Tuesday, August 21, 2007

England have beaten India by 104 runs in the first One-Day International of the Indian tour of England at the Rose Bowl, Hampshire, England.

England’s batsmen started quietly, reaching 43-1 in the eleventh over when Matt Prior was caught off Zaheer Khan’s bowling. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell shared a 178-run partnership, with Cook reaching his maiden one-day century before being bowled by Yuvraj Singh. Soon afterwards, Bell reached his first one-day century, and finished the innings on 126 not out. Kevin Pietersen added 33 runs off 25 balls and England finished their 50 overs with a score of 288-2.

In response, the Indian batsmen struggled. Sourav Ganguly was run out by Monty Panesar early in the innings. Soon afterwards James Anderson claimed his 100th ODI wicket when Gautam Gambhir was caught behind to leave India on 19-2. Anderson then took two wickets in one over when Sachin Tendulkar was caught by Ravi Bopara at mid-wicket and Yuvraj Singh was caught by Cook for a duck.

Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni steadied the India innings with a partnership of 68 runs, but Dhoni was caught behind off Andrew Flintoff, who returned to the England side after a period of injury. Rahul Dravid scored 46 before being dismissed by Dimitri Mascarenhas, taking his first one-day wicket. Dinesh Karthik scored 44 not out and Zaheer Khan hit 20, including two sixes, but India were bowled out for 184, far short of the 289 run target. James Anderson was the pick of the England bowlers, taking 4-23.

England lead the seven-match series 1-0. The second ODI will take place at the County Ground, Bristol, on 24 August. Earlier in the month, India won a three-match Test series 1-0.

Toss: India won, and chose to field first.

Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Prior, 10.5 ov), 2-221 (Cook, 41.4 ov)

Did not bat: P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, R S Bopara, A D Mascarenhas, S C J Broad, J M Anderson, M S Panesar

Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Ganguly, 2.3 ov), 2-19 (Gambhir, 5.6 ov), 3-34 (Tendulkar, 11.1 ov), 4-34 (Yuvraj Singh, 11.5 ov), 5-102 (Dhoni, 30.3 ov), 6-105 (Dravid, 31.4 ov), 7-129 (Agarkar, 38.5 ov), 8-145 (Piyush Chawla, 42.1 ov), 9-183 (Khan, 48.3 ov), 10-184 (Singh, 49.6 ov)

England: A N Cook, M J Prior (wkt), I R Bell, K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood (capt), A Flintoff, R S Bopara, A D Mascarenhas, S C J Broad, J M Anderson, M S Panesar

India: S R Tendulkar, S C Ganguly, G Gambhir, R Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, K D Karthik, M S Dhoni (wkt), Piyush Chawla, A B Agarkar, R P Singh, Z Khan

Man of the Match: I R Bell (England)

Umpires: M R Benson and B R Doctrove (West Indies)TV Umpire: I J GouldMatch Referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka)Reserve Umpire: N J Llong

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Yesterday, the state government of Victoria, Australia announced their decision to trial self-driving vehicles on two of the state’s major connecting motorways, the CityLink and Tullamarine Freeway. The trial is to use autonomous vehicles from automobile companies including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Tesla. The two-year trial is to have three phases.

The cars are to drive alongside commuters, but in public testing a driver is always to be present, as Victorian law requires drivers always keep a hand on the steering wheel. However, in occasional closures of the Burnley Tunnel, with no other drivers to endanger, the cars are to be tested with nobody in the vehicle.

Lane assist, cruise control, and recognition of traffic signs are in the trial’s first phase, expected to complete before the end of the year. This includes monitoring how the driver-less cars respond to road conditions, including lane markings and electronic speed signs.

“Victoria is at the forefront of automated vehicle technology — we’re investing in this trial to explore ways that this technology can be used to reduce crashes and keep people safe on our roads”, said Luke Donnellan, the Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety. He noted, “Ninety per cent of the fault of accidents is human error […] so we know that if we can take out human error we will have less accidents”.

Tim Hansen, Victoria Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner, said that police had founded a project team to investigate how self-driving vehicles would change policing on roads. “Can we intercept vehicles more safely to avoid pursuits and ramming?”, he asked.

