ICC World Twenty20 CUP - Team Captians

This T20 World Cup looks wide open with India slight favourites in terms or odds and sentiment. But you could throw a blanket of even terms over the next seven teams with New Zealand and Bangladesh being the outsiders. Whatever else can be said about Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe, they cannot win the big thing.
It will however be quite interesting to observe whether the minnows, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe are more competitive in the T20 than in the 50-over format.
There is a very good chance that in T20 games such as India versus Afghanistan will be more interesting in T20 than in 50 over form.

The toughest group is that of Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh where one of those teams will miss out making it to the Super Eights.
All the other favourite sides should make it comfortably through the group stages unless the weather intervenes.





India’s success appears to depend on how desperate they are to win the cup. Can they match the intensity of their long journey in the 2011 World Cup where it seemed almost imperative for the team and nation that they prevail?

In those tough and defining moments of tournament play, it is this hunger and desire that can carry you through those moments of crisis. In my time as coach with the team, the biggest enemy at various times seemed to be success.
Any major win or forward step of progress seemed to be followed by a period of time where our results were mixed. It wasn’t until we found ourselves in the situation of having to win a game from all the outside pressures that our quality of play would pick up.
Among India’s main opponents, three teams stand out in terms of hunger and desire. South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh have never won a World Cup of any significance (This is outside the Champions Trophy which is now on its last legs).
Bringing home the trophy would have real meaning for those three countries. You can add to them by including Sri Lanka.
There is nothing more motivating than playing in front of your own fans. One of the reasons in sport of the advantage in playing at home is not just about geography.

Yes, you will get to sleep in your own bed and you will know every blade of grass on your territory and how the wicket plays and where the wind blows, but the main factor in home games is that you are playing in front of your own. They haven’t come to watch you fail and if they do they will let you know.
Failure in performance is recognised more personally at home so Sri Lanka will be proud and primed.
Of the rest, Australia will compete hard because they of all teams are the most consistent day-in, day-out competitors whatever and wherever they play.
Pakistan seem more organised these days and dangerous with momentum and as we all know, tough for any Indian side to beat.

England seem to have a bit much going on off the stage with the Kevin Pietersen shenanigans. They may miss his runs but they won’t miss him and his puerile texting.
That leaves the West Indians. T20 almost seems to have been invented for these outrageously talented strikers of a cricket ball.
Their bowling is patchy and their eventual success may depend upon the effectiveness of their mystery spinner, Sunil Narine.

The Elephant Inspired Robotic Arm

It’s not every day that elephants inspire technological advances, let alone make existing technologies safer. Robotic arms can be quite dangerous, a single malfunction can cause frantic motion that could easily cause severe damage to us poor biological creatures. But the robotic arm ISELLA is built to minimize potential of such malfunction, and it’s design is inspired by an elephant’s trunk.

The arm was created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart, who pondered the extreme agility of elephants’ trunk and consequently came up with the designs. An elephant’s trunk contains around 40,000 muscles which he uses for a variety of tasks, including tearing down trees and carrying heavy loads — but also for more delicate tasks, such as manipulating objects. Herald Staab who invented the technology in ISELLA, says that “Its suppleness and agility gave us the idea for a bionic robot arm, ISELLA”.
The main difference when compared to conventional robotic arms is that while standard arms are equipped with one motor for each articulated joint, ISELLA has two. If one motor fails, the other takes over and prevents the arms jerking out of control. The arm is actuated by a simple and low cost muscle that consists of a motor and a cord attached to moving parts — similar to how muscle tendons are attached. The motor’s drive shaft is attached to the midpoint of the cord, so that when it turns the cord pulls in both directions. Their newsrelease states they’ve dubbed this mechanism “DOHELIX” due to it’s visual similarity to the double helix.

There are ten DOHELIX muscles in the ISELLA arm which act as flexors and extensors for each of the 9 articulated joints. Without giving any specific degrees of freedoms, they say it’s as flexible as a human arm, and that they are currently working on the elbow. Amongst the uses of this tech, Staab mentions medical rehabilitation and prosthetic devices (Dude… you forgot humanoid robots!).
On the issue of prosthetics, the Icelandic company Ossur was recently awarded the gold Medical Design Excellence Award for their robotic Proprio Foot which uses A.I. technologies to a great extent (not their first award, either). Basically, instead of having the user of the robotic foot need to learn how to use it, the embedded intelligence of the foot learns how the user walks: how he moves his leg, when he puts pressure on it, etc. That way, the act of rehabilitation becomes much easier and the consequent adaptation to the leg can feel much more natural. You no longer have a dead metal stick where your leg used to be — it’s somewhat alive and aware of your movements; a more coherent part of your body.

That’s todays two cents on elephants and robotic body parts. Stay tuned for penguins and brain-machine interfaces.

The Robotic Artificial Elephant

Artificial elephant is a robotic elephant made from 45 tons of recycled materials, measuring 12 meters high and 8 meters wide and the beauty of it is that it can carry up to 49 passengers.

