AFL Grand Final Day - 2021 Premiership season + history

After a fairly long gap of three years, I am compelled to compose a writeup about the game that stops a nation (ie. the Australian Football League or "footy" as it is known in the non-rugby States of Australia). We have been experiencing extraordinary times across the world over the last 1.5 years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are facing restrictions and regulations, borders are closed. However, in this phase of doom and gloom, sport has been the glue that has held the country in place. Our footy stars have given us hope and belief that despite whatever is going on, we can be uplifted in these bleak times.

Over the last few years, we have witnessed dynasties rise and fall. In 2018, West Coast Eagles became crowned as the new premiers ('kings of the big game') against all odds. 2019 and 2020 saw Richmond keep their machine going (initially won in 2017. This was a remarkable effort to win three flags ('premierships') in the space of four years.

This season has seen Richmond fall off the cliff... perhaps momentarily. The last team to win three back-to-back premierships were the Brisbane Lions with the legendary coaching of Leigh Matthews across 2001/2002/2003.

Today's memorable AFL Grand Final, which will be played in Perth (kickoff time 5.15pm local time) will be Melbourne Demons vs Western Bulldogs. The Grand Final usually gets played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground every year but due to the Covid-19 situation last year it was played in Brisbane and this year a decision was taken that it be played in Perth. The football mad public in Western Australia will get a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their passion.

Premiership History

Going in to today's Grand Final, Melbourne Demons have the longest wait for a Premiership. The last time they won was in 1964 (a record 12th time) - so effectively there has been a 57 year gap. Putting this into perspective, Sydney (formerly known as South Melbourne) waited 72 years, St Kilda waited 68 years and Western Bulldogs (formerly known as Footscray) waited 62 years - but all these teams achieved the ultimate prize, winning a premiership.

You can read further details about this history here History of AFL Premiership Droughts

Another piece of factual history about the Melbourne Demons is referred to as the Curse of Norm Smith, a legend of the football club. Had an impressive record of four premierships as a player and six as coach. Comparisons can be drawn to the modern day master coach Alistair Clarkson, who coached Hawthorn Hawks to successful premierships in 2008/2013/2014/2015 (four in total). We have to remember that this was the era of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the period before the AFL was formed. He seemed to have been a polarising figure within the administration of the football club but loved and respected by the fans and players. After he was unceremoniously sacked as the Head Coach of Melbourne Demons in the 1960's, ironically during the most successful era of the club, he uttered some infamous words (mainly targeted at the administrators, riven by instability at that stage):

It will be a long, long time before Melbourne wins another premiership

- Norm Smith, December 1967

He appeared on a television show (Tony Charlton's Football Show on Channel Nine) to reveal what he felt about the decision. I am sharing the story and archival video clip if you are interested to find out more about this story (The "Curse of Norm Smith")

Another legendary figure in Victoria is John Kennedy Senior (coached Hawthorn Hawks and North Melbourne Kangaroos) who inspired his Hawthorn players at half-time in the 1975 Grand Final with his oratory. His famous words were "Don't Think Just Do". Sharing an archival video clip here

 

The last time that the Western Bulldogs won a premiership was in 1954 coached by Ted Whitten, yet another legendary figure in Victoria. They created history by winning the 2016 premiership from seventh position in the AFL ladder, which had not been done before in history. This elevated their coach Luke Beveridge to legend status at their club overnight.

The Melbourne Demons have come a long way during this time as well. The last time they played in a Grand Final was in 2000 (Essendon ultimately prevailing by 60 points). There has been a long wait, hurt and pain. Jim Stynes and Paul Roos starting turning their wheels of fortune which has given them the groundwork and platform to succeed. Simon Goodwin (former premiership player at Adelaide Crows in 1997 & 1998) is their current coach - he could become a hero depending on today's result.

 Outcome

I feel that today's AFL Grand Final will be a close one. They have been the two best teams over the season. Max Gawn and Luke Jackson vs Aaron Naughton and Steffan Martin (ruck), Bailey Smith vs Christian Petracca (midfield), Lachie Hunter vs Jake Lever (defence). The list can go on... dynasties rise and fall, especially in the AFL, very few teams win consecutive (as referred to in my historical analysis). But wishing that Melbourne can break their long curse and become the new 2021 Premiers!

I am backing Melbourne to go all the way in today's match, hopeful that the curse of Norm Smith can be overturned. There is another factor of why I am backing them. Two of their players (Luke Jackson and Trent Rivers) started their footy journey from Bullcreek-Leeming Junior Football Club, the same suburb that I live in. Attaching a news article about this here.

Joga Bonito ("The Beatiful Game") - 2018 Football World Cup

After a gap of two years, I have returned to my world of blogging...

I am suffering a serious case of "footballitis" after a gap of four years. It has been a long journey, Sepp Blatter was removed, we have a new FIFA President in the form of Gianni Infantino who has been trying to restore the trust back in FIFA as a competent organisation. There has been a lot of debate about how the hosts of the 2018 World Cup (Russia) and 2022 (Qatar) secured their bids and their human rights record, democracy in their nations. England at one point were preparing to host the 2018 World Cup as there was speculation Russia could be removed. This year's World Cup is going to be one with the most ethical/moral questions - how do we reconcile the fact that there will be a tournament in a country where the President has engaged in nefarious activities at home and around the world (assassinating political appointments, lack of internal democracy, lack of human rights) ?

Despite all that has been going on in the last few years with FIFA, in my opinion Gianni Infantino has brought a breath of fresh air in regards to FIFA Administration (although in the early days, suggestions were made that because Infantino is from Switzerland that Blatter was the 'power behind the throne', however he has come into his own and been doing well). For World Cup fans, I was tracking the progress for the 2026 bids and am happy to announce here that the joint United States-Mexico-Canada bid has been successful (see Mr Trump, you can actually work together with your neighbouring allies rather than writing angry tweets!). USA-Can-Mex was competing with a bid from Morrocco. I am also quite excited with the decision of FIFA to expand the number of participating nations from the current 32 nations to 48 nations! Football is expanding while cricket seems to be contracting - it is truly "joga bonito" (the beautiful game).

Anyone keen to read more about this week's announcement:

1) https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/news/y=2017/m=1/news=fifa-council-unanimously-decides-on-expansion-of-the-fifa-world-cuptm--2863100.html

2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup

3) https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44464913

4) https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44388118 (interesting graphics produced by BBC Sport)

5) https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/voting-results-for-the-2026-fifa-world-cup.pdf?cloudid=vpnl19m2xr8zk50mnor3 (document with voting results for each FIFA member nation)

6) https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/associations/index.html (for those interested to know, here is the latest world rankings)

I am back.... Blog 2.0

After a long gap of three years, I am returning to publishing my personal thoughts from time to time. It has been a rather busy three years. In this time I have acquired a postgraduate degree and developed somewhat stability in my personal life and career. I have also witnessed the Coalition Government nearly losing power in the Federal election after just one term.

There are many things that I would like to talk about and express my opinion about. This includes:

• Book reviews
• Film reviews
• Political satire
• International issues
• Sporting arena
• History

Upcoming New Material

A lot has been happening everywhere around the world - be it India, The Middle East, America or Australia - mainly in the political arena.

I have revived my blog with a 'new look' and here is just a quick summary of the things I will be writing about and personally analysing:

• The current state of national politics in Australia
• Tony Abbott and the Malcolm Turnball factor: Conservatives Beware
• Rudd vs Gillard
• The death of the ideal of Centre-Leftism in Australian politics
• The modern Australian Labour Party: Past its use-by-date and in need of a serious refresh?
• The Gillard leadership journey
• The problems with being a "moderate conservative": Greg Hunt, Malcolm Turnbull, Judi Moylan, Petro Georgiou
• Post-2014 India: Hypothetical scenarios
• Is Obama Left or Right?: An analysis of recent events (US Intelligence scandal)
• The malaise surrounding the Australian cricket team
• Indian Premier League: blessing or curse?

Long Absence from posting

I just realised that the last post that I wrote was in December 2011.....

Lots of things have occurred and are occurring since then which are worth writing about....

Watch this space for more updates....

ICC Cricket World Cup

It's early February and I can't wait until the Cricket World Cup begins. I am looking forward to the late night matches because the timezone of the subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh) is suitable as the host nations are only a few hours behind Australian time.

History will be created (Can Australia win a fourth consecutive cup?), legacies will be created (Can Muralitharan inspire his Sri Lankan teammates to win the tournament as a fitting swansong to a player of such high-calibre?). Here's a list of teams that I reckon can challenge for a World Cup:

1. Australia (The national selectors have made some bizarre and astonishing decisions as of late, however, the whole nation will shut up if the team flies back in the plane with a trophy. Barring injury and form - Mitchell Johnson on a bad day - and apart from ageing players (i.e. Ponting, Haddin etc. should be a strong chance to win the tournament.)

2. England (Will be a little cocky after defeating Australia for the first time in 24 years in an Ashes series away from home, however, will be brought down to Earth again on subcontinental pitches and quality spinners.)

3. India (One of the host nations. In reasonably good form after straight series wins against Bangladesh and New Zealand on home soil. Will be looking forward to playing up home ground advantages after a tough tour of South Africa. The cup is overflowing with potential new-generation of stars like Subramanium Badrinath, Robin Uthapa, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Piyush Chawla, so the future looks bright.)

4. Sri Lanka (Another host nation. With a few of the older guard retiring or close to calling it a day, a good blend of experience and relative youth. Old wise heads such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan mixed in the youth of talent up-and-coming stars such as Angelo Matthews - enjoyed watching him in the IPL - Upul Tharanga and Suraj Randiv looks a good team. With the departure from the scene of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, the next bunch of cricketers seem ready to seamlessly slot in with players like Malinga Bandara and the already established Lasith Malinga.)

5. South Africa (Graeme Smith has grown into the captaincy role in the last 5 years. The Proteas will be out to show that they are not the same team as the "chokers" of 1999 - the historic tied semi-final with Australia. Lots of talented youngsters, regardless of colour, such as Wayne Parnell, the Morkel brothers - Albertus (Albie) & Morne, Colin Miller, David Ingram. With Hashim Amla firmed up at number 3, they will be formidable opponents. The slow bowling department looks good as there is a mix of experience - Johan Botha and Paul Harris - and youth - Imran Tahir (leg spinner who idolises Shane Warne. Moved to South Africa from Pakistan for love and stayed on.)

Here's a list of teams outside the "expected" top teams who could give a serious competition.

Pakistan (Yes, unfortunately. When they have got their heads together and focus on the cricket field, these guys can be a treat to watch. With firepower fast bowling, reasonably good spinners and good alround options - such as Shahid Afridi - they will be competitive. However, time and time again they seem to be affected by internal politics - with players feigning "injury" because they do no want to play under a certain player who is captain. The nation's Cricket Board is also not a saint as they interfere with team selections. As I say, it's a big mess but if they can get their mind straight the ultimate gift they can give to their people is the simple joy of winning a World Cup again. If that happens, then at least this time they will let the players through the main airport!)

Bangladesh (Probably got Test status a little too early, but have proven their worth over a long period of time. They have to show that beating Australia in Lords and India in a previous World Cup (2003) game was not a fluke. Have plenty of home ground advantage and a plethora of slow-bowling options - Shakib Al-Hasan, Abdur Rehman etc. Will give the top nations a good run for their money.)

Afghanistan (Watched a video recently on the Cricinfo website about their rise. Truly inspirational stuff. I would rate them as a dark horse in the tournament, but I would be keen to watch their progress. In a nation sick and tired of civil wars and instability, their people will be proud with an honourable exit. I think there is enough talent for them to proceed to the second-round.)

New material

I was going through my blog right now and noticed that I had not published anything since October 2009 (which is almost one year now!). I guess during the year I have been a little bit occupied with trying to establish myself professionally. A lot has being happening internationally, locally and domestically over the past year. The experience of blogging has been quite pleasant and I hope to get back into it again soon when I get some more time on my hands.

There is a lot of material to update my blog followers on, such as:

• Palestine/Israel situation
• The Australian Federal Election
• Climate Change and Sustainability
• Another possible episode of "Smirkman", "Mr Ambitious" and "Big Ears"
• Satirical updates of news and current affairs from throughout the world
• and much much more ....

So readers, do not despair, material is there. Watch this space....

Australia gets shellacking

There is currently some debate going on in the public arena in regards to the relevance of 50 overs a side cricket. In my view, the purest forms of cricket are 50-50 and Test cricket, the genuine gentleman's game.

