Majestic Elephants

This is a country run with Mega Mania Memorabilia (3 Ms) but unable to look after our majestic elephants.

Three years ago one of the tuskers was dead due to negligence and dehydration after a so called majestic pageant that paraded the hill country.

Then recently a giant tusker was dead in captivity and the popular story circulating round is he was let to die to get the tusks for ornamentation in high office.

Then comes the floods in the East.

A young dead elephant is trapped in a tree. First of a kind of news item and quite relevant in context.

That tells the sorry story of our majestic heritage and how we care.

It is an eye opener for the world if not for this blessed country.

We had 90% forest cover at the beginning of the last century and had over 60,000 elephants.

By mid last century the estimate was 6000 in the wild.

I do not believe we have 600 left in the wild now and the the forest cover is less that 20% now not enough to sustain vegetation let alone elephants.

We are going to commission two mega coal power units in the near future.

The forest cover will be reduced to 10% within a decade of their operation due to acid rain and the environmentalist are hiding behind the saffron clothed M.P.s.

Very soon we won't have a place in the jungle to meditate in quiet solitude.

Mega mania development will sacrifice the rest of the trees in the name of development efforts.

Very soon we have to import coconut timber with coconuts on top.

Last tsunami a few people survived by climbing on top of coconut trees.

We have mega floods after 53 years in the East and there are no coconut (palms) trees grown for 6 years after the tsunami to climb onto.

But we have election after election to elect representative who ruin this country.

Mega Mania Memorabilia at its best!

The carnival goes on!

Two Brothers of Contrast

When I was young

Working abroad

In a country down under

I met two sweet elderly

Gentlemen in their

Early sixties

They used to

Visit their mum

In her eighties

In a frozen state

Of mind and physique

In a clockwork

Precision

Their encounter

With their mum

Unable to express

Any feelings

Was a very sorry

State of affairs

Which

I could not bear myself

Or manage

Yet they did come

Day after day

In clockwise precision

To hold her hands

In frozen state

I always wished

I could be

Like one of them

If the need arises

But one day

She said good bye

And I did my part

And promptly

Attended to the formal

Paper work

I was very

Happy

That they could

Now

Attend to their

Own life

But for 20 odd years

They were coming and going

In untold pain

How could they forget

Their mum?

Yet,

I come to this

So called Buddhist State

I knew of a brother

Who wised his mother dead

Sooner than late

So he could get on

With his life

In private

That was a country

Under Christian Faith

But this is

A country

Of wonderful

Buddhist Compassion

Quite a contrast

To my likings

Would I go back

To my roots

Here

Or there

Is my dilemma?

Tribute to my Mother

Tribute to my Mother

The hands that

Took care of

Me and the rest

Of the filial

Relationships

Equally well

Tended the jasmine

The floral and fragrant

Plant

They in turn

Sprouted

Bloomed

Blossomed

Radiating

The fragrance

In the still and

Cold air

The clock

Stopped ticking

But the

The fragrance

The brilliance

The Jasmines

She cared for

Still dominate

The ambiance

Telling me

The story

Of tender loving care

Which she was

Able to radiate

In abundance

She was strong

At 91 in 2010

But she was

Very very feeble

In the cold frosty 2011,

So cold we had

To say Good Bye

For good!

GnuGitarinux-Linux 100

Gnuguitarinux is a ubuntu based Live CD under 500 MiB that provives all the needs of a guitarist.

This is something that did not come during my Linux 100 search. Just 405 MiB and provides all the audio that a electric gutarist needs. I am not a music man so you better downlod the live image and vidit their web site and get further information.

Good One.

Thanks Guys and Girls and keep the good work going.

Life of Automation in Apaya

I am told everything in Apaya is automated and Apaya Web Master is well paid.

He has embraced Open Source and when he leaves Apaya President doe not have to pay enormous bills in arrears.

