Gayle’s 117 from 57 balls against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2007 remains the only three-figure innings in Twenty20 internationals. Pollard needed only 74 balls to amass his 146 runs in the Champions League.
When a couple of dot balls can be the difference between victory and defeat-and sometimes a cool million dollars or so- deep-field catches and frantic run outs proliferate.
So what do coaches now advise their young charges?
West Indies Under-19 opener Kraigg Brathwaite, for instance, has been vital as the anchor of the 50-overs innings in the current U-19 World Cup in New Zealand.
He batted through the innings for 92 off 125 balls against Pakistan and solidly compiled 69 off 96 deliveries in the quarter-final against England yesterday while Andre Creary attacked for a run-a-ball 52 in their partnership of 103. But anchors are not a requirement for 20 overs.
Aged 18, Brathwaite already has 40 hundreds-or it is 41, or 42?-at all levels. He will surely be opening the batting for the West Indies in Tests in the foreseeable future. But he, and others brought up adhering to the traditional methods, won’t be fetching Pollard prices at IPL auctions and the like, if they are on the block at all.
Those of his age, seduced by the loot on offer from Twenty20, might well concentrate on six-hitting rather than century-scoring. But not everyone can be a Pollard or a Gayle.
There is a widespread feeling that Twenty20 will eventually be cricket’s one and only format, filling stadiums in at present virgin territory such as the US and China.
It would be a very shallow game if that proves correct. It is more likely that Tests and Twenty20 will co-exist, in which case there will be the need for specialist players for each, for the Brathwaites and the Pollards, and for separate methods of coaching.
Tony Cozier
Sunday, January 24th 2010
HE hasn’t played a single Test match.
His batting average in 15 One-Day Internationals is 11.30, in ten Twenty20 Internationals, 17.20. His top score in either version is 42.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) doesn’t even consider him worthy of one of the retainer contracts it has so liberally handed out recently to others on dubious grounds.
Yet at the age of 22, Kieron Pollard is one of the wealthiest, most sought-after cricketers on the planet; the personification of the brazen new world of what had been the most traditional of all the many sports created by the English and exported to the scattered outposts of what was once its global empire.
He is the first West Indian whose superstar reputation and mega-rich bank account has been made purely through the shortest version of the game yet devised, the Twenty20 phenomenon that has swept all before it across the cricketing map (with the exception, of course, of the West Indies where the WICB can’t yet get a regional tournament going).
Other players, such as the equally big-hitting Chris Gayle and the ebullient all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, have quickly adapted to the all-action format, but their status had been long since made in the more conventional formats.
Pollard’s has been purely as a Twenty20 specialist.
For all his modest statistics, the massive Trinidadian’s high-priced value to a game, in which the action is crammed into 20 overs an innings, is based on his physical power and hand-eye coordination that allow him to belt five-and-half-ounces of leather further, and more regularly, than most contemporary batsmen.
Almost entirely through his Twenty20 exploits, Pollard has already filled his bank account with numbers well in excess of even the greatest players of earlier generations.
He shared in Trinidad and Tobago’s US$1.5 million prize money in the two Stanford tournaments and US$1.3 million in the 2009 Champions League and earned US$1 million as one of Stanford’s Superstars that beat England in the contentious 20/20 for 20 million match in 2008.
He signed lucrative contracts with the South Australian Redbacks, for the inter-state Big Bash that ended yesterday (he clubbed the top score 44 off 33 balls with two sixes in a losing cause), and Somerset for next season’s county Twenty20.
To top it off, he fetched the maximum US$750,000 from the Mumbai Indians in last week’s Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, forcing a scrap between the four franchises who were all willing to go beyond the IPL cap to secure him. Mumbai won, by putting up what has been variously estimated as between an additional US$1 million and US$2 million.
All this has not come as a complete surprise to West Indians who have followed Pollard’s pyrotechnics since he began his first-class career, at 19, by hitting seven sixes in 126 from 150 balls against Barbados on debut.
He followed that with six sixes in 117 off 87 balls against the Leewards and a 58-ball 87 against Guyana in a KFC Cup one-day match. More such devastation followed in the Stanford tournaments.
His 174 against Barbados last season showed that he is capable of long innings as well, but it was the global stage of the inaugural Champions League, with its wide television coverage, and significantly, in India, the home of the IPL, that propelled Pollard into million-dollar prominence.
He was one of the many heroes of a Trinidad and Tobago team that advanced to the final and was the talk of the tournament.
He hoisted 14 sixes high into the Hyderbad night sky and far back into the stands of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
His unbeaten 54 from 18 balls, with five sixes and five fours, effectively trounced New South Wales Blues by itself. His 146 runs in five innings were made at a strike rate of 197.29 runs per 100 balls.
It was just what the billionaire tycoons and Bollywood stars who own IPL franchises were looking for, Pollard’s stiff medium-paced bowling and safe outfield catching boosting his value.
Pollard is shrewd enough to appreciate the pressure he is now under. Club owners in every sport don’t make such investments without expecting returns-and, in the case of the IPL, immediately.
’The biggest challenge would be to sustain what I’ve started as there would be big expectations of me,’ he said after the IPL auction. ’But cricket is a funny game, it can go anyway. I’m just going to go there and play my best.’
Whatever else, Pollard’s example has suddenly altered the overall approach to the game.
Since it was in its infancy, the need for a balance between defence and attack, and an appreciation of when to apply each, was drilled into batsmen.
Concentration and application were key words. A century was the first aim. Brian Lara went past 300 and 400 in Tests and reached 500 in a county match.
In contrast, Gayle’s 117 from 57 balls against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2007 remains the only three-figure innings in Twenty20 internationals. Pollard needed only 74 balls to amass his 146 runs in the Champions League.
When a couple of dot balls can be the difference between victory and defeat-and sometimes a cool million dollars or so- deep-field catches and frantic run outs proliferate.
So what do coaches now advise their young charges?
West Indies Under-19 opener Kraigg Brathwaite, for instance, has been vital as the anchor of the 50-overs innings in the current U-19 World Cup in New Zealand.
He batted through the innings for 92 off 125 balls against Pakistan and solidly compiled 69 off 96 deliveries in the quarter-final against England yesterday while Andre Creary attacked for a run-a-ball 52 in their partnership of 103. But anchors are not a requirement for 20 overs.
Aged 18, Brathwaite already has 40 hundreds-or it is 41, or 42?-at all levels. He will surely be opening the batting for the West Indies in Tests in the foreseeable future. But he, and others brought up adhering to the traditional methods, won’t be fetching Pollard prices at IPL auctions and the like, if they are on the block at all.
Those of his age, seduced by the loot on offer from Twenty20, might well concentrate on six-hitting rather than century-scoring. But not everyone can be a Pollard or a Gayle.
There is a widespread feeling that Twenty20 will eventually be cricket’s one and only format, filling stadiums in at present virgin territory such as the US and China.
It would be a very shallow game if that proves correct. It is more likely that Tests and Twenty20 will co-exist, in which case there will be the need for specialist players for each, for the Brathwaites and the Pollards, and for separate methods of coaching.
137
Cricket Anyone / Holder bowls West Indies into semi-final Cricket World Cup U19
« on: January 23, 2010, 09:04:43 AM »
Cricinfo staff
January 23, 2010
West Indies Under-19 166 (Brathwaite 69, Creary 52, Payne 4-19) beat England Under-19 148 (Stokes 24, Holder 5-19) by 18 runs (Cricket U19 World Cup)
Led by half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Andre Creary, and a five-wicket haul from Jason Holder, West Indies became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup. They got there after a tense contest against England, who fell 18 runs short of West Indies' total of 166 in Rangiora.
Rain reduced the quarter-final to a 36-over contest and Azeem Rafiq, the England captain, put West Indies in under testing conditions. The move paid off quickly, when fast man David Payne had Trevon Griffith caught for 5 in the fourth over and bowled John Campbell in the eighth, but England's bowlers soon met with resistance. Brathwaite's innings - 69 off 96 balls - included only four boundaries and was the anchor, while Creary's aggressive 52 off 53 balls provided momentum.
The pair added 103 for the third wicket in less than 20 overs, setting up a platform, but their dismissals in consecutive overs triggered a collapse. Ben Stokes, who had dismissed Creary, took two more quick wickets and West Indies folded from 135 for 2 to 166 all out. Tim Payne returned to pick up two tailenders to finish with 4 for 19.
West Indies' defence was launched by Barbados fast bowler, Jason Holder, who dismissed England's openers for 0 and 9. Nelson Bolan caused further damage, picking up two more to reduce England's chase to 38 for 4. The middle order rallied, with several batsmen getting starts, but none converted them. Ateeq Javid, Stokes and Rafiq scored 20s to keep England in the hunt but John Campbell and Holder struck timely blows. England, at one stage, needed 29 to win with three wickets in hand, but Holder returned to mop up the tail and finish with excellent figures of 5 for 19.
"This was a disappointing end to the tournament after three good performances in the group stages. The players have gelled together as a unit and worked hard during the preparation and competition phases on their own games and for each other," John Abrahams, ECB Elite Player Development Manager, said. "There is no doubt that they have grown as people and cricketers and hopefully they will see proof of that in the coming season."
West Indies will now face Pakistan, who beat India in Saturday's other quarter-final, in the semis.
January 23, 2010
West Indies Under-19 166 (Brathwaite 69, Creary 52, Payne 4-19) beat England Under-19 148 (Stokes 24, Holder 5-19) by 18 runs (Cricket U19 World Cup)
Led by half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Andre Creary, and a five-wicket haul from Jason Holder, West Indies became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup. They got there after a tense contest against England, who fell 18 runs short of West Indies' total of 166 in Rangiora.
Rain reduced the quarter-final to a 36-over contest and Azeem Rafiq, the England captain, put West Indies in under testing conditions. The move paid off quickly, when fast man David Payne had Trevon Griffith caught for 5 in the fourth over and bowled John Campbell in the eighth, but England's bowlers soon met with resistance. Brathwaite's innings - 69 off 96 balls - included only four boundaries and was the anchor, while Creary's aggressive 52 off 53 balls provided momentum.
The pair added 103 for the third wicket in less than 20 overs, setting up a platform, but their dismissals in consecutive overs triggered a collapse. Ben Stokes, who had dismissed Creary, took two more quick wickets and West Indies folded from 135 for 2 to 166 all out. Tim Payne returned to pick up two tailenders to finish with 4 for 19.
West Indies' defence was launched by Barbados fast bowler, Jason Holder, who dismissed England's openers for 0 and 9. Nelson Bolan caused further damage, picking up two more to reduce England's chase to 38 for 4. The middle order rallied, with several batsmen getting starts, but none converted them. Ateeq Javid, Stokes and Rafiq scored 20s to keep England in the hunt but John Campbell and Holder struck timely blows. England, at one stage, needed 29 to win with three wickets in hand, but Holder returned to mop up the tail and finish with excellent figures of 5 for 19.
"This was a disappointing end to the tournament after three good performances in the group stages. The players have gelled together as a unit and worked hard during the preparation and competition phases on their own games and for each other," John Abrahams, ECB Elite Player Development Manager, said. "There is no doubt that they have grown as people and cricketers and hopefully they will see proof of that in the coming season."
West Indies will now face Pakistan, who beat India in Saturday's other quarter-final, in the semis.
138
General Discussion / Senegal offers land to Haitians
« on: January 16, 2010, 09:07:30 PM »
Senegal offers land to Haitians
Senegal's president says he will offer free land and "repatriation" to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
President Abdoulaye Wade said Haitians were sons and daughters of Africa since Haiti was founded by slaves, including some thought to be from Senegal.
