Resigned on (m)oral grounds

Andhra Pradesh Governor and veteran congressman N D Tiwari, aged 86, had to resign today following telecast of his 'sex'capades in a local TV channel where he was allegedly shown in his bedroom in the company of 3 women, including a pregnant lady and a teenager(perhaps he was inspired by Tiger Woods ad of Nike - Just Do It)

My worry is not the veteran governors sexual preference. I am worried as to what the Secret Service people were doing, including the elite black cat commandos, while he was indulging in his virulent activities? These Black Cats are the best in our police force and hand picked for security detail. To reduce them them to something like pimps is totally demoralising and wholly uncalled for.

What a shame!

P.S: It was amusing to see Congress chamcha newspapers and TV Channels like Hindustan Times, NDTV to name a couple trying their damnest not to report the ND Tiwari scandal till such time he 'resigned' on '(m)oral grounds'

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my readers a Very Merry Christmas

A + B

Our Police is known for foisting the crime on an innocent while doing everything to allow the guilty go scot free. But even by their 'efficient' standards, this should take the cake.

"In a desperate attempt to crack a double murder with no eyewitnesses, Delhi policemen planted blood group AB on the weapon of offence thinking it would explain the killing of a man and his wife who had blood groups A and B, respectively. Their logic? Simple elementary mathematics, A+B = AB "

Fortunately for the accused, the honourable judge was not so gullible, and threw the case out.

Sporadic Blogging

Been preoccupied with some urgent work. Hence the sporadic blogging. Likely to be irregular till the new year.

Gold - your reliable friend

Gold is known for its intrinsic beauty, warmth, sensuality and spiritual richness. But it is also one of the best investments. That is what makes Gold so coveted. Gold ornaments have been in existence since 4000 BC. Wars have been fought and people have lost their lives over Gold over the years.

The present World Monetary System, like its predecessors, is founded on Gold held in treasuries or Central Banks. World Central Bank holdings of Gold at market price constitute one part of World International Monetary Reserves. Gold is inversely correlated to the US dollar, making it a good currency hedge. Anytime Dollar weakens, people switch over to Gold, as is happening now. Gold is the only reserve asset that is no one's liability, and is perhaps the only true Global currency. Unlike a paper currency, the value of gold cannot be affected by the economic policies of the a country or undermined by inflation in any country.. It can be traded anywhere in the World on any given day and it does have an intrinsic value.

Gold has always been dear to the people from developing countries, especially Indians. The lure of the glittering yellow metal is hard to resist. All over India, Gold is synonymous with wealth. Gold coins, bars and high-carat jewelry play a crucial role as a means of saving and defense against misfortune to many of the poor of the world. Gold is the benchmark as far as excellence is considered. It is why we have Gold Medals for the winners in any field.

Gold, perhaps, is the best possible protection against upheaval, both political and economic. Gold is an effective hedge against inflation. It provides sufficient liquidity and gives people a feeling of security. For the women, who are not working, jewelry is perhaps the only asset she owns in real terms. Something they can fall back in times of adversity. Added to the fact that it is a means of savings, Gold also has the advantage of being used as an ornament to augment the beauty of the women. The use of jewelry as savings is often important in rural areas where access to a reliable and appropriate banking system is difficult or impossible. Giving Gold as a Gift is considered to be the ideal token of love and respect, perhaps matched only by Diamond. Not many know, but Gold is bio-compatible, making it invaluable in medical implants. It also does not corrode or tarnish, making it invaluable in industrial applications. Gold is used in pharmaceutical industry extensively.

Gold offers protection against a weak currency or high domestic inflation levels, something people have realized in these troubled financial times. Historically, Gold has always been found to be a safe bet whenever there is an economic downturn. People have a psychological feeling that the yellow metal is a safe haven in troubled times. And they are correct. In the current scenario of global financial meltdown, there is hardly any other option available for the investor. He doesn’t see much logic in investing in Stock market which is at rock bottom currently, the real estate has been badly hit, banks and financial institutions have lost their credibility and also the interest rates are so low, it doesn’t make sense to lock your money in bank savings.