This is where I get involved with the Web Master General who is overseeing all applications that come from all over the world.

The computer should screen all the applications and then re-channel them to further levels of filtering. The filtering services have different protocols for different countries and different offenses and whether they have been punished while on earth etc.

The idea is to delay the processing by nanosecond of a nanosecond.

The whole idea is to add nanoseconds and nanoseconds of time to the whole process of screening.

If an application is screened quickly those are the applications that come under my purview.

What methods can be adopted enhance the process so that no crime is missed or not get punished.

That is where the equation of mine come into operation.

That is the most difficult part for me foresee and avoid problems.

The lawyers on earth might plead not guilty on counts that is not applicable in Apaya.

All pervasive law of nature has to be applied

This is part I am not supposed to declare open to the customer.

The most difficult part for me is when doctors' cases and case findings are screened.

I have to be aware of all the loopholes in the system since there are very few litigation when practicing on earth.

But almost every doctor gets caught here mostly over diagnosing and very many are missed diagnoses and wrong treatment to correct diagnosis and right treatment to the wrong diagnosis etc.

There are severe deterrents here and I feel very comforted that I am not actively practicing now.

But being a pathologist it is a pleasure to know how much big BOSS knows about medicine.

Sometimes I wonder whether he had been a professor of medicine in one of his past lives but scarred to ask that question lest when I get there to hell he might remember me.

Like the Thovil Dancer working with the Yakkhayas it can be fun when it comes to screening doctors and lawyers.

When it come to bankers and speculators it is easy.

When the bank balance is high we know he is a crook but when the bank balance is high on a doctor that equation has to be modified by the number of cases correctly diagnosed or cases seen or referred by the doctor etc.

The equation is very very complicated since there are many crooks among doctors who know how to bluff.

Just like bluffing the income tax when on surface of the earth.

I hope you get some comprehension of the scheme of activity and automation in Apaya.

If I add nanoseconds to the scrutiny and more the nanoseconds of delay there is Apaya Web Administrator is happy.

He does not tell me what the real Yakka does this with the data, I guess like a British Visa officer, it probably depends on the mood of the Mighty Yakka.

I also do not ponder since once my job is done it is no longer in my jurisdiction.

What is more important is if I get this equation right in the first instance my work with the Sackra becomes easy and manageable.

I get the ones that are rejected by the Apaya Web Administrator (AWA) and forward them after a little scrutiny by my computer to Maha Deva's Assistant.

He of course sends a few of them back for another round through the Apaya since he believes my first equation is better and I get some extra bonus for re-scrutiny.

Another information I have to share with you is that since I took over this task I am yet to find a Sri-Lankan who escapes through the system of Apaya.

Not that I am severe on Sri-Lankans but for the last 30 odd years of conflict everybody who is somebody who has gone through the mill knows Web Administrator has a funny way of adding extra bonus nanoseconds added even before scrutiny and I have no privy to how much this bonus is.

Suffice is to say that is enough to keep you in hell long after the peace process.

So do not ever think of leaving this planet until we got the reconciliation gear well advanced and working before you think of kicking the bucket.

Good luck on Earth is the saying and wish in Apaya.

One never gets scot free chances like on earth elsewhere for so many offenses.
Enjoy while the sun shines!

How to forward a dead man's (women excluded) email

Internet is bustling with activity and it has spawned new avenues for recreation. I have been specially appointed from both Apaya and Devlova (Heaven) coordinate activities and I have been asked to formulate a formula to prevent Apaya MySQL Web Server getting jammed. As an initial remedy I have instructed them to have new server for Sri-Lanakns but Apaya does not want to vandalize limited resources on Sri-lanka and that is why they need a special formula.

Since I am in regular contact with Sackra's assistant which I have from the time of registration of Hela Urumaya as a political party (that appointment was to give a resume of all Hela Urumaya voters who gets a call of nature through Devalays before their demise).

Sakcra himself handles the party stalwarts and he does not believe their own well cooked up resumes leave alone any comments that I have made about them in web publications. Unlike Apaya. They have enough memory in all the servers with my good offices I have made an arrangement to provide a server on IMF loan facility to Hell which can be paid back while in hell to Apaya accounts.

You may wonder how I got the appointment. On merit alone and that is due to my intense interest in Linux and the number of publication in the web by any Sri-Lankan. They have just typed asoka and linux and lately asokaplus and got hold of my web counting. Then they have looked at the impact it made in Sri-Lanka which was almost zero and connected me wirelessly to ask why this discrepancy.

I promptly said I publish only in English to which they said why don't you make an attempt to improve English. I said Sir I am doing it right now by writing and that is the reason for me posting in the web.

They were quite happy with my answers but said your extensions will be based on your daily writings and that is why I have to post at least one a day at wordpress.

When I was at writeclique it was once in three days and at Google once in 2 to 3 days and now once a day like a poor National News Paper Editors.

I am told by the Web Administrator of the Apaya (Hell in English) a new super powered Server to handle the demand from Sri-Lankans was installed this year (immigrants specially from Colombo 7, Hela Urumaya type who sell electricity for an exorbitant price -they have a special sub-system for Hela Urumaya).

Nobody can contact the President and the Head of Apayas since he is 24 hour on call and cannot sleep.

He was elected recently unanimously without a contest and he can go for re-election at lib.

His crime was sleeping while on call duty at President's Office and giving false promises to the visitors and giving false statements to a judicial inquiry (perjury not punished here).

You may wonder what is the difference between becoming head of Apaya or Devlova.

Sackra has four hours of sleep and he can delegate some of activities to the assistant and the assistant can delegate it to me. It looks as if one becomes a President of this country he can easily take up a position in Apaya since there are no delegated activities now in Apaya and super-computers have taken over mankind (beingskind- a new word coined by me for Apaya use) there.

My duty is ease to forward dead man's emails either to Apaya or Devlova or safe house in between for scrutiny. By doing that all email holding companies will benefit by releasing their precious space for new comers.

I am currently doing the test run on the formula I have developed on Senior Ministers' profiles (I am duty bound not to disclose test runs to the person while they are alive) on my computer and it got stuck due to overload and may have to update the RAM and speed.

Unfortunately I am not paid any allowances even though I requested 10% on testing and another 50% on running.

If you have any suggestion please forward it to me without any delay so that I can include them on the revised version. I have decided not to make the formula public since the Central Bank of Ceylon (Now SIRI LANKA) and IMF would get bright ideas to change roles and divest their energies in Apaya Investment Limited (newly formed company by me)

Mind you there is a vacancy for-How to forward a dead woman's email post- any man or woman can apply by passing me.

Details are at Apalya Investment Limited website if it is in operation without any untoward attack by Sri-Lankan Government.

Mind you I did not tell the Apaya Web Admin that there is cloud computing on the offing thinking that they might reserve space on cloud farms for future use and we might not have anything left for a poor soul like me.

Little things



This country is going through what I called the Mega Mania Memorabilia (3M) Syndrome or the 3 M syndrome.

It reminds me of a a famous American company who markets little medical equipment and utilities including steristrips and steritapes (sterile material that could be taken from a pack and used directly (wrapped cleanly) without any fear of contamination) which I used to bring from abroad and introduce them here some years back.

One cannot find them even in a good pharmacy in this country now.

In actual fact one cannot find a sterilized dab (swab) of cotton wool leave alone a sanitary towel (sterilization can be easily accomplished by UV light) for females for a reasonable price.

This company in addition to doing small things right produce an array of stethoscopes for doctors.

I should remind you that doctors are a minority in any country but doing small things right this company makes healthy profit year round.

We can presently do the proper sterilization only in a major hospital and send the packs to the periphery in unhygienic condition and by the time they reach the user it probably needs re-sterilization.