"The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin," said Mr Wade's spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye.
Tuesday's earthquake killed tens of thousands and left many more homeless.
Buildings have been reduced to rubble, the distribution of aid is slow, and people have been flooding out of the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince.
"Senegal is ready to offer them parcels of land - even an entire region. It all depends on how many Haitians come," Mr Bemba Ndiaye said.
"If it's just a few individuals, then we will likely offer them housing or small pieces of land. If they come en masse we are ready to give them a region."
The spokesman emphasised that if a region was given, it would be in a fertile part of the country rather than in its parched deserts, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Senegal's president says he will offer free land and "repatriation" to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
President Abdoulaye Wade said Haitians were sons and daughters of Africa since Haiti was founded by slaves, including some thought to be from Senegal.
"The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin," said Mr Wade's spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye.
Tuesday's earthquake killed tens of thousands and left many more homeless.
Buildings have been reduced to rubble, the distribution of aid is slow, and people have been flooding out of the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince.
"Senegal is ready to offer them parcels of land - even an entire region. It all depends on how many Haitians come," Mr Bemba Ndiaye said.
"If it's just a few individuals, then we will likely offer them housing or small pieces of land. If they come en masse we are ready to give them a region."
The spokesman emphasised that if a region was given, it would be in a fertile part of the country rather than in its parched deserts, the Associated Press news agency reported.
139
General Discussion / Italy 'to open first prison for transgender inmates'
« on: January 13, 2010, 12:02:40 AM »
Italy 'to open first prison for transgender inmates'
Italy is to open one of the world's first prisons for transgender inmates, reports say.
The prison, at Pozzale, near the Tuscan city of Florence, is expected to house inmates who mainly have convictions for drug-related offences and prostitution.
Gay rights groups in Italy welcomed the move to convert an almost empty medium security women's prison into a specially equipped detention centre.
It is thought that Italy has a total of some 60 transgender prisoners.
The centre will house about 30 people, according to reports.
The BBC's Duncan Kennedy, in Rome, says that until now transgender prisoners have been located in women's prisons where they are often segregated for their own safety.
Psychological support
Leading gay rights groups say they welcome the new prison as a dedicated space providing the psychological support transgender prisoners need.
However, one local council official has said she cannot understand why the Pozzale prison had remained almost empty for so long.
"There are at least 30 to 40 women held in nearby prisons who would be ready to be transferred to a medium-security centre such as Pozzale. But very restrictive entry requirements were imposed," Franco Corleone told Italian news agency Adnkronos.
According to Italian newspaper Il Giornale, the prison only has two inmates at present but has a staff of 22 people.
The prison has its own library, recreation centre, football pitch and agricultural land which produces olive oil and wine.
Inmates also have their own cell and are given a personal development plan.
Ah sign of d times......
Italy is to open one of the world's first prisons for transgender inmates, reports say.
The prison, at Pozzale, near the Tuscan city of Florence, is expected to house inmates who mainly have convictions for drug-related offences and prostitution.
Gay rights groups in Italy welcomed the move to convert an almost empty medium security women's prison into a specially equipped detention centre.
It is thought that Italy has a total of some 60 transgender prisoners.
The centre will house about 30 people, according to reports.
The BBC's Duncan Kennedy, in Rome, says that until now transgender prisoners have been located in women's prisons where they are often segregated for their own safety.
Psychological support
Leading gay rights groups say they welcome the new prison as a dedicated space providing the psychological support transgender prisoners need.
However, one local council official has said she cannot understand why the Pozzale prison had remained almost empty for so long.
"There are at least 30 to 40 women held in nearby prisons who would be ready to be transferred to a medium-security centre such as Pozzale. But very restrictive entry requirements were imposed," Franco Corleone told Italian news agency Adnkronos.
According to Italian newspaper Il Giornale, the prison only has two inmates at present but has a staff of 22 people.
The prison has its own library, recreation centre, football pitch and agricultural land which produces olive oil and wine.
Inmates also have their own cell and are given a personal development plan.
Ah sign of d times......
140
General Discussion / Time Will Tell
« on: January 09, 2010, 08:52:12 AM »
Crazy boy boss song (yuh getting better with age) .....things to ponder.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QTOAoH59Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QTOAoH59Y
141
Football / Under rated players in EPL
« on: January 01, 2010, 11:42:31 AM »
I going with Fellaini from Everton. Really impressed with he how he play against Sunderland last week.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marouane_Fellaini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marouane_Fellaini
142
Cricket Anyone / Australian 20/20 BIG BASH! WI PLAYERS
« on: January 01, 2010, 11:23:47 AM »
Victoria vs Queensland Bravo 36 (plays for Victoria)
South Australia vs Western Australia Pollard 45 (S.A) Gayle 44 (retired hurt) (W.A)
http://cricket-online.tv/t20-big-bash-highlights-australia/
South Australia vs Western Australia Pollard 45 (S.A) Gayle 44 (retired hurt) (W.A)
http://cricket-online.tv/t20-big-bash-highlights-australia/
143
Cricket Anyone / Sunil Gavaskar alleges nexus over Stuart Broad non-action
« on: December 28, 2009, 12:06:32 PM »
Sunil Gavaskar alleges nexus over Stuart Broad non-action
Cricinfo staff
December 27, 2009
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the reason why Stuart Broad gets away with questioning umpires' decisions all the time is because his father, Chris Broad, is an ICC match referee. Gavaskar said the 23-year-old England fast bowler was an "exceptional cricketer in the making", but was surprised why Stuart had not even been reported or called before the match referee, and had got away scot free for offences that would make others lose a substantial portion of their match fees.