I did watch the IPL and the ICL on televison and kept in touch through the wonders of the internet. My honest opinion is that there is a lot of money flowing around in international cricket (and the BCCI for that matter) right now. The administrators have got some screws loose in their heads, because there is simply too much cricket going on. There is no need for extravaganza of any sort, be it IPL or ICL. It is sad for a traditionalist like myself to see a great game like cricket being diluted to 20-20 "hit and giggle" cricket. Cricket does not need to be Americanised, with the skimpy cheerleaders after every boundary and the shortened number of over per side. There was even talk of Bangladesh playing "night-time" Tests against England with a pink ball. Unbelievable I think! Just keep cricket the way it is and don't change it - that is my view. Are you listening David Morgan, Sharad Pawar and your board members?

I know most people who are modern in their thinking would have a different viewpoint to me. Most people these days are looking for novelties and 20-20 cricket appeals to them. This is basically a bold gimmick to capture the unconquered North American and European markets. There will be issues emerging in the future (and there have been a few instances recently) where players have to decide what comes first - National team duties or Club allegiances? With million dollar contracts, playing for your country of origin will diminish and people will just be in it for the money. Already people have been questioning themself along the lines of "why should I play for my local club & country if I can earn $5 million in 3 years playing in the IPL".

In this context, going back to the main point of this post, is the fact that a rivetting 7-ODI series is being played between India and Australia. Australia looked like thrashing India in the !st ODI, but India came back strongly (the tail wagged) and Harbajan "The Turbanator" Singh (with 49) and Praveen "Precision" Kumar (with 40) threatened to win the game for India. It was some feisty batting from the two - Harbajan irritating the Aussies, yet again, with his mighty effort! If only Ashish Nehra had given the strike to Praveen Kumar and Kumar had gone for it...

Anyways, the 'Boys in Blue' (Team India) came back very strongly and posted a more than competitive score (7-354) with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (124 off 107), Gautam Gambhir (76 off 80) and Suresh Raina (62 off 50). They followed this with an inspired fielding display (an Achilles heel for Indian teams in the past) and took wickets at regular intervals, highlighted by the fact that Mike Hussey was the top scorer in the Aussie innings with 53 off 60 balls.

The moral of the story: 50 overs cricket is alive and kicking! To the doubters, I say that this mega-series between India and Australia will prove to be the reason of kickstarting the stumbling car engine (which is the common perception) of 50 overs cricket worldwide. It's competitive, thrilling and down to the wire. You can't ask for anything better than it!

It will be an intriguing series to follow. I would be a bit suprised if the doubters are still loudly exclaiming the virtues of 20-20 cricket after the current series is completed.

Do I need more any more evidence to get the message through to you?

Next piece of work

I will be attempting, over the next few months, to revive an old plot of mine that has been sitting inside my Creative Work file for over 2 years and has been gathering some dust. The working name is "Diamond Harbour", may change this later.

I was inspired to write this story after watching Sarkar & Company, two Bollywood movies. I am not going to give much away, but Chotti might be pleased to note that I will be trying to create a sense of deeper narrative and better characterisation and plot and setting in this one.

Main theme: thriller/action/drama
Issues raised: illicit gold smuggling, drug trafficking, unethical business practices, hundi and hawala network, Australian undergound mafia, Indian underground mafia, influence of trade unions at Haldia Port, political fallout of scandals, corrupt politicians, administrators and police offiicials of West Bengal, Indian government's relationship with Australia, Australia's handling of the India friendship.

Main characters: Ajay Khanna (Head, Marketing, Khanna International Exports Pty. Ltd.), Nikhil Bannerjee (CPM-corrupt Chief Minister, West Bengal), Dev Singh (Khanna's associate in Mumbai underworld), Sunder Lal Khanna (Ajay's father, former Maharashtra CM), Rahul Khanna (Ajay's younger brother, looks after South East Asia section), Atul Khanna (Ajay's older brother, looks after European operations; resentful of Ajay's power base), Mohan Lal Khanna (Sunder Lal's older brother, looks after North American operations; main operative in the North American hundi & hawala market; plots against his brother and nephew), Baburam Rao Shirodkar (INC-corrupt Industry Minister of national government, associate of Ajay's father), Ramesh Khanna (Ajay's son; rises to take control of the family company after the fall from grace of his father)

This is just a sneak preview of what is coming.
Any thoughts at this initial stage???