Come this country we cannot find any good product (except coconut coir) with coconuts or rubber (it used to be Ceyesta, the combination of coconut coir and rubber that was almost number one in the world) but - fiesta should be its revival name for researching back to the roots of our inventions in the past.

We seem to be not doing small things right.

When we fell a tree 4 trees should be planted to take its place.

What we do is we fell 10,000 trees a day and plant one tree a day on a tree planting day and never look after the sapling till the next important birthday comes and then clean the same pot hole and replant another.

This is country known for looking after a Bo Tree for over 2500 years (last 100 years by putting milk on a Poya day we destroy the roots of that Bo Tree very well looked after for over2500 years) and cannot care for a sapling for one year and that is also left to school children who study for a competitive examination (to beat a fellow friend is the name of the game ) and come back on a particular day to water it, not on a daily basis like when we did these things in the yesteryear as kids.

We used to grow with the tree and that metaphor was with us in our entire life that is why I am still a naturalist and an environmentalist to the bone marrows of my thinking.

It is not like that in our children and politicians.

They are good at rhetoric!

I can go on and on but suffice is to say we have to do small things right before we do things of Mega mania.

We must stop becoming 3 Ms but look at how the 3M company come to stay and remain there ever since.

It may be one's spouse or head master or the all powerful boss at work place but the companion /worker/cohort should shed his or her fear of the boss and do little thing to make the others life happy.

Equally the all powerful boss should stop dishing out rhetoric and do at least little thing to make one's subordinate happy.

High Tech in Education

This was a comment posted on New York Times

Use of ipods in Schools (USA)

First of all big THANK YOU to New York Times for facilitating email forwarding of Links of articles.

I was trying to Forward FORGIVENESS (article) and could not to all my friends and had to send emails instead.

Now I do this direct and it is going to the far corners of the globe.

It is an example (better example than what the real diplomats are supposed to be doing and not doing it effectively) to the world at large and editors of the National papers in the third world (including Ceylon) who pamper to the whims and fancies of politicians in power who make mockery out of freedom of speech.

Coming to ipods I am trying to promote similar venture using Linux as a base (Linux has lot of educational software) but find it an uphill task since current system that dish out free outdated free school books (politically motivated) are very refractory to change and as what is stated in your article authorities neglected training of teachers.

For the past 20 years we have failed to train teachers in English (French, German too) and this is a country 30 years ago could export good trained teachers and none now.

We have to import English teachers from neighboring India.

We cannot afford ipods even in Universities and ipods in schools is out of the question in the third world.

It reminds me of the initiation of One Lap Top for Child initiative which was killed by the corporate might.

But Linux is an alternative (may not be cheap, training, OEM price and the Androids) to US and us too.

What is important is flow of information from West to the East and New York Times is doing it well.

Thank again for allowing us to share your experience and knowledge base.

You are doing a wonderful service far in excess of diplomacy that is sadly lacking both in the Easy and in the West.

May I have another suggestion, could you make available a web dictionary (American) to edit our comments (lot of mistakes there and in my old age I have lot of typos due to poor eyesight) since some of us used to UK English find it easy to become Americanized!

The point I am trying to drive at is even high tech can be cost effective if Linux is used as a vehicle of dissemination of high tech with knowledge especially in the third world.

Unfortunately administrators in education are resistant to this change and trying to use privatization as a ploy to cover up their lack of planning and foresight.

The WHO is also falling behind badly!

Internet-How to resist temptations?

Start with a little citation from Scientific American (Freedom in 2011 a opposed to 10,000 back in evolution)
Big Caveat:
More freedom does not necessarily equal more happiness.
In fact, more choices may mean more confusion, mistakes, regret, even despair.
That is the irony at the heart of Jonathan Franzen's latest novel Freedom (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2010).
I need to be brief in this essay.

If I do it as a lengthy academic or scientific exercise this piece has little currency in today's world.