"Stuart's father Chris is one of ICC's match referees and so the umpires are reluctant to make a complaint against the youngster," wrote Gavaskar in his column for Mid-Day, an Indian daily. "Remember the umpires and match referees are used to hanging out together in the evenings since they are in a foreign country and so forge a good relationship and obviously the umpires are not looking to spoil that by citing the young Broad for a violation of the code of conduct."
Gavaskar said the latest instance in South Africa, when Stuart was involved in an ugly on-field exchange with the umpires after being given out lbw following a delayed review from the South Africans, was just one among a long list.
"He knows he can get away with it and indeed he has," Gavaskar wrote. "Stuart has been quoted as saying he didn't think he had done anything wrong in questioning the umpires decision to refer the appeal to the third umpire since he thought that it hadn't come in the expected time but a bit later than is normally the case and therein has confirmed again that he thinks he is a special case and not on par with the rest of the cricketing world."
Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, in their columns in English newspapers, have previously highlighted the petulance that Stuart has shown at umpiring decisions ever since he broke into the England team.
"Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain in their articles have brought out the petulance of Stuart Broad," Gavaskar wrote. "They have been thinking cricketers and captains during their careers and much admired for the manner in which they conducted themselves on the field ... swearing and abusing the opposition when things are not going your way is not tough cricket. That in fact is cowardly cricket, for the practitioners of this approach would not have the courage to use the same language off the field to their opponents or anyone for that matter and hope to get away with it."
Cricinfo staff
December 27, 2009
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the reason why Stuart Broad gets away with questioning umpires' decisions all the time is because his father, Chris Broad, is an ICC match referee. Gavaskar said the 23-year-old England fast bowler was an "exceptional cricketer in the making", but was surprised why Stuart had not even been reported or called before the match referee, and had got away scot free for offences that would make others lose a substantial portion of their match fees.
"Stuart's father Chris is one of ICC's match referees and so the umpires are reluctant to make a complaint against the youngster," wrote Gavaskar in his column for Mid-Day, an Indian daily. "Remember the umpires and match referees are used to hanging out together in the evenings since they are in a foreign country and so forge a good relationship and obviously the umpires are not looking to spoil that by citing the young Broad for a violation of the code of conduct."
Gavaskar said the latest instance in South Africa, when Stuart was involved in an ugly on-field exchange with the umpires after being given out lbw following a delayed review from the South Africans, was just one among a long list.
"He knows he can get away with it and indeed he has," Gavaskar wrote. "Stuart has been quoted as saying he didn't think he had done anything wrong in questioning the umpires decision to refer the appeal to the third umpire since he thought that it hadn't come in the expected time but a bit later than is normally the case and therein has confirmed again that he thinks he is a special case and not on par with the rest of the cricketing world."
Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, in their columns in English newspapers, have previously highlighted the petulance that Stuart has shown at umpiring decisions ever since he broke into the England team.
"Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain in their articles have brought out the petulance of Stuart Broad," Gavaskar wrote. "They have been thinking cricketers and captains during their careers and much admired for the manner in which they conducted themselves on the field ... swearing and abusing the opposition when things are not going your way is not tough cricket. That in fact is cowardly cricket, for the practitioners of this approach would not have the courage to use the same language off the field to their opponents or anyone for that matter and hope to get away with it."
144
General Discussion / Prince William spends night on London streets
« on: December 23, 2009, 03:38:55 AM »Prince William spends night on London streets
By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer Jennifer Quinn, Associated Press Writer – Tue Dec 22, 5:08 pm ET
LONDON – A cold alley in central London is a far cry from a palace — but it was the spot Prince William chose to sleep to highlight the plight of homeless British teenagers.
He spent a chilly night near Blackfriars Bridge last week with Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of British homeless charity Centrepoint. William has been the charity's patron since 2005.
"I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London's streets night after night," William said Tuesday. "Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependancy and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless.
"I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets."
William, second in line to the throne, was exposed to some of the hardships found on London's streets when his mother, Princess Diana, took him to a shelter in 1996. Just 13 at the time, William spent an hour at the facility with his younger brother, Harry.
Diana was well-known for her charitable work and the homeless was a group she was particularly close to. She had also served as Centrepoint's patron, a position she held at the time of her death in 1997.
A photograph released by the charity shows William, 27, in the alley in jeans, a gray hooded sweat shirt and a knit hat pulled low.
In a post to the charity's Web site, Obakin said the idea for William to spend a night on the streets — known as "sleeping rough" in Britain — was hatched in March.
"He was determined, as he has always been, to understand deeply the full range of problems a homeless young person might face," Obakin said. "For me, it was a scary experience. Out of my comfortable bed. Out there in the elements. Out there on an extremely cold night, with temperatures down to -4 C (24.8 F). And it was the same for Prince William. But he was determined to do it."
Obakin said they found a secluded spot — tucked away behind some garbage bins — and settled in for a restless night.
"But there was no shielding from the bitter cold, or the hard concrete floor, or the fear of being accosted by drug dealers, pimps or those out to give homeless people a 'good' kicking," Obakin said.
William is currently training to be a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot.
145
General Discussion / Irishman seeks justice for his gang-raped teenage daughter
« on: December 22, 2009, 09:39:41 PM »
Irishman seeks justice for his gang-raped teenage daughter Irish Times
AMERICA: The rapists were only put on probation, with the judge saying the crime was ‘waiting to happen’, writes LARA MARLOWE
A YEAR after the crime, Séamus T’s voice still quivers when he recalls how he found his daughter Erin, then 15, lying on the roadside on the night of January 3rd, 2009.
“Daddy, Daddy, get them off me,” she kept moaning. The girl was semi-conscious, and was soaking wet because her assailants had put her under a shower to wash vomit and menstrual blood off her after they gang-raped her.
Séamus T, an Irishman who left Dublin 25 years ago, continues his job as an executive in a mechanical contracting firm, but he has spent much of the past year seeking justice for Erin.
The ordeal started as a cosy reunion of three high-school girls after the holidays. Séamus T dropped his daughter off at an apartment in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at 8.30pm, and was to have picked her up three hours later.
Boys showed up at the party. “They gave her ‘jungle juice’, 100 per cent grain alcohol,” Séamus T explains. Doctors at Shady Grove hospital later found Erin had almost three times the legal limit in her blood.
Three teenagers, then aged 16 and 17, planned the rape. One waited in the bathroom while the other two dragged Erin in. When the district attorney read through the medical report at a seven-hour hearing on September 30th, Erin’s family heard how the attackers tore flesh on three of the girl’s body orifices. She banged her head when she fell against the bath tub, and was covered in bruises.
Had the three young men not boasted of their crime, they would not have been identified, because Erin cannot remember the rape. They were arrested in late February, spent a couple of months in jail, and were freed pending the hearing.
Erin was taunted by other students, who accused her of “snitching”’ on the rapists. The girl was so traumatised that she slept with her mother or older sister until she went to live with relatives in Nevada, at her request.
The case shifted from adult to juvenile court, and Séamus T learned in September that two of the three rapists were back at Magruder High School. He filed a complaint with the board of education, and succeeded in having them transferred.
“My daughter was the only white kid at the party,” Séamus T says.
“I don’t think the attack was racially motivated, but there were racial and class undertones in the courtroom. On one side you had the three rapists, an aunt and two single mothers, all African-Americans. On the other side, everyone was white and middle class.”
Montgomery county circuit court judge Steven Salant so enraged Séamus T that he filed a complaint with the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities, the body that disciplines judges, on the grounds his daughter “was not treated with dignity and respect” as required by the state constitution.
Salant did not respond to The Irish Times’s request for comment, which was made through the court’s spokesman.
Séamus T says Salant blamed the victim and made excuses for the rapists, who he sentenced to probation only. As recounted by the Gaithersburg Gazette newspaper, the judge described the gang-rape as “horrific”, but focused on Erin’s behaviour on the night of the party.
The victim was drunk and “engaged in risky and provocative behaviour” such as sitting on people’s laps and talking about “hooking up”, Salant said in court. “This was a disaster waiting to happen . . . There was a dynamic at work here.
“There were things going on here. It doesn’t make the respondents any less worthy of blame, but what it does mean is I have to determine whether what we have here is sexual predators or respondents who . . . did not get that when a girl is intoxicated and presents herself in that manner you do not take advantage.”
“We were devastated as a family. We were destroyed,” says Séamus T.
“We went to court expecting some compassion. The system is upside down and backwards. The judge was worried about the rapists staying in school, getting evaluated, getting counselling and transportation. Everything is lavished on them. Nobody knocked on my door and said, ‘I’ll show you through the system’.”
Séamus T’s appeals to first lady Michelle Obama, Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and state attorney John McCarthy have gone unanswered. He was treated with kindness by the Irish Embassy, which promised to intervene if he felt he was not being treated as a US citizen would be.
The state legislature has provided the most hope of redress.
Kathleen Dumais, a Maryland state delegate, and Nancy King, a Maryland state senator, have taken up the case. Dumais is drafting legislation that would ban juvenile sex offenders from attending normal public schools and place their names on a register. If passed, it may be called Erin’s law.
AMERICA: The rapists were only put on probation, with the judge saying the crime was ‘waiting to happen’, writes LARA MARLOWE
A YEAR after the crime, Séamus T’s voice still quivers when he recalls how he found his daughter Erin, then 15, lying on the roadside on the night of January 3rd, 2009.
“Daddy, Daddy, get them off me,” she kept moaning. The girl was semi-conscious, and was soaking wet because her assailants had put her under a shower to wash vomit and menstrual blood off her after they gang-raped her.
Séamus T, an Irishman who left Dublin 25 years ago, continues his job as an executive in a mechanical contracting firm, but he has spent much of the past year seeking justice for Erin.
The ordeal started as a cosy reunion of three high-school girls after the holidays. Séamus T dropped his daughter off at an apartment in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at 8.30pm, and was to have picked her up three hours later.
Boys showed up at the party. “They gave her ‘jungle juice’, 100 per cent grain alcohol,” Séamus T explains. Doctors at Shady Grove hospital later found Erin had almost three times the legal limit in her blood.
Three teenagers, then aged 16 and 17, planned the rape. One waited in the bathroom while the other two dragged Erin in. When the district attorney read through the medical report at a seven-hour hearing on September 30th, Erin’s family heard how the attackers tore flesh on three of the girl’s body orifices. She banged her head when she fell against the bath tub, and was covered in bruises.
Had the three young men not boasted of their crime, they would not have been identified, because Erin cannot remember the rape. They were arrested in late February, spent a couple of months in jail, and were freed pending the hearing.
Erin was taunted by other students, who accused her of “snitching”’ on the rapists. The girl was so traumatised that she slept with her mother or older sister until she went to live with relatives in Nevada, at her request.
The case shifted from adult to juvenile court, and Séamus T learned in September that two of the three rapists were back at Magruder High School. He filed a complaint with the board of education, and succeeded in having them transferred.
“My daughter was the only white kid at the party,” Séamus T says.
“I don’t think the attack was racially motivated, but there were racial and class undertones in the courtroom. On one side you had the three rapists, an aunt and two single mothers, all African-Americans. On the other side, everyone was white and middle class.”
Montgomery county circuit court judge Steven Salant so enraged Séamus T that he filed a complaint with the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities, the body that disciplines judges, on the grounds his daughter “was not treated with dignity and respect” as required by the state constitution.
Salant did not respond to The Irish Times’s request for comment, which was made through the court’s spokesman.
Séamus T says Salant blamed the victim and made excuses for the rapists, who he sentenced to probation only. As recounted by the Gaithersburg Gazette newspaper, the judge described the gang-rape as “horrific”, but focused on Erin’s behaviour on the night of the party.
The victim was drunk and “engaged in risky and provocative behaviour” such as sitting on people’s laps and talking about “hooking up”, Salant said in court. “This was a disaster waiting to happen . . . There was a dynamic at work here.
“There were things going on here. It doesn’t make the respondents any less worthy of blame, but what it does mean is I have to determine whether what we have here is sexual predators or respondents who . . . did not get that when a girl is intoxicated and presents herself in that manner you do not take advantage.”
“We were devastated as a family. We were destroyed,” says Séamus T.
“We went to court expecting some compassion. The system is upside down and backwards. The judge was worried about the rapists staying in school, getting evaluated, getting counselling and transportation. Everything is lavished on them. Nobody knocked on my door and said, ‘I’ll show you through the system’.”
Séamus T’s appeals to first lady Michelle Obama, Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and state attorney John McCarthy have gone unanswered. He was treated with kindness by the Irish Embassy, which promised to intervene if he felt he was not being treated as a US citizen would be.
The state legislature has provided the most hope of redress.
Kathleen Dumais, a Maryland state delegate, and Nancy King, a Maryland state senator, have taken up the case. Dumais is drafting legislation that would ban juvenile sex offenders from attending normal public schools and place their names on a register. If passed, it may be called Erin’s law.
147
Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Sundar Popo- Trini Folk song
« on: November 20, 2009, 08:20:50 AM »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW34uR2ojFY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8mNGbE_MGw&feature=related with Black Stalin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73FVMjfXFGE&feature=related Nani & Nana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bq2QNhutOc&feature=related Your Mother's Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3eU7jGzvqs&feature=related Dont fall in love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-OUzqTBg0&feature=related Scorpion Gyal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8mNGbE_MGw&feature=related with Black Stalin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73FVMjfXFGE&feature=related Nani & Nana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bq2QNhutOc&feature=related Your Mother's Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3eU7jGzvqs&feature=related Dont fall in love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-OUzqTBg0&feature=related Scorpion Gyal
148
General Discussion / Rabbi 'offered cocaine for sex'
« on: November 18, 2009, 06:59:49 PM »
Rabbi 'offered cocaine for sex'
A rabbi financed a drug-dealing business and offered cocaine to girls in exchange for sex, a court heard.
Rabbi Baruch Chalomish, of Upper Park Road, Salford, rented an apartment where he could "relax and have a party", Manchester Crown Court heard.
Police raided the Salford flat and discovered a total of 101 grams (3.6oz) of cocaine and more than £17,000.
Chalomish, 54, admits two counts of possessing cocaine but denies two of possession with intent to supply.
His business partner Nasir Abbas, 54, has failed to turn up for the trial and is being sought by police, the court was told by Michael Goldwater, prosecuting.
He faces one charge of possessing cocaine and one of possession with intent to supply.
'Commercial supply'
Mr Goldwater said police found both defendants at the one-bedroom apartment during a raid on 5 January.
Forms showed that it was rented from the firm Premier Apartments in the name of Mr Abbas.
He said: "Our case is that Abbas and Chalomish were dealing in controlled drugs.
"They were running, we say, a commercial cocaine supply operation from an apartment-hotel in Shudehill, Manchester.
"Rabbi Chalomish also had a substantial store of drugs, cocaine, and cash at his home address."
Drugs paraphernalia was found in the bedroom, including about 6g (0.2oz) of cocaine, rolled up banknotes and credit cards.
Prosecutor Mr Goldwater said the purity of the cocaine varied in strength from 29% to 82%.
Cutting agents to dilute the drug were also discovered, along with about £2,400 in cash, he said.
Mr Goldwater told the jury that the purity of the cocaine was higher than the UK average of 28%, a fact they might find "significant".
The jury heard that when interviewed by police, Mr Abbas said he knew the rabbi as "Shell" and rented the apartment on his behalf.
Mr Goldwater said: "He said Shell wanted to relax and have a party at the flat.
"He said there had been a lot of people come through the flat in the last 10 days, most of them girls."
Mr Abbas told detectives that Shell did not sell drugs - but did not mind if others wanted to take them.
"He said he had seen Shell putting white powder in a glass dish and mixing it with another substance, and anyone visiting was free to help themselves."
Mr Goldwater told the jury that Mr Abbas had a previous conviction for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in March 1996.
During his final police interview, Chalomish told officers he bought large quantities of cocaine for himself and often used it when he could not sleep, the jury heard.
Mr Goldwater said the prosecution did not exclude the possibility that there might be some truth in what Mr Abbas told the police.
"That some of the drugs were given to young women who came to the flat and that one or more of those young women may have provided sexual services," he added.
"We do say that it was essentially a commercial operation.
"Nasir Abbas had the know-how, knew the drugs business, had the contacts, he would know where to obtain the drugs, how much to pay and how to find customers.
"Rabbi Chalomish would not have necessarily had the knowledge, we say Chalomish was the financier, he put up the money."
The trial was adjourned until Thursday.
A rabbi financed a drug-dealing business and offered cocaine to girls in exchange for sex, a court heard.
Rabbi Baruch Chalomish, of Upper Park Road, Salford, rented an apartment where he could "relax and have a party", Manchester Crown Court heard.
Police raided the Salford flat and discovered a total of 101 grams (3.6oz) of cocaine and more than £17,000.
Chalomish, 54, admits two counts of possessing cocaine but denies two of possession with intent to supply.
His business partner Nasir Abbas, 54, has failed to turn up for the trial and is being sought by police, the court was told by Michael Goldwater, prosecuting.
He faces one charge of possessing cocaine and one of possession with intent to supply.
'Commercial supply'
Mr Goldwater said police found both defendants at the one-bedroom apartment during a raid on 5 January.
Forms showed that it was rented from the firm Premier Apartments in the name of Mr Abbas.
He said: "Our case is that Abbas and Chalomish were dealing in controlled drugs.
