Michael Clarke backed up his unbeaten double century

Clarke became the first person in the history of Test cricket to post four 200s in a calendar year as Australia ended Day 1 at Adelaide on 482 for 5.

Michael Clarke posted a successive double century and David Warner and Michael Hussey unleashed whirlwind hundreds as Australia demoralised South Africa in the second Adelaide Test on Thursday.
Clarke backed up his unbeaten double century from last week's drawn Brisbane series-opener with another overpowering innings, becoming the first person in the history of Test cricket to post four 200s in a calendar year.

Warner and Hussey compounded the misery for the Proteas with quickfire tons as Australia romped to 482 for five on the opening day.

It was just the fifth time in all Tests that Australia have scored more than 400 runs in a day's play.
Unchallengeable Clarke has yet to be dismissed in this series and has amassed 483 runs. He is also this year's highest-scoring Test batsman with 1,265 runs at 140.55. At the close he was unconquered on 224. Hussey was bowled by Dale Steyn in the final over for 103 after raising his 18th century with a six off dispirited legspinner Imran Tahir.
South Africa looked far from the world's best team as their bowlers were hammered, after having the home side in trouble at 55 for three in the morning session.
Warner wrested back control with a belligerent 119 off 112 balls and Clarke and Hussey carried on the run plunder.
It was a thoroughly miserable day for the Proteas with three of their leading bowlers having injury concerns -- Vernon Philander withdrawing before the match with a back problem and Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn leaving the ground during the day with hamstring trouble.
Clarke survived a referral on 73 and made the Proteas pay dearly with another commanding knock. He is averaging over 70 with the bat since he became captain last year.
In one Morkel over the sublime Clarke hit five boundaries to raise his 150 and earn a standing ovation from the home crowd.
The home side seized control with a blistering 178 runs off just 26 overs in the middle session.
Warner was in belligerent mood after lunch, smashing spinners Tahir and Faf du Plessis and racing to his third Test century off 93 balls. He reached his hundred with a six and a four off successive Tahir deliveries.
But Warner perished on 119 when he attempted to glide Morne Morkel through the slips, only to edge to Graeme Smith at first slip. He had crashed four sixes and 16 boundaries, putting on 155 runs with Clarke in 24.2 overs.
It was a rousing fightback by Australia after they lost three wickets in the morning session as South Africa suffered two injuries.
Ed Cowan was caught and bowled for 10 off Kallis's third ball, an attempted yorker which struck him on the boot and spooned up off the bat for a dolly return catch. Rob Quiney, who kept his place when Shane Watson failed to recover from a calf injury, went for an eight-ball duck when Morkel enticed him to edge to Smith at first slip.
Ricky Ponting's woes continued when he was bowled third ball for just four, playing inside Kallis.
The former Test skipper was out for a five-ball duck in Brisbane for his third duck in four Test innings against the Proteas. He fared little better in Adelaide, stumbling and losing his footing.

Pakistan Taliban vow to attack Indian targets over Mumbai gunman

Pakistan's Taliban movement threatened on Thursday to attack Indian targets to avenge the country's execution of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the militant squad responsible for a rampage through Mumbai that killed 166 people in 2008.
Kasab was hanged on Wednesday amid great secrecy, underscoring the political sensitivity of the November 26, 2008, massacre, which still casts a pall over relations between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India.
"We have decided to target Indians to avenge the killing of Ajmal Kasab," said Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan by telephone from an undisclosed location. Ehsan demanded that India return Kasab's body.
"If they don't return his body to us or his family we will capture Indians and will not return their bodies," he said, adding that the Taliban will try to strike Indian targets "anywhere".
The Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, are seen as one of the biggest security threats in Pakistan and are blamed for many of the suicide bombings across the country. They have not carried out major attacks abroad.
The sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks was executed on November 21 to the relief of survivors and victims' families, nearly four years after 166 people died in the three-day rampage.

Kasab was charged with 86 offences, including murder and waging war against the Indian state, in a charge-sheet running to more than 11,000 pages.
It was the first time a capital sentence had been carried out in India since 2004. There was celebration on the streets of Mumbai and other cities as news of the execution spread, but militant groups in Pakistan reacted angrily, as did residents of his home village of Faridkot.
People set off fireworks and handed out sweets in Indian cities. Some held up photos of Kasab with a rope noose superimposed over his head.

South Africa In Australia Test Series Schedule

1st Test 09 Nov  - 13 Nov 2012 Brisbane 
2nd Test 22 Nov - 26 Nov 2012 Adelaide Oval
3rd Test 30 Nov  - 04 Dec 2012 W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth

Skipper Michael Clarke wants Australia's batsmen to blunt the vaunted South African pace attack by waging a war of attrition.
The Proteas boast Test cricket's two top-ranked bowlers -- Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander -- but Clarke says Australia's best chance of dethroning the number one ranked South Africans is to wear down their strike weapons.

The tourists have only brought four pace bowlers to Australia and Clarke senses an opportunity to erode their effectiveness throughout the three Tests.
Clarke, who has still to decide on his own bowling attack, wants batsmen to occupy the crease for long periods to test the physical endurance of Steyn, and Philander.
"It's certainly the hardest time to bat against the bowler's first spell," Clarke told a Test-eve press conference in Brisbane on Thursday.
"The longer they are out in the field the heavier their legs become so as a batting group we're really keen to spend as much time out in the middle as possible.
"They have only four fast bowlers in their touring party and if we can make them spend as much time in the field as possible, hopefully that we will put us in good stead for the next two Tests."
Steyn, 287 wickets in 57 Tests, and Philander, 63 wickets in just 10 Tests, are likely to be backed up by Morne Morkel, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and leg-spinner Imran Tahir in South Africa's first Test in Brisbane in 49 years.
"They are experienced and they have a very good attack," Clarke said.