Yes you have the freedom to browse but how do you set about it in the first place?

One must ask a few questions from oneself before the click happy (instead of the trigger happy old world) finger of yours takes over your senses or in this current of year 2011 your touch happy finger dictates your impulses.

Why I am browsing?
The list can be in the hundreds but one must chop it down to 3 or 4.

1. Is it for inspiration (that is my first choice)?
   
2. Is it for game (occupy the free time if you have in a constructive and enjoyable way)?
3. Is it the reflex action routine you have become a slave of?
   

Let me explain my first choice for clarity.

We are a country which is emerging from a bitter conflict of prehistoric value and still have not got rid of the ancient and vibrant hate philosophy (my creation of a concept - how hate operates and perpetuates hate into all spheres of activity and faculties) and failed to be actively engaged in this present moment of welcome freedom (all sides to the conflict are to be blamed) constructively.
So as an escape mechanism to avoid internalization of the conflict and forgive and forget philosophy to take root, I used the internet constructively to promote Linux (Live CDs mainly).
Then I scanned the statistics to see only 1% used Linux (it is less than one 1% in this country) in the year 2010.
Can this 1% have an impact in the changing world?
The answer I Leave it open for the time being and I want to raise this question again in year end.
I put my experience first.

The one 1% of Linux enthusiast contributed more than I wished for the year 2010.
And the year end I was very happy I had ample time to explore new frontiers.
This writing piece is a valid endorsement of that fact.
I am inspired in spite of the small percentage points in statistics.

So inspiration is a relative thing, the problem comes when one tries to assess it quantitatively instead of qualitative empowerment.
Even at a worse of times one can achieve the targets if the target is simple and enthusiasm is the driving force.
It is getting lengthy and I am off the target a bit but this preamble is necessary to summarize the plausible approach to resist the internet preoccupation and temptations.
One should have few questions set before you press the finger on Enter button.
The questions should be relevant in age, time, place and person.

If the browsing habit does not give correct yes or no answers to the questions, set out in first place, it is the onus of the free individual to resit the temptation and switch off the computer.
This is not easy and it has to be practiced everyday like meditation till the habit gets into the system code of one's brain.
This has to be done in early ages and in school.

I browsed somewhat restricted sites (Linux mainly and in this specialized area also there are hackers who invade your privacy and install scripts to hack your system. I detected this about 9 months ago which was a rude surprise to me and alerted the web administrators within hours and it has come back again in the New Year Year with MoonOs to haunt even innocent Linux newbies) and even a veteran can be trapped into deep waters if one is not guarding one's temptations with foresight.
I have not found a single tool in the entire web world (except the advice to parents and users) that let a child or kid would not enter into deep water.
This can be accomplished in a game like manner when one is entering the underworld of internet.
I have some devices thought about and that would work on child friendly and inspirational way.
This is not the place to write more about that but to stating firmly that it can be done without much a do if the adults are ready to take leadership in this arena.
But I should end up with a warning for adult over 55 years (let me say early retirees who are looking for part time jobs or some pre-occupations) they can be gullible target audience for insinuation and luring to porn sites.
They are waiting there for you to register at a site and with your e-account (can be used as a blackmail also, if one is married or is engaged).
Some teenagers are using the same tactics to lure children and bully them too.
If an adult get caught I have no sympathy.

You ought to have been wiser but we should not let internet destroy some of our unsuspecting kids who are using their natural instinct of exploration to expand their inner world.
I say we should actively develop mechanisms instead of dishing out only warning and advices.
Comment I copied from today's New York Times.
My writing by accident coincided by good grace!

In the course of the volume the Internet is characterized as a cesspool, a porn store, a form of pinkeye, a raunchy fraternity, a graffiti–filled bathroom wall, a haven for sociopaths, and the breeder of online mobs who are no better than “masked Klan members” in their determination to “interfere with victims’ basic rights.”

Hate Philosophy and Old Weapon of Self Destruction

There were and are waves of hate (philosophy) in this small country.

The first wave was related to the ethnic issue.

The second wave was related to the party politics.

The third wave is against the international community.

And the fourth wave is going to be the imaginary aliens, I guess.


This was a country when Atomic bomb was dropped on Japan and then late J.R.J uttered a verse in Dhammapada for record.

But when JRJ left, this country was beset with hate in all directions.

It was an irony!

Once I had the rare distinction of taking to a young Japanese gentleman who had done a lot to this country.

I asked him why he was so devoted to Sri-Lanka.
Without hesitation he said when he was a kid he could only remember the Japanese translation of the Dhammapada Verse and one day when grown up he will visit Sri-Lanka and pay his dues.

Which he did in abundance.

I told him that he should change roles and become an ambassador to which he only smiled and said one does not need to be an ambassador to do good.

That was an emphatic statement.

From that point onward when we refer to Dhammapada it was only for reference value and not for any concrete actions of compassion or empathy.

Why?

I do not know.

But I have only one theory.

When one studies only one language and specially the books dished out from the government without true educational philosophy, the Creative part of the Brain is permanently stunted and deranged.

There is no lateral or creative thinking capability.

Even the erasing of a word called Ceylon from memory is a symptom of this malady.

One cannot erase history or dictionary value of a coined word simply with rhetoric.

In time to come this country will be famous for its rhetoric with no actions.

NATO-C

The No Action Talk Only Country.

I hope in the New Year true senses should come to our body politics and restore us to ancient Eastern values.

Power and Party Politics is a Western creation to institute divide and rule philosophy.

We have become slaves of that creation and forgotten our ancient roots.

I think the presidential advisers who can read and write English should read Prof. De Bono's books on Beautiful Mind and Lateral Thinking.

For a start we should get him (Prof. De Bono) for a Guest Lecture in honour of late Laxman Kadiragarman.

He is very expensive to hire and very busy but if given the needs and proper objectives he would oblige.

I believe he was one (LK) who had the courage and the charisma to have a beautiful mind in the face of adversity.

May we remember him for that character.

We do not want Lion Foxes, and for that matter any foxes to come to this country.

Clown Fish or Clowned Politicians

What I am going to talk about is not the Nemo the clown fish who was lost in the sea.

I am going to talk about a fish I have named the clown.

It is one Gold Fish in our tank who has an erratic swimming style.

Most of the time he is OK (I am not sure whether male or female) but he seems to be in some erratic posture that I sometime think the fellow is dead or going to die.

In one occasion he was virtually dead, I decided to change the water late in the evening since with poor weather conditions the brown and black algae were growing in abundance. I had only few buckets of water (left out for chlorine to evaporate) to replace and was barely enough for the fish to swim.

Then I went to Colombo for 2 days thinking when I return clown would be dead with few others.

Presto my water change had worked they were in good condition.

Few days later the clown was dancing in erratic fashion and quickly changed water thinking the water was polluted again.

The air pump was not working.

Just today when I looked at the fellow he is still the same.

Now I am convinced this fellow has some problem with its swim bladder which helps the fish to balance with the air inside them. Come to think about the way the gold fish is built and how the fins are positioned without a swim bladder it could never float let alone swim.

I was never fascinated by Gold fish and had never kept a gold all my life and never have observed them in detail except looking at them in aquariums.

On the contrary my wife (that is why she is my wife-sometimes likes the exact thing I hate) loves gold fish but she has never kept them or studied them (fish altogether) as a kid.

The fish tank has a big partition one for her fish and one for my fish.

My ones live in absolute nature without a glass to see them and I only know that they are active when the males make bubble nests to care for eggs. That part has water plants and I rarely change water since the ecosystem is well seasoned.

My wife's part has all the gadgets some working and some not working that is where the water pollution is occurring and frequent.