The arm was created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart, who pondered the extreme agility of elephants’ trunk and consequently came up with the designs. An elephant’s trunk contains around 40,000 muscles which

he uses for a variety of tasks, including tearing down trees and carrying heavy loads — but also for more delicate tasks, such as manipulating objects. Herald Staab who invented the technology in ISELLA, says that “Its suppleness and agility gave us the idea for a bionic robot arm, ISELLA”

8 tax haven countries in the world

While some of us file taxes dutifully every year, others enjoy the benefit of skipping personal tax because they live in countries with no income taxes. Here’s a list of eight countries which do not impose income tax, based on a survey conducted by KPMG.

Kuwait

Officially the State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Being a tax-free country, Kuwait's oil industry accounts for 80 percent of government revenue.

Oman
Situated in Southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman exempts tax as an incentive to encourage their expansion and development, with the industrial sector expected to contribute 15 percent to the country's GDP by 2020.

Qatar
Qatar is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia. With no income tax, Qatar is one of the countries with the lowest tax rates in the world.

United Arab Emirates
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The UAE does not have any federal income tax on wages or salaries. Each emirate can impose income taxes but none do.

The Bahamas
Located in the Atlantic Ocean, The Bahamas consist of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. The economy has a very competitive tax regime. The government derives its revenue from import tariffs, license fees, property and stamp taxes, but there is no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, value-added tax, or wealth tax.

Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea. The Cayman Islands historically have been a tax-exempt destination. The government's primary source of income is indirect taxation.

Bermuda
Located off the east coast of the United States, Bermuda’s local tax system depends upon import duties, payroll taxes and consumption taxes.

Bahrain
Officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is a tax free economy with no withholding tax, corporate tax, income tax and VAT.

Remembering 9/11

It was a terror attack that shook the world’s most powerful nation. The attack on the World Trade Center in New York was an attack on the very symbol of prosperity and unity. On its 11 anniversary, here is a look at the day terror gripped America.

A fiery blasts rocks the World Trade Center after being hit by two planes September 11, 2001 in New York City.
United flight 175 flies directly into World Trade Center tower 2 during a terrorist attack.Photo by Carmen Taylor/WireImage

Shaun Tait to make Bollywood debut

Australian cricketer Shaun Tait has been approached to step into the acting pitch in Bollywood with Abhishek Kapoor's directorial "Kai Po Che!" He is expected to play a prominent part in the movie.

"Kai Po Che!" is the big screen adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's book "The 3 Mistakes of My Life". It features Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh and Rajkumar Yadav in key roles.

Since cricket is an integral part of the film, production company UTV Motion Pictures is on the lookout to cast a prominent international cricketer to cast.
It has already roped in Indian bowler Ashish Nehra to coach Sushant for his role of a cricket enthusiast in the film.
"Ashish suggested Shaun's name when the makers were brainstorming on who to cast for the part. But unlike Ashish, Shaun will actually play a prominent role in the film. UTV is in final talks with Shaun, who has shown interest in the film," said a source.
Manish Hariprasad, creative director, studios, Disney-UTV, confirmed the news, saying: "Abhishek Kapoor wanted a well-known international fast bowler for the climax. And Abhishek's good friend Ashish put us in touch with Shaun. We're in discussions with him, and hope to have him on board soon."
However, Tait will only do the film if his shooting schedule doesn't clash with his commitments towards the Australian team.
"Cricket will always come first for him. He liked the script and wants to do the film, but he will only give them a go-ahead if his timings work out," says the source.

Cape Point :South Africa Where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet.

Cape Point is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in the Republic of South Africa. Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town are close to the northern extremity of the same peninsula.

The cape is located at 34°21′26″S 18°29′51 about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) east and a little north of the Cape of Good Hope on the southwest corner.
Although these two rocky and beautiful capes are very well known, neither cape is actually the southernmost point in Africa; that is Cape Agulhas, approximately 150 kilometres (90 mi) to the east-southeast.
The peak above Cape Point is higher than that above the Cape of Good Hope.





The rugged sandstone (Table Mountain sandstone) ridge that rises from Cape Point at sea level develops into two peaks. There is a major peak that dominates the skyline locally but there is also a smaller peak about 100 m further south. The higher peak has the old lighthouse on the top. The Flying Dutchman Funicular runs from a car park to the north up to slightly below the level of the old lighthouse and a short flight of steps leads to a viewing platform at the base of the lighthouse. From the end of the railway a second path leads to the lower peak.

Top jeux casino: De nombreux joueurs en ligne font la queue pour jouer à la roulette en ligne, lorsqu'ils accèdent à leurs sites de casino préférés. L'attraction de la roulette est clairement reconnue - ce jeu fait partie des grands classiques depuis la gloire et la renommée des casinos européens jusque dans le monde du jeu en ligne - sans perdre de son charme.

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Andrew Flintoff : From cricket to boxing!

From cricket to boxing! Freddie Flintoff is set to take on the heavyweight world as he reveals plans to fight

He's known for his batting skills as England's ex-cricket captain.
But now it seems Freddie Flintoff wants to put himself to the test again in a different sport.
The 34-year-old has announced plans to become a heavyweight boxer.
He has been secretly working with ring legend Barry McGuigan for the past month in a bid to prepare for his debut, which will take place on 30 November.
The star said: 'This is an amazing opportunity to try a sport that I love, to be tutored by a man I respect and admire and, at the age of 34, the chance to be a professional sportsman again.
'It's a huge challenge - probably the biggest I have ever undertaken, especially in such a short timeframe.


Swapping a bat for a boxing glove! Freddie Flintoff has revealed plans to take up heavyweight boxing... with his first match to take place in November

'I have a long road ahead and a lot of work in front of me. The stakes are high.'

Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff, who famously led the England team to victory against Australia in the 2006 Ashes, retired from cricket two years ago.
Meanwhile McGuigan - whose son Shane is training Flintoff - added: 'It is an enormous undertaking to have a professional fight having no experience whatsoever.
'It is even more demanding when you're a legend in another sport.
'The pressure for Freddie, myself and my son is phenomenal given the little time we have.
'But I'm convinced Freddie will make a successful pro debut as a boxer.'
Shane McGuigan has also trained professional boxer Carl Frampton.
Flintoff's team said they would be seeking a professional licence for the fight, although the British Board of Boxing Control said it had not yet received an application or interviewed him.
His preparations for the fight are to be documented in a special two-part programme - The Gloves Are Off... - to be aired on Sky 1, which will also screen a one-hour post-fight special.
The bout at Manchester Arena will also be shown on boxing channel BoxNation.
Celia Taylor, head of factual features for Sky, said: 'Freddie's always been a boxing fan but this is a whole different ball game.

'Sky customers are in for a rollercoaster ride - there will be major ups, dramatic downs, bloody noses and very real tears.'

Tickets for the fight - against an as-yet unknown opponent - go on sale on Friday.
Although it's not the first time Flintoff has tried out different sporting activities.
Earlier this year he got involved with comedian John Bishop's Sport Relief challenge.
The sports man helped Bishop row 26 miles across the English channel, along with Davina McCall and Denise Lewis.

Online Encyclopedia

An Online encyclopedia is an encyclopedia accessible via the World Wide Web. The idea to build a free encyclopedia using the Internet can be traced at least to the 1993 Interpedia proposal; it was planned as an encyclopedia on the Internet to which everyone could contribute materials. The project never left the planning stage and was overtaken by a key branch of old printed encyclopedias.

In January 1995, Project Gutenberg started to publish the ASCII text of the Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), but disagreement about the method halted the work after the first volume. For trademark reasons this has been published as the Gutenberg Encyclopedia. In 2002, ASCII text of and 48 sounds of music was published on http://1911encyclopedia.org/ by source; a copyright claim was added to the materials, but it probably has no legal validity[original research?]. Project Gutenberg has restarted work on digitising and proofreading this encyclopedia; as of June 2005 it had not yet been published. Meanwhile, in the face of competition from rivals such as Encarta, the latest Britannica was digitized by its publishers, and sold first as a CD-ROM and later as an online service. Other digitization projects have made progress in other titles. One example is Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) digitized by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Probably the most important and successful digitization of an encyclopedia was the Bartleby Project's online adaptation of the Columbia Encyclopedia, tenth Edition, http://www.bartleby.com/65/ in early 2000 and is updated periodically.

viki.lk

SOME OF ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA SITES :
1 General reference
2 Biography
3 Antiquities, arts, and literature
4 Culture and country-specific
5 Pop culture and fiction
6 Mathematics
7 Music
8 Philosophy
9 Politics and history
10 Religion and theology
11 Science
11.1 Biology-Life science
11.2 Medicine and surgery
12 See also
13 References
14 External links

Yuvraj Singh back into T20 Squad

"I am a bit nervous. I don't know how I will do on that day. I want to go all out in my first game," Yuvraj said while speaking about his return to the side.

Yuvraj Singh alongside Virat Kohli. Yuvraj is back in the limited overs side to play in the two T20 matches against New Zealand next month and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka that follows. This will be his first appearance for India after he succesfully overcame a rare form of cancer between his lungs. Yuvraj Singh alongside Virat Kohli. Yuvraj is back in the limited overs side to play in the two T20 matches against New Zealand next month and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka that follows. This will be his first appearance for India after he succesfully overcame a rare form of cancer between his lungs.

New Look for the Indian Team

Members of India's squad for the T20 World Cup unveil their new jersey in Mumbai. From left to right - Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan

Members of India's squad for the T20 World Cup unveil their new jersey in Mumbai. From left to right - Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan
The dry-fit jersey is 43% lighter than what the team was already using and is a shade darker than the one that Team India wears in the 50-over format.
The features of the uniform include the new collar, a dash of tricolour near the left shoulder and three stars above the BCCI's logo signifying the three World Cup victories.
Speaking at the launch of Team India’s new Twenty20 jersey, captain MS Dhoni said the break that the team got before the recently concluded Sri Lanka tour proved very important. "The team is all fit from the physical and mental aspects. The one-and-a-half-month break [after the last IPL] was very good from that point of view. Even on the tour of Sri Lanka [where the team played five ODIs and a one-off T20 game] we had breaks between each game. We are quite ready for the packed season ahead," Dhoni said.