Andhra High Court lifts the ban on Azharuddin

The Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday struck down the life ban imposed on former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 12 years ago.
A division bench of the high court set aside the order of a lower court which had upheld the ban.

It was on December 5, 2000, that the BCCI banned Azhar from playing cricket for life after being found guilty of match-fixing.
The Hyderabadi had challenged the Indian cricket board's decision in the City Civil Court, which upheld the ban. He then moved to high court against the lower court's order, his lawyers arguing that the BCCI imposed the ban without any evidence.
The 49-year-old is currently a member of parliament from Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Azhar, one of India's successful captains, played 99 Tests scoring over 6,215 runs during his career. He also played 334 One-Day Internationals scoring 9,378 runs in his 15-year international career.
"I am a relieved man. I fought this battle for so long with patience. It has been a tough battle and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me during this difficult period," Azhar told reporters at a press conference at his residence here shortly after the high court order.

How College Students Spent Election Day

The presidential campaigns are over, political ads no longer lead each commercial break, and Election Day 2012 has come and gone with one candidate standing: President Barack Obama has been re-elected for a second term.
While the youth vote—which includes voters between the ages of 18 and 29 years old—made up a large piece of the voting pie in 2008, these voters comprised 19 percent of the electorate in 2012, up 1 percent from 2008.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), an independent youth research organization based at Tufts University, announced today that roughly 22 to 23 million youth voters, or at least 49 percent of all Americans in this age group, voted in the presidential election, based on results from national exit polls, demographic data, and current counts of votes cast.
"Young people are energized and committed voters," said Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE, in a press release. "Youth turnout of around 50 [percent] is the 'new normal' for presidential elections. Considering that there are 46 million people between 18 and 29, this level of turnout makes them an essential political bloc."
Obama won the majority of votes among youth voters—receiving 60 percent of the votes, compared to Governor Mitt Romney's 36 percent, according to the national exit polls conducted by Edison Research.
"The role young people would play during this election has been a major question in American politics for over a year, and it seems the answer is that they have been as big a force at the polls in 2012 as in 2008," Levine noted.

women rights

Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls of many societies worldwide. In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls in favour of men and boys. Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include, though are not limited to, the right: to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (suffrage); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights.

women rights

Jayawardene quits T20 captaincy

Mahela Jayawardene stepped down as Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain after losing the World Twenty20 final against West Indies by 36 runs on Sunday.
“I think we need a young leader,” Jayawardene said. “It’s a great opportunity for somebody to start (captaining) in the T20 format.”
Angry fans want players like Sangakkara and Malinga to be axed to make way for youngsters

Jayawardene said he had informed the selector about his decision before the tournament began last month and they were quite happy with the choice he had made.
However, Jayawardene said he would continue to lead the side in test matches and one-day internationals until the tour of Australia later this year, and if the new Twenty20 captain wanted him to compete as a player in that format he would continue.
“I haven’t stepped down from the other formats (test matches and ODIs), obviously I took over until December. … I will assess what I want to do after that.”
He led Sri Lanka in 19 Twenty20s, winning 12 and losing 6 with one tied match.

Sri Lanka was well placed to win a first major title in 16 years up until the 10th over as West Indies struggled at 32-2.
But Marlon Samuels smashed six sixes and three fours in his blistering knock of 78 off 56 balls to guide the West Indies to a competitive 137-6.
Jayawardene top scored with 33 in the unsuccessful run-chase to the much disappointment of 35,000 home fans at R Premadasa Stadium.
“It hurts a lot because you want to do something special, not just personally but for the public as well,” Jayawardene said. “We’ve been playing some really good cricket, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to cross that (final) hurdle.”
Sri Lanka lost just one game in the tournament before Sunday’s final — a rain-shortened seven-over-a-side group match against South Africa at Hambantota.
Jayawardene’s team was trying to become the first host nation to win the tournament, and looked to be on their way to an elusive title as they defeated defending champion England in Super Eights, won one-over eliminator against New Zealand and had an easy nine-wicket win over the West Indies.
Even against a dangerous Pakistan, Sri Lanka’s bowling attack looked far superior as they won the semifinal by 16 runs.
But when it really mattered, Jayawardene’s reliable pace bowler Lasith Malinga came under the hammer of Samuels in the final.
Malinga gave away precious 54 runs off his four overs with Samuels hitting the sling-arm fast bowler for five towering sixes.
“We did not bowl particularly well in that last six, seven overs,” Jayawardene said. “We never looked having any momentum chasing down that run rate as well, credit to them, they played good cricket in the big final which we did not.”
Since that famous victory in the 1996 World Cup final, Sri Lanka just once shared the Champions Trophy with India in 2002. They came close to winning the 50-over World Cup, but twice they stumbled in the final — in 2007 and in 2011.
Pakistan also made sure a major trophy eluded Jayawardene when it beat Sri Lanka in the 2009 World Twenty20 final at Lord’s.
“Every defeat has been different how we approached,” a dejected looking Jayawardene said. “Couple of the finals obviously we did not start well …. and kept chasing the game.”
Even on Sunday night, while chasing a trickier target on slow wicket, Sri Lanka lost its experienced opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over.
Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene tried to rebuild the innings, but their cautious approach kept the run-rate increasing which put the pressure on the home team.
“We wanted to attack obviously,” Jayawardene said. “The first six overs were crucial for us … but Dili got out off the first ball of the second over, that kept us back.
“They bowled very well, they took the pace of the ball…we never had momentum going in the chase, we lost wickets regularly so it was tough.”

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.