AFL finals series 2009

I can't wait for next weekend to come quicker. This 2009 season the AFL finals series are going to be massive. Yes, unfortunately, the West Coast Eagles or Fremantle Dockers did not finish in the top eight teams of the ladder. Both teams proved the Eastern States "tanking" critics wrong. AFL is Australia's national game and I have grown to respect since my childhood days - yes I am indeed an unabashed fan of the game. I absolutely love it to bits and know many of the players' names, coaches and assistant coaches (and which coach was employed by which club in the past). This season I would say the top four teams, judging from this weekend's performances, in numerical order are:

1. St Kilda
2. Geelong
3. Bulldogs
4. Magpies

I was also pleased that in the last "tipping" round of the regular season I recieved 7 correct tips. Either of the top four could be playing in a premiership final because they are the trendsetters for 2009. It is going to be a rivetting finals series..... hope St Kilda run out as premiers this year though, they are the best team out of 16 for this season and they have some young stars - Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montaghna, Stephen Milne, Adam Schneider... to name just a few...

2009 coming to a close very quickly

Things are getting quite interesting...... my load at work is getting a bit heavier, with even more responsibility and generally, am not getting much time to spare for myself. nonetheless, i endeavour to do as many things possible each day. compromises and sacrifices have to be done at times - no reading, no watching television, no watching hindi movies. however, this is all "short term pain for long term gain"....... i am really satisfied with the way life is going on at the moment.. and i keep on asking myself "what is the best use of my time right now'. i am keeping my procrastination in check by writing a plan every day for the whole day as soon as I get up from sleep. I am pleased with the effective way that I am working.... can only ensure that I keep it up....

On another note its a little to contemplate that 2009 is coming to an end so quickly. Lots of local and international events took place this year. Let us hope that 2010 brings up more joy and the economic cycle now makes an upward shifts and we get out of this rut, which is the Global Financial Crisis.

News flash

Greetings. I noticed I had been absent on my blog since around about May, so I thought I would update it. Lots of events have transpired in the last three months, including:

• Peter "The Smirking Devil" Costello finally announced he will be not be seeking re-election at the next Federal Election. However, don't hold your breath because he may do a "Colin Barnett" pretty close to Mr. Rudd anouncing the date of the next election. That's right folks, "I will serve in the best interests of my party, if they wish me to" and little Peter would probably want to be elected "unopposed". Keep following this line of stories. The marathan has begun and the factional warriors within the Liberal Party are stockpiling their samurai swords.
• The matter of the "fake email" Ozcar controversy was finally revealed. Mr Godwin Grech is in fact, not an earthly being, yes that's right he is from planet Zirgon, which Tony Abbott used to live in when he was a teenage kid, and I think Wilson "Mad Uncle" Tuckey also frequently visits from time to time. On a more positive note, at least Senator Eric "Sincere" Abbetz actually apologised for the whole circus show. Malcolm "It is not my fault" Turnbull seems seriously out of depth and already some scheming is going on behind his back in terms of who a better leader could be. Senator Nick "Ambrosi the Laughing Assassin" Minchin is a snake and puppeteer, Andrew "Backstabber" Robb is far from a "pair of safe hands", he is a factional warlord, aligned with Ambrosi; Joe "Obese" Hockey, keep dreaming; Tony "Elephant Ears" Abbott, I think the only person who likes you is yourself; Julie "Wikipedia" Bishop has to go as she has the worst poll internal poll ratings apart from Malcom "Malicious" Turnbull; Christopher "Nasal Voice" Pyne is not leadership material. I think the best chance at the next Federal election would be to bring back John Hewson, Andrew Peacock, or even someone like Malcom Fraser.
• This whole trivial debate on climate change is turning into a bloody circus. The Greens, whose committed votebank consists of trees, living animals, oceans and mountains, are doing a great deal of harm to their own constituency by not supporting a commitment for action on climate change. Ironically, the Liberal party is the one accussing the ALP of "putting an unecessary tax burden on the people of Australia" and "ensuring that the next generation of Australians remain unemployed". The ALP, on the other hand is ensuring that "it wants to work with business" to ensure its proposed Carbon Emissions system works in harmony with business interests and keeps people in jobs. Unthinkable, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating must be having sleepless nights. The Opposition is still divided over this issue, some saying that there are four seasons in the year (summer, winter, autumn and spring) while some argue that"the climate change argument is put forward by mad scientists". They want to wait until November and see whether or not Turnbull makes a blunder before stabbing him in the back like Julius Caesar. There are many Brutus's around Turnbull (the two prominent ones are Minchin and Robb).
• The coverage of attacks on Indian students in Australia by the Indian media is nothing short of sabre-rattling. Headlines such as "Australia is a racist country" is alarming. Whatever happened to "impartial journalism" ? Seems to have been thrown out the window! There are a number of issues causing this situation: lack of regulation of the international student market, track record of supposed "education colleges" etc.. Australia is a peaceful nation, there is just a minority of "thugs" who are the remnants of Australian nationalism from the "White Australia" policy of the early 1970's.
• "I can confirm that Mohammed Nordin Top is dead" .................... or not. With modern technology you can expect it to pinpoint who the bad guys are. Not in the case of the Indonesian police who had to back down from the claim that South East Asia's most wanted Islamic terrorist had been killed in a police shootout.
• In a surprising development, Bill Clinton, the former US President, flew to Pyongyang, North Korea to secure the release of two young Korean-Americans. Unfortunately, he performed this delicate mission with his "pants on" this time.
• The military junta of Burma/Myanmar has sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi, the rightful Prime Minister, to a further 18 months house arrest over a rather bizarre incident in which an American man named John Yettaw, 43 "swam across the river to get into the resident of Suu Kyi". Why is there even a trial proceeding against her? Did she compromise the national security of Burma by letting in to her place a man who wanted to talk to her? I think it was merely a poltical case designed to keep her imprisoned so that she cannot stand for elections in next year's "shame elections" which will ensure the military maintains its tight grip on power. It would be great public relations to send William "Mad Uncle" Tuckey to take stock of the whole situation and give his piece of mind about the military clique ruling the country and then maybe he could be imprisoned for life, never to return to Australia. In his heart of hearts, Malcom "Malicious" Turnbull would be delighted with that prospect.
• Sarah Palin is eyeing the Presidential race for 2012. During her brief hiatus in the public arena, various Facebook groups such as "I have more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin" started to be established, revealing the real face and character of Sarah "I'm just a hockey mum" Palin. She should quit the race now, as she is a proven stumbler at momenous ocassions and has produced some golden moments such as "When I get up in the morning, I open my window and what do I see? Russians throwing stones at me!". She should give up trying to be a Presidential candidate and become an Ambassador to Antartica, or even Ambassader to Planet Mars. Just thought of something better, Ambassador to the Bermuda Triangle - yep, that's right, because then no trace of her will ever be found (cause of death: vanished without a trace). Then that will add to whole debate about climate change. The sceptics will be converted.
• Kim Jong "Very Ill" Ill is reportedly planning to handover the leadership of North Korea to youngest son, Kim Jong Nam, 26. With daddy keeping an eye on him, the poor guy will have his work cut out for him: no nightclubbing, no listening to American music or chasing American women, no drinking alcohol. We have witnessed or are witnessing the changing hands of regional despots, such as Fidel Castro to brother Raul Castro in Cuba, Muammar Gaddafi to his son Mohammed in Libya and Hosni Mubarak to son Gamal Mubarak in Egypt. Egypt is an amusing case, because the voting public is spoilt for choice between two very good candidates. That's right: Gamal Mubarak v Gamal Mubarak. He is ensured to have 100% success at the elections. Brings whole new meaning to the phrase "following in the fathers' footsteps".
• China's political leadership needs to promote the younger generation. We have Who? and When? serving in the current positions of Chairman of the Communist Party and Premier, respectively. How about a few more others such as: How? Why? Where? What? That would be great, because then all the most important questions of this century would be answered.
• Pakistan has admitted that millitants from their territory have been launching attacks on India. Living the good life in the tribal areas of Pakistan, they are amused by the American drone attacks. "They killed Osama number 2 yesterday in Tora Bora, but I am alive and kicking. We are gonna party the night off with our ISI brethren tonight", said Osama bin Laden, reportedly from the back of the residence of retired General Pervez Musharaf's mansion in New York.