"They were running, we say, a commercial cocaine supply operation from an apartment-hotel in Shudehill, Manchester.
"Rabbi Chalomish also had a substantial store of drugs, cocaine, and cash at his home address."
Drugs paraphernalia was found in the bedroom, including about 6g (0.2oz) of cocaine, rolled up banknotes and credit cards.
Prosecutor Mr Goldwater said the purity of the cocaine varied in strength from 29% to 82%.
Cutting agents to dilute the drug were also discovered, along with about £2,400 in cash, he said.
Mr Goldwater told the jury that the purity of the cocaine was higher than the UK average of 28%, a fact they might find "significant".
The jury heard that when interviewed by police, Mr Abbas said he knew the rabbi as "Shell" and rented the apartment on his behalf.
Mr Goldwater said: "He said Shell wanted to relax and have a party at the flat.
"He said there had been a lot of people come through the flat in the last 10 days, most of them girls."
Mr Abbas told detectives that Shell did not sell drugs - but did not mind if others wanted to take them.
"He said he had seen Shell putting white powder in a glass dish and mixing it with another substance, and anyone visiting was free to help themselves."
Mr Goldwater told the jury that Mr Abbas had a previous conviction for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in March 1996.
During his final police interview, Chalomish told officers he bought large quantities of cocaine for himself and often used it when he could not sleep, the jury heard.
Mr Goldwater said the prosecution did not exclude the possibility that there might be some truth in what Mr Abbas told the police.
"That some of the drugs were given to young women who came to the flat and that one or more of those young women may have provided sexual services," he added.
"We do say that it was essentially a commercial operation.
"Nasir Abbas had the know-how, knew the drugs business, had the contacts, he would know where to obtain the drugs, how much to pay and how to find customers.
"Rabbi Chalomish would not have necessarily had the knowledge, we say Chalomish was the financier, he put up the money."
The trial was adjourned until Thursday.
149
Cricket Anyone / Mother's illness sends Gayle home
« on: November 17, 2009, 05:46:47 PM »
Mother's illness sends Gayle home
Cricinfo staff
November 17, 2009
Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, will fly home to Jamaica on Wednesday to be with his seriously ill mother, leaving him in doubt for next week's first Test. While the team management hopes Gayle will be able to return in time for the game at the Gabba, the move is a further blow to the touring squad, which has come together following a strike between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board.
Gayle's absence means Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper, will lead the side in the four-day tour match against Queensland in Brisbane today. The 15-man squad is already short of experience and will rely on Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan to lift it in the lead-up to the Test on November 26.
Gayle, who has played 82 Tests, has been criticised for his attitude since being re-appointed captain following the player strike. When the team arrived last week he spoke of unifying the team and challenging Australia in the three-Test series.
Cricinfo staff
November 17, 2009
Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, will fly home to Jamaica on Wednesday to be with his seriously ill mother, leaving him in doubt for next week's first Test. While the team management hopes Gayle will be able to return in time for the game at the Gabba, the move is a further blow to the touring squad, which has come together following a strike between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board.
Gayle's absence means Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper, will lead the side in the four-day tour match against Queensland in Brisbane today. The 15-man squad is already short of experience and will rely on Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan to lift it in the lead-up to the Test on November 26.
Gayle, who has played 82 Tests, has been criticised for his attitude since being re-appointed captain following the player strike. When the team arrived last week he spoke of unifying the team and challenging Australia in the three-Test series.
150
Cricket Anyone / Gayle must respect Windies legacy - Richards
« on: November 10, 2009, 10:09:09 PM »
Gayle must respect Windies legacy - Richards
by Andrew Miller November 10, 2009
Sir Vivian Richards has called on Chris Gayle to put the West Indies contract dispute firmly behind him and lead his team in a manner befitting the region's legacy, as the team prepares to arrive in Australia on the eve of a Test campaign that will test the fragile peace that was brokered during meetings between the WICB and the players' association last month.
The team touches down in Australia on Wednesday, and Richards was cautiously optimistic that the reunited squad would put their recent troubles to one side. "The way it looks at the moment, it does suggest that there is a ceasefire," he told Cricinfo. "But we all know what ceasefires are like. Let's hope this is not a ceasefire like you get in the Middle East."
Gayle was a controversial choice as captain for the Australia tour, given his integral role in the stand-off with the board, and Daren Ganga was mentioned as a possible replacement following his inspirational leadership of Trinidad & Tobago in the recent Champions League.
But there is no questioning Gayle's status as the leading batsman in the Caribbean, and his absence was keenly felt earlier this year, as a second-string West Indies side slumped to an embarrassing home series defeat against Bangladesh, before being knocked out in the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy.
""I think Daren Ganga is a good captain who thinks on his feet, and he'd have been quite appropriate, so presently the jury is out," said Richards. "Gayle has got to go and show a different sort of attitude when he goes to Australia. He's got to show that he wants to represent his people and represent them well, and not only them, but also the legacy that he's representing. Let's hope he has learned his lessons."
Gayle has been the subject of controversy throughout a torrid year, particularly during the unscheduled tour of England in May, when he arrived in the country barely 24 hours before the first Test at Lord's, and went on to say in a newspaper interview that he "wouldn't be so sad" if Test cricket died out. But having announced his availability for the Australia tour, Richards said he was prepared to take the captain's declarations of full commitment at face value.
"I take it on board when he says he feels pretty strong, even though he may not show the so-called enthusiasm," said Richards. "Some people do things differently, and he's one of those individuals who's pretty laid back. But I still like to believe he wants to see West Indies cricket do well, and it's up to him. He's in the seat now to make that happen."
Even with a fully unified squad, the challenge that awaits West Indies would be arguably the toughest in the world game, and Richards - who made five Test tours of the country in the course of his illustrious career - knows from personal experience just what lies ahead.