The trial is a partnership between the state government, Victoria’s road management authority VicRoads, owner of the CityLink toll road Transurban, and insurance company RACV.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

On Tuesday, Minnesota’s Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg ordered chemotherapy for Daniel Hauser. He also issued the felony warrant for the arrest of Colleen Hauser, Daniel’s mother. The judge said Daniel should be cared for in a foster home because the parents, Colleen and Anthony Hauser, medically neglected their son by refusing chemotherapy after only one treatment.

Sheriff Rich Hoffman said that there was a country-wide search across America for Colleen Hauser and her thirteen-year-old son Daniel who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma after the pair fled a court order for chemotherapy.

The father, Anthony Hauser, told the press on Wednesday that mother and son left their home near Sleepy Eye without telling him where they were going. He also has not heard from them.

“If he’s being cared for, and it’s going to help him, I think it’s going to be a good thing,” Anthony Hauser said.

On Monday, an x-ray showed that the tumor is growing. The mother had been treating the cancer with herbal supplements, vitamins, ionized water and other natural alternatives from an internet regime. Colleen wanted to follow the native American Indian healing practices of the Nemenhah Band.

“He had basically gotten back all the trouble he had in January,” said James Joyce, the family doctor.

The court proceedings revealed that Hodgkin’s lymphoma is 90% curable with chemotherapy and radiation.

“I know people around here who’ve had chemo twice and they’re great. And I’m not saying alternative medicine is going to cure you every time.” said Anthony Hauser who appeared Tuesday in court by himself.

“Running away when there is a court order is not the way to handle it. Go home. That’s the official position of the church. Go home Colleen,” said Chief Medicine Man Phillip “Cloudpiler” Landis of the Nemenhah Band, “it can’t be good for Daniel’s health.”

Landis claims to have previously cured his own cancer by administering himself with the Chaga Mushroom. He feels that Colleen and Daniel have taken it upon themselves without approval of the court to seek advice of an Oncologist in Mexico.

Billy Best, a man who fled chemotherapy as a teenager in 1994 and claims to have cured his cancer with natural remedies, supports the Hausers’ decision.

“I just want to help this kid. I just feel like people are ganging up on him and it’s not fair. He’s a nice kid, the family’s nice, and they love him, and they want him to live,” Best said.

The police alert sent around the country said that Colleen and Daniel Hauser might be with Billy Best.

Friday, January 13, 2006

The Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) helped the U.S. military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, ARD‘s Panorama magazine and the Los Angeles Times concordantly reported on Thursday.

According to their information, two agents of the BND stayed in Baghdad during the war even after the German embassy was evacuated on March 17, 2003. A former “high-ranking official” in the U.S. Department of Defense told Panorama that the agents helped to track down targets throughout the Iraqi capital for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as they didn’t have enough reliable sources in Baghdad. A BND official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that there was “no dumbness between the BND and DIA” during that time and that it was part of the BND’s “job” in Iraq to identify “non targets” like hospitals or embassies. He said this was authorized by the chancellor’s office.

The Pentagon informant of Panorama however said that the German agents were much more involved. A common saying during the war was supposedly: “Do we have anything from the Germans?” According to him, they drove to a restaurant in Mansur district of Baghdad on April 6th where Saddam Hussein was assumed to be dining. The BND agents reported back to the DIA that many Mercedes cars were parking there. As those cars were presumed to be of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. military conducted an air strike on the location. Hussein escaped, but twelve civilians were killed.

The BND confirmed that two of its agents operated in Iraq during the war but denied all other reports. A spokesperson told Panorama that it’s agency “did not provide target information or target coordinates to the warfaring parties.” The intelligence committee of the Bundestag exculpated the BND. Its chair Norbert Röttgen said that the in secret sitting committee, controlled by government parties, concluded with two-third majority that there are no indications that the agents aided the U.S. in selecting targets.

German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the accusations “schizophrenic” while opposition parties are demanding an parliamentary investigation committee. And during a visit of German chancellor Merkel to the White House, U.S. president Bush said in a response to a reporter’s question whether he knew anything about the allegations: “The truth of the matter is, the Chancellor brought this up this morning. I had no idea what she was talking about. The first I heard of it was this morning, truthfully”.