That Bloke In The Big Smoke

As I type this at least four neighbourhoods have faced fires today, to go with the fire in Brixton last night and the fires in Tottenham on Friday night. Is this the city that's going to host the Olympics this time next year?

WORLD:
The death of climate legislation [5 Oct]
US midterms set to be most expensive [4 Oct]
Commonwealth Games: are opening ceremonies worth it? [4 Oct]
Park51 drawings prove how far 'Ground Zero mosque' claims are from truth [3 Oct]
Over 100,000 Irish workers expected to leave country before 2012 [30 Sep]

TEA PARTY:
How the Tea Party movement began [5 Oct]
Tea Party activists invoke spirit of 1773 [5 Oct]
Profile: the main Tea Party groups [4 Oct]
The Tea Party: five to watch [4 Oct]

UK:
Liverpool board agree sale to Boston Red Sox owners [6 Oct]
Ken Clarke to unveil plans for prisoners to work 40-hour week [5 Oct]
How benefit cuts could affect you [5 Oct]
Can Britain ever be a fair society? [3 Oct]
Britons robbed of £1.7bn in last five years while on holidays abroad [3 Oct]
Could Dundee be the new Bilbao? [3 Oct]
Ed Miliband gets lukewarm welcome from north of England Jews [30 Sep]

MISC:
Are guidebooks facing extinction? [3 Oct]
Are the best pictures on Facebook or Flickr? [3 Oct]
Twitter and Facebook cannot change the real world, says Malcolm Gladwell [3 Oct]

IRONY:
Martin McGuinness condemns Real IRA's Derry bomb [5 Oct]

Exactly two years to go. Will you be there?

Earlier today, I followed the parade to Trafalgar Square. Some of you have probably seen the images, read about it on the Beeb and perhaps even watched the proceedings on the tele. Unfortunately, my digicam wasn't working so I was forced to use my crap mobile phone camera instead. I need to remember never to use its zoom feature. Surprisingly, quite a few pictures turned out half-decent. The procession itself was quite good. There wasn't as much noise along the route as I expected; I later realized the rowdier gang had congregated in Trafalgar Square. Several volunteers handed out the blue foam hands (see pics below) and VISA sponsored Union Jacks. I picked one up for good measure. I was surprised how close we could get to the athletes, but I suppose that was to be expected given the narrowness of Fleet Street and The Strand. The parade was really easy-going. At one point the juggernaut stopped for about 5 or 6 minutes, giving people an opportunity to chat with the athletes, take photos, get autographs signed etc. One member of the crowd even handed over their mobile phone to one of the athletes so that I presume, they could be congratulated by someone who couldn't make it today! At another point an athlete jumped off his float and hugged someone he recognized in the crowd. It was all rather jovial and a lovely way to pass time between lectures. The stage is set for 2012, so here's to TEAM GB! CONGRATULATIONS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!! Time to bring Ping Pong home!

( More Parade Pictures )

An interesting article from The Economic Times. Chinese demand for raw materials has collapsed, dramatically affecting global sea traffic.

Abhinav Bindra made Indian Olympic history by winning the Men's 10 metre air rifle event with a score of 700.5!!! JAI HIND!!! This is the moment we've all been waiting for! A silver in the Double Trap in Athens four years ago and now this. COME ON YOU INDIANS!!

Nicole Cook becomes the first Welsh person to win an Olympic event since Richard Meade in 1972, by winning the Mass Start Roadrace.

[Poll #1236748]

Postcolonial blues, social immobility, ill health, poverty: potential culprits for India's lack of athletic prowess are legion.
Randeep Ramesh in Delhi reports for The Guardian.

The only gold medal India has won at the Olympics is in the Men's Field Hockey competition. Our historical record in that sport is stellar. We've won more gold medals than any other country, eight in total, including six consecutive golds between 1928 (first appearance) and 1956. Until losing one-nil to Pakistan in the final of the 1960 Olympics, we had been unbeaten in all Olympic matches. Nevertheless, India re-captured the gold in 1964 from Pakistan in another hotly-contested final by a single goal margin. India then went sixteen years without winning the Olympics or even making the final. In 1976 at Montreal, India even failed to win a single medal. The lack of infrastructural investment due to the change of surface (grass to artificial turf) was clearly taking shape and a toll on India's success on the international stage. In 1980, India returned to winning ways, though most will point out that it was achieved amidst a depleted field following the boycott of the Moscow Olympics. That was the last time India won the gold in hockey. We haven't even managed to win a silver or bronze since then. And to cap it all off, this year, for the first time in its illustrious history since joining the competition in 1928, India has not even qualified for the hockey competition at Beijing. That in summary is the pathetic and demoralising tale of the state of Indian Olympic sport. Legends such as Dhyan Chand (whose wizardry supposedly impressed even Adolf Hitler) must be turning in their grave...

You don't say... heh.

"Muscat, where demonstrations are rare..." :)