The only alternative is Gold. Apart from the retail investors, the institutional investors are also buying gold in large quantities as they do not trust the valuation of any other asset. Added to this, the oil prices are at a rock bottom. Again traditionally, gold prices are inversely linked to oil prices. Finally, the production of gold has stagnated during the past few years. Supply constraints and demand increase obviously means rise in prices of gold.

The World is going through one of the greatest recessions seen in recent times. But during this period when every other single investment has shown a negative return on investment, Gold has appreciated by more than 75%

That is the power of Gold, your loyal friend in good and bad times - (This article written by me was originally published in Powerbiz, IGNOU Kuwait E-Magazine, issue dated April 2009)

Empower the bowlers please

When I was an school going student, we used to play in our backyard which was barely the length of a pitch, 22 yards, wall on the back as stumps, and walls on either side, 20ft either side of the pitch. There were 8 of us. Any ball hitting the walls were counted as boundaries. The scores were in the range of 250-300 every innings as it was ridiculously simple to hit boundaries.

I was reminded of this when I saw the India-Srilanka one dayer in Rajkot today. Everyone was hailing it as a great match, what with a total of 820 plus runs being scored. But for me, it was silly cricket. There is no fun in seeing the batsmen tonk hapless bowlers all over the place. The whole fun of watching cricket is the tussle between the bat and the ball. Here the bowlers were reduced to tears.

Over the years, the ICC has altered the rule many a time to favour the batsman. For example, why should the number of overs be limited to a bowler, while batsmen can play the whole 50 overs if he can? Limiting the bouncer to one per over is ridiculous. Why are we not talking about batsmen allowed to lift the ball over the infield only once in an over? Take the case of leg side wides. Now anything pitching even 1cm outside the leg stump is a wide. Bowlers should be given more leeway on the leg side. Today's batsmen improvise a lot. Let him take a bit more risk to play the ball pitched outside leg. And the boundaries are ridiculously short on at 65 tears, much like my backyard. Recently I was watching a re run of the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship in Sydney. L Sivaramakrishnan was the main weapon as a leg spinner. And he was the kingpin because the boundaries were huge. With todays modern bat, which has sweet spot all over the place, even top edges clear the short boundaries with ease. And it is fun to see batsmen running 3's and even 4's in the huge Australian grounds of the past.

I suggest the following changes,

Allow bowlers to bowl unlimitedly. ( The new rule change states that 3 bowlers can bowl a maximum of 12 overs, though this is yet to be tried ). Or alternatively, allow a bowler to bowl one additional over for every wicket he takes. This will give him an incentive to take wickets.

Increase the boundary to the old 100 yards or at least 85 yards.

First power play to be limited to 8 overs. Bowling power play of 5 overs not to be taken before the 30th over. This will make the middle overs more interesting. Batting powerplay to remain as it is.

Increase the wide line outside the legstump to cover an additional 3 stumps.

Free hit to be banished. A person cannot be punished twice for the same crime. Increase the penalty runs for no ball to 2.

Revise the LBW law. This ridiculous issue of not giving out LBW when the ball pitches outside the leg stump has to be dealt with. The only question to be asked is 'Would the ball have hit the stumps?'

This might sound silly. But I would recommend scrapping day and night matches and playing ODI's during day with whites and red ball. The red cherry gives more options, wont have to be replaced at the 33 over mark and will do more. The white ball hardly does anything.

Reduce the matches to 40 overs. This is more than sufficient to get a good game of cricket

On a lighter note

With malice towards none and only in jest............................

Tiger Woods wanted to patch up with his wife Elin.

Tiger : "Elin dear..................................."

Elin : "You f**k off"

Tiger : "But............ that is precisely what I have been doing all these years. Then why are you upset with me?"

News item - Sreesanth is down with Swine Flu

You have to feel for him. When he tried his level best to be a A-grade Swine all these years, he didnt get the Flu. Now that he has become gentlemanly, he gets Swine Flu.

India's Supreme Court has asked the government to consider whether it might legalise prostitution

Hmmm....................... Is there a vested interest somewhere there? Maybe the Honorouble judges want to be on the 'right' side of the law all the time.