That's the latest round of local and international news. Till next time, I bid you farewell. You can read more of the latest news headlines in my next blog post.

India Decides 2009!

I had originally planned to do a State-by-State analysis of the just recently completed Indian Lokh Sabha elections, however due to many reasons I could not get around to doing that. The next few articles will surprise (and shock) many people in my extended pro-Communist West Bengali family and may cause a little controversy, however, I do not apologise for airing what I feel are valid viewpoints and would rather be welcoming of some healthy debate.

Watch this space for updates.

Holiday update

I am currently on my semester holidays for 1 month.. in USA/Canada... I came up with a new poem I have been working on since yesterday. Here it is:

Rise and Fall

Many a great empire time immaterial arose,
Others the witness to destruction,
Conquerors demonstrated their power to impose.

Many a conqueror succeeded with military might,
They put on display their sheer power,
Emerging victorious fight after fight,
Opponents alike could only do as much as cower.

There were many great conquerors – Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great,
Who ruled vast empires and knew only how to kill and enslave,
But consigned to history was their fate,
As power to their head went and hence did not know how to behave.

All great civilisations rise and fall,
Mughals, British, Incans and Dutch to name just a few,
But how many of these do future generations recall?
Imperative it is on us to give the empires their due.

Compose on: 7 July 2008
By: Paulash Jishnu Proteek Chatterjee

Your time is up, Mr President!

Robert Gabriel Mugabe - you are requested to please resign and hand yourself over to the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal. Honestly, I cannot understand why he won't give up. I read all about him and what his actions with ZANU and the "bushmen's war" during the 1980's. He is from the Shona tribe (which I did not know) and he himself massacred (or passed on orders to massacre) the opposition tribe of Ndebele. He is a criminal, dictator, everything you can possibly think of under the sun.

In the 1980's, he raised a milita unit with his loyal and blind supporters in Zimbabwe and named it "Gukhurakundi". Then, interesting, he signed a treaty with Kim Il Sung (former Supreme Leader of North Korea) to provide arms and training to them. When this militia was ready and prepared for the mission, he unleased them on the rural heart of Zimbabwe to "finish off" (or attempt to) people from the Ndebele tribes. This is nothing short of being a despot.

Mr Mugabe, please, please, please see the writing on the wall. Although you think that all of your party members still love you, I think that the majority of them don't love you anymore (but are still saying that they do love you, because they are scared of being eliminated by you or indirectly by your Central Intelligence Organisation).

You need a holiday to the Hague, courtesy of your plane ticket being paid for the United Nations. You've been leader for 28 years now, and I think that you should just hand over the baton to Movement for Democratic Change Leader Morgan Tsvangarai. You can take Thabo Mbeki with you as well, he is not doing anything at the moment as well - I think he would enjoy having a holiday as well.

FOR GODSAKE, JUST ACCEPT THAT YOU LOST THE ELECTION, WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT IT?

Though it has yet to be proven, Tsvangarai, I am confident will lead a Government of National Reconcilliation.

Republic or no Republic? - That is the question!

Look, I am not disrespecting our "British sovereign Queen" here, but seriously, we as a society need to move on. Okay, wonderful, the British were the ones who settled Australia and built it into a Federation (they claim). However, we should also realise that the world is more like a global village now and the "British empire" ceases to exist since a long time ago.

Yes, I am advocating Australia to move towards being a Republic. Well, okay, I agree that a large number of people are not as enlightened as me - they tend to be of the opinion of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" or "Change just for the sake of change, is no change". But come on people, we have an opportunity to define ourselves as being "Australian" and yet, you want to cling on to the idea that you are in some way or another ruled by "Britannia". Come on, go and get a reality check!

I can passionately argue on this issue - I think the general Australian public are so laid-back and casual that they don't actually realise what it means to be a Republic. If they attempted to delve deeper, then their apprehension would be taken away. For a number of reasons, in my opinion, Australia should move towards a Republic:

1) We have an strong free-market economy to see us into the near future (we do not rely on funds from the "British motherland"

2) Our judiciary, since 1984 and the passing of the Australia Act, does not refer any more matters to the Privy Council. In other words, the "law of the land" is made in Australia, not Britain.

3) We have our own Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) that serves us well and works to defend our country. It is patriotic and it defines "Australian-ness".

4) We are entering the 21st century and there is no need to be linked to an "archaic" empire that ceased to exist a century ago. We need to embrace and cultivate a new definition for ourselves.

Now the reasons are there, but which model we will follow, that I have to think about. There are a few ideas going around:

• The Indian model: This is where the "President" is appointed by Members of Parliament (with at least a two-thirds majority in both houses).
• The American model: Where the "President" is appointed by the general population, vian an "electoral college" system for fixed 4 year terms. (a max. of two).

In my opinion, I would like to see Australia become a Republic (first and foremost) and a model adopted whereby a "President" is directly appointed by the people. Whether or not, we give the President executive powers (to dismiss parliament etc..) or not - that is an issue we can deal with later down the track.

COME ON AUSTRALIA, LET US MOVE WITH THE TIMES! ALL AUSTRALIANS RISE UP!

A rather stimulating weekend!

As the title indicates, I experienced a rather stimulating weekend. As I was typing up this assignment I had to complete, I was "Wikipedia"-ing in another window. In the span of 2-3 hours, I had expanded my knowledge base about the world and political history. I read about who the ZANU-PF actually are; I read about the Afghanistan and the situation in the country through the 1980's and 90's - and in doing so, began to come full circle and understand who was supplying traning and arms to who etc... ; I read about who the main players were in the Afghan civil war from about 1989-1992: Burhanuddin Rabbani, Gulbudin Hekmatyr, Shanawaz Tanai, Dr. Najibullah, Ahmed Shah Masood, General Rashid Dostum, Mohammed Fahim - to name a few of them; I read about what "actual operations" were undertaken during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. It was very worthwhile and fulfulling (to me at least!)

No time to read books! :'(

Leading on from the last post.... it is quite a ridiculous state of affairs.... when I cannot find the time to read books.... some of you know that since I was a kid... I have loved devouring books... The only time that I relish reading.. is when I get a long break.. summer holidays - I read pretty quickly.... 200 pages in a day.. sometimes I finish thick books in 2 weeks only! My mum, on the other hand takes forever to read a single page.... a 200 page book... she struggles to even read that much.... it takes her a month or so to get through it... having said all that.. each person to their own I guess.. as the saying goes! Although, I was able to read about 10-20 pages of a book titled "La Prisonnaire" by Malika Oufkir (this book is about the Moroccan royal family and post-colonial politics and political prisoners - which appeals to me!)

I always believe that you should read any genre that interests you. For kids doing English in High School, you have to read a "specified genre"... I didn't like to told what to read.. By reading whatever books they want, children learn new words/terminology which allows them to express themselves better.

I didn't intend to make this post meaningful about life, but as you can see as a result of my reading, I can always express myself in an elequent way.

Righto, the tutorial will begin in five minutes.. so I will put my mind to it.

What a hectic life I have now! :(

Good morning. Just thought I would write in just before my tutorial at 10.. which is 20 mins from now. Well, I am well and truly into the new semester at uni now.. it is Week 6 and I am still alive and kicking! There was a humorous message sent to all students from the Lecturer of Environment Issues in Business 201.... it goes along the lines of this....

"I am concerned about the number of absences in lectures and tutorials. For the last few weeks, a lot of students are not coming. Please encourage your classmates and friends to come along.... the people not attending will not get exam hints"

I think now that numbers will be up for the following weeks... as when students hear the words "exam hints" they will come running back in hordes!

I have been observing human character, learning about people, how to work together in groups and limiting conflicts... its all part and parcel of the journey of life I guess.

The new ideas for posts are sitting on my table at home.... but just can't get the time to actually sit down, think and write posts. I think I will be doing this... in another 2 weeks time... when I have a non-teaching week.

Right now..... its time to get back to assignmenting and studying for my mid-sems!

Getting back to normal again!

The reason that there are no posts between December 1 and today is that I recently returned from a family trip to India only 2 weeks ago. I am getting back into the Australian way of life - which is very different to India. All in all, it's nice to be back home, but I am still missing the sights and sounds of India.

Here's to a new and fresh 2008! I engaged in complete 'R and R', as they say, so I have got a million ideas in my head to write about. Watch this space for updates!