"An Australia tour can make or break a team," he said. "They are like that. They are a pretty competitive bunch of folks. Over the years, I've always loved competing against the Aussies, because you knew they weren't going to give you half-measures, they were going to give you their all. You knew to what capacity you were going to have to raise your level. And that, to me, was always interesting.
"The Aussies were always ready and available verbally, whether with ball in hand or not. And I appreciated that aggressive stuff because I am a competitor myself, and these were the things that made me think. I hope that Gayle and the guys can deal with that, especially coming back from the dispute. Let's hope that he [recognises] the job he has to do now, and makes sure that he gels that team, and hopefully, if this ceasefire lasts, builds a team that can be competitive in the future."
Few people give West Indies a realistic chance of putting up a fight against Australia - Brian Lara, who led their last tour to the country in 2005-06, predicted recently that they would receive a "hiding" - but it is not all doom and gloom in the Caribbean, thanks to the exploits of Trinidad & Tobago, who captured the imaginations with their enterprising performances in last month's Champions League in India, in which they finished as runners-up.
"The way things have played out in the media, a lot of people would think there's nothing happening in the Caribbean," said Richards. "But they have given us the light, and shown the world that our club structure is as good as any club structure around the world. Even though they didn't win the tournament, to me, the message was already sent that West Indies cricket is still very much alive."
Nevertheless, Richards did not believe that Trinidad's success as an individual island would lead to further ructions within the fabric of West Indies cricket. "I don't think we have very far to go where those matters are concerned," he said. "Barbados tried that once [in 1967] when they took on the Rest of the World, because of the number of players they had in the West Indies team at the time, and they took a hiding. They are going to need more volume, there are so many people around the Caribbean with so much talent. They must be given an opportunity. That's the format that we have and that's how I'd like it to remain."
Sir Vivian Richards is an ambassador for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
An article of substance ....
by Andrew Miller November 10, 2009
Sir Vivian Richards has called on Chris Gayle to put the West Indies contract dispute firmly behind him and lead his team in a manner befitting the region's legacy, as the team prepares to arrive in Australia on the eve of a Test campaign that will test the fragile peace that was brokered during meetings between the WICB and the players' association last month.
The team touches down in Australia on Wednesday, and Richards was cautiously optimistic that the reunited squad would put their recent troubles to one side. "The way it looks at the moment, it does suggest that there is a ceasefire," he told Cricinfo. "But we all know what ceasefires are like. Let's hope this is not a ceasefire like you get in the Middle East."
Gayle was a controversial choice as captain for the Australia tour, given his integral role in the stand-off with the board, and Daren Ganga was mentioned as a possible replacement following his inspirational leadership of Trinidad & Tobago in the recent Champions League.
But there is no questioning Gayle's status as the leading batsman in the Caribbean, and his absence was keenly felt earlier this year, as a second-string West Indies side slumped to an embarrassing home series defeat against Bangladesh, before being knocked out in the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy.
""I think Daren Ganga is a good captain who thinks on his feet, and he'd have been quite appropriate, so presently the jury is out," said Richards. "Gayle has got to go and show a different sort of attitude when he goes to Australia. He's got to show that he wants to represent his people and represent them well, and not only them, but also the legacy that he's representing. Let's hope he has learned his lessons."
Gayle has been the subject of controversy throughout a torrid year, particularly during the unscheduled tour of England in May, when he arrived in the country barely 24 hours before the first Test at Lord's, and went on to say in a newspaper interview that he "wouldn't be so sad" if Test cricket died out. But having announced his availability for the Australia tour, Richards said he was prepared to take the captain's declarations of full commitment at face value.
"I take it on board when he says he feels pretty strong, even though he may not show the so-called enthusiasm," said Richards. "Some people do things differently, and he's one of those individuals who's pretty laid back. But I still like to believe he wants to see West Indies cricket do well, and it's up to him. He's in the seat now to make that happen."
Even with a fully unified squad, the challenge that awaits West Indies would be arguably the toughest in the world game, and Richards - who made five Test tours of the country in the course of his illustrious career - knows from personal experience just what lies ahead.
"An Australia tour can make or break a team," he said. "They are like that. They are a pretty competitive bunch of folks. Over the years, I've always loved competing against the Aussies, because you knew they weren't going to give you half-measures, they were going to give you their all. You knew to what capacity you were going to have to raise your level. And that, to me, was always interesting.
"The Aussies were always ready and available verbally, whether with ball in hand or not. And I appreciated that aggressive stuff because I am a competitor myself, and these were the things that made me think. I hope that Gayle and the guys can deal with that, especially coming back from the dispute. Let's hope that he [recognises] the job he has to do now, and makes sure that he gels that team, and hopefully, if this ceasefire lasts, builds a team that can be competitive in the future."
Few people give West Indies a realistic chance of putting up a fight against Australia - Brian Lara, who led their last tour to the country in 2005-06, predicted recently that they would receive a "hiding" - but it is not all doom and gloom in the Caribbean, thanks to the exploits of Trinidad & Tobago, who captured the imaginations with their enterprising performances in last month's Champions League in India, in which they finished as runners-up.
"The way things have played out in the media, a lot of people would think there's nothing happening in the Caribbean," said Richards. "But they have given us the light, and shown the world that our club structure is as good as any club structure around the world. Even though they didn't win the tournament, to me, the message was already sent that West Indies cricket is still very much alive."
Nevertheless, Richards did not believe that Trinidad's success as an individual island would lead to further ructions within the fabric of West Indies cricket. "I don't think we have very far to go where those matters are concerned," he said. "Barbados tried that once [in 1967] when they took on the Rest of the World, because of the number of players they had in the West Indies team at the time, and they took a hiding. They are going to need more volume, there are so many people around the Caribbean with so much talent. They must be given an opportunity. That's the format that we have and that's how I'd like it to remain."
Sir Vivian Richards is an ambassador for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
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