Do we have free will?

As a young(er) man, I read the entire anthology of Leon Uris. I was struck by how seemingly good people could commit the most terrible acts, and then return to their suburbs as pillars of society. I estimated that of every 100 people I knew, some two thirds would do these terrible deeds. This was corroborated by my time in the army (1976 to 1978). This study confirms what I expected, and shows that of every 500 people in Linbro Park, 390 would be prepared to kill each other. The obvious jokes aside, this is a frightening thought.

This study is chilling, and forms part of a new BBC series. Do keep an eye out for it when it hits our shores, or buy it it at Look & Listen.

Some chilling excerpts: "how easy it is to make ordinary people do terrible things, that 'evil' often happens for the most mundane of reasons."

"Yet Bill, like 65 per cent of the volunteers, gave an apparently lethal electric shock when told to do so."

"humans have a tendency to blindly follow orders, if they are presented in a plausible fashion by someone who is apparently in authority."

"we are 'puppets controlled by the strings of society'."

This is a summary of the BBC programme:

http://bit.ly/gF6s9R

And here's the link to the actual article, and ask yourself: Are you among the two thirds who go with the flow, or the third who don't?

http://ind.pn/ibqRh5

Freakish weather: while the US and Europe shiver, the Arctic is balmy

I was in Madrid when the temperature was above 45. Surreal ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/science/earth/25cold.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22

Pic taken in 2005 on a trip to the south of France

St Paul de Vence truly one of the world's greatest places. This pic taken looking out to the sea from a cemetery.

A flashback to 2005 ...

Karen and I went to Cape Town and were walking along Long Beach before breakfast when we came across stable hands exercising their horses in the surf. The Sentinel is to the left.

Shane Watson of Oz goes home to see the floods

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/watsons-heartbreaking-homecoming-i-never-expected-to-see-that-level-of-devastation-20110122-1a0iq.html

This article published in The Times 18 February 2008

WHAT WOULD A BLACK TEST TEAM LOOK LIKE?

by FRANK HEYDENRYCH
Two notions have clung tenaciously to life in South African cricket,
and both deserve to be euthanased. The one is that black people don't
play cricket; the second is that cricket is not being transformed.
For the purposes of this article, the term "black" will be chosen to
embrace all players who are not white. This is important, as it is
absurd to think of a freckled Herschelle Gibbs as black - just as
Makhaya Ntini is demonstrably black.
I thought I would shoot these two theories full of holes by selecting
a South African Test and ODI team without a single white player.
What this will show is that the momentum towards a black-dominated
cricket playing structure is under way. Much needs to be done still,
but more on that in a moment. For now, here is an "all-black" Test
team:

Herschelle Gibbs, Alviro Petersen, Henry Davids, Hashim Amla, Ashwell
Prince (captain), JP Duminy, Vernon Philander, Thami Tsolekile,
Alfonso Thomas, Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

This team would not disgrace South Africa at all. It would be highly
competitive, and it would have a variety to it currently lacking in
the South African Test team, in that it would have a left-arm pace
bowler in Tsotsobe; vigorous all-rounders in Philander and Thomas; the
leading run-scorer in the country in Davids; a man averaging 50 at
first-class level in Duminy; and an experienced core in Gibbs, Amla
and Prince.

What's as exciting is the South African A team, again chosen only from
"black" players. Look at this lineup and it's perfectly evident that
transformation has taken root:

Goolam Bodi, Loots Bosman, Ahmed Amla (captain), Justin Ontong, Robin
Peterson, Rory Kleinveldt, Athenkosi Dyili (wicketkeeper), Tandi
Tshabalala, Monde Zondeki, Charl Langeveldt, Sinethemba Mjekula

There is no room in either squad for such exciting players as Jonathan
Vandiar, Saidi Mlongo, Ethy Mbhalati, Farhaan Behardien, Imraan Khan,
Yusuf Abdullah, Alan Kruger and many other authentically quality black
players.
Now, to the other issue to which I alluded: schoolboy cricket is awash
with quality black players. Nobody argues this point. But somewhere
between the ages of 17 and 20 these young players disappear. It's
clear what happens: as good cricketers, they are looked after by the
system: kit, accommodation, food, clothing, emotional support. This
typically ends at school leaving age, and so young cricketers are
forced to confront the reality of survival in currently disadvantaged
families.
So they move on, leaving behind what had looked like a promising
cricket career. Deal with this issue, and we'll deal with the mandates
of transformation.
And we can stop making transformation Mickey Arthur's job.

Pat Buchanan calls the US-China spat spot on

http://townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2011/01/21/how_the_chinese_must_see_us

One of those canine moments you have to share ... Thursday afternoon 20 January 2011

Quite the most wonderful piece on Dale Steyn

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/497468.html?CMP=NLC-DLY

Great cartoon re Arizona shootings

This cartoon says it all. PC, anyone?

This article published in The Times 9 December

5 ASHES LESSONS FOR SA

FRANK HEYDENRYCH
By every empirical measure, Australia have collapsed as a cricketing power. No 1 for decades, they are now No 5 and heading for No 6 in the world rankings. There is an element of schadenfraude for us as South Africans in the rapid and seemingly unstoppable decline of cricket Down Under.
But we must pause and reflect on the lessons England and Australia have for us, and our own alarm bells should be ringing. Here are five lessons we should be heeding:
1) We need a strong and competitive domestic infrastructure. Australia’s has collapsed. It used to be the feeder of the great Australian team, and grade cricket in turn was the feeder for state cricket. Both are fading away, a consequence of lifestyle change and competition from other sports.
2) Your A team is a benchmark for future strength. Time was our selectors played around with the A team, picking players who were clearly not the next taxi out of the rank. The A team is deathly serious stuff. A decade or so ago the Aussie A team was as potent as the Test team, with unimaginable riches. “World” series featured Australia, Australia A and England, and the final was always between the two local teams. Our A team would feature Jacques Rudolph, Dean Elgar, Andrew Puttick, JP Duminy, Etty Mbhalati and the like. Is our A team strong enough? More importantly, how does the B team look? The Test team is only as good as the pressure it is facing from the next XI in line.
3) Fire the selectors if they are incompetent. There is no doubt whatsoever that Andrew Hilditch and his team of selectors are the least competent in the world. To choose and not retain any of eight spinners after the retirement of Shane Warne settles that discussion. There is also no doubt that Geoff Miller has created a settled, dependable and predictable selectorial environment in England.
4) Plan, plan and plan again, with the right coach and captain in place. England had their Test team settled in July. Australia had theirs settled the day before the first Test. Andrew Strauss pre-programmed Mitchell Johnson’s bowling into a new-generation bowling machine and faced it for four months.
5) Build succession into your system. Ricky Ponting is out of form, strategically and tactically inept, and presiding over the worst deterioration of any Australian team, ever. But there is no one to replace a hapless 35-year-old, just as there is no one to replace Simon Katich, whose career ended this weekend.
Allan Border inherited Kim Hughes’ mess and through sheer bloody-mindedness turned affairs around. Can anyone fix Ponting’s utter shambles, and can South Africa ensure it does not go down the same road?

Looking back: the night it snowed in Linbro Park ... 30 July 2007