Because she is not well versed with the subject the fish vendor dish out all the sick fish.

We have three with cataract (two of them are gold fish) one is the clown fish with bladder problem, the other with problem with the fins.

What alarmed me was that one fish which had the running disease (Fish Tuberculosis) and infected several others before its demise.

When I told this she had second thoughts about the fish keeping but disease or not I will not sacrifice a fish and let natural events to take control.

Worse come I make little quarantine.

The clown fish I have is due to congenital swim bladder problem.

There are many theories about erratic swimming of gold fish this one is different and unique and I begin to love this fellow for his dancing habits sometimes upside down ( like our politicians make our life upside down with economic up and down turns).

I won't give this clowned gold fish for even gold.

He keeps me amused unlike our politicians.

If you are shopping for gold fish look for a clown fish like what I have to keep you amused in the coming year.

Our politician will make us cry with another local election.

When they come this time round I will greet them with my downside up or pretend to be mad with their dry jokes.

Have I got any choice?

World Cup 2011- Who will be the Champions?

First of all let me congratulate England for winning rather retaining the Ashes down under..This should have happened long time ago when Macgreth and Warne (sorry if I got the spelling wrong Glen) left the field and credit goes to Australia also for holding on until now.

The era of Australian domination is over just like the West Indian domination in seventies. However, I cannot forget Sir Botham's contribution in mid eighties but this time it is the team work that lead to the victory and credit goes to Flower behind the scene and Strauss for workman like leadership. I knew he had all the credentials to lead a victorious team but do not be complacent the Australian team by all its worth and standard was very poor outfit.

Like Australian politics and not being able to stand up for their man of Wickileaks Australia has shown it is still under the Queen's Grip but not a Republic of People who can be proud of their history and achievements as a nation.

Coming back to World Cup, who will win?
In cricket it is hard to predict but I go for South Africa and with the shrewed leadership of Smith, they can do it.
South Africa did a good thing by appointing him as the captain when young. He has matured to be the best standing captain and with stature and amiable smile, like our smiling assassin Muththiah come World Cup he should (without injuries of course) be able stand to the rigours of one day cricket and raise the World Cup.
Their only weakness is spin (slow) balling department in both facing the spin ballers and using spinners to compliment the army of pacies they have.
The wickets and weather are going to be their spoiler enemies and Smith should be able to smell the weather as well as dirty politics well in advance of the World Cup.
Please do not be corrupt like Gilchrist and play the game by the spirit of the game.
Unlike football (it is a corrupt game, anyway) in South Africa they are not under pressure and when one is not under pressure one achieves better results.

Good Luck Southies!.

Mind you umpires can be spoilers especially Australian and English!

Now why I did not fancy any of the South East countries.
In this part of the world the cricket is corrupt like politics. Good example is Sri-Lanka and my gut feeling is that they will not even pass the Round Robin Stage (unless they use some undercover political maneuvering).

India got the Mega Star image like Indian celluloid's and Pakistan is still struggling to emerge from Military to civilian life with terrorist holding the country transom and unfortunately religion has become a curse to neighboring countries (it is so in Sri-Lanka too, it does not matter in what form it comes with monks in the parliament doing sweet nothing).

To the players I have one warning.
Cricket is stronger than a religion in this part of the world.
Do not play dirty or politics with the game.
Win or lose enjoy the sunshine and the game.
Good workman like players we will remember to our twilight years.

What matters is the game not the individuals and one should be able to say "I did it my way" and "it worked" and a smile for the waiting cameras.

If you play by the rules we will be with you when you are under the weather and the press.

One example would suffice.
When Shrawag was denied a century, a few of us were behind you.
You have a point to prove and when you play against Sri-Lanka but do not make it spoil your excellent performance.
You can be the " player of the series" if you have a simple game plan and play one ball at time.
Your balling will be a secret weapon and practice that too to win.