I loved this little blurb about the way the US vs. Canadian press covered the Games –

My dad once told me a story of which I don’t remember all the details now. It was probably from the ’84 games. An American was favored to win a race and didn’t, he came in second. A huge disappointment. The press ran up, immediately asking how he felt and how disappointed he was. In the same race was a Canadian athlete who finished last. The Canadian press rushed up to him as asked ‘You just achieved a personnel best at the Olympic games? How great does that feel?”

Bravo. Someone oughta teach this reporter a bit about sportsmanship – Indian sailors finish last again – Sify.com.

The Indian sailing duo of Malav Shroff and Sumeet Patel came up with yet another disastrous show to finish at the bottom of the table in the Mixed Open Double-handed Dinghy-49er Races in the 28th Olympic games on Monday.

The US-based Indians, Malav being the skipper and Sumeet the crew, proved no match at all at the highest level of competition at the Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre and they have been struggling to keep their head above water since race one.

With four more races to go in the 16-race event, the Indians, who came here with a wild card entry, simply stand nowhere and they would have to come up with spirited performance to leave Athens with their pride intact.

Sheesh.

Roommate of the bombers of AI 182 has a sudden case of amnesia – TheStar.com – Air India witness forgets testimony.

The former roommate of a star Crown witness became the latest in a number of defence witnesses for an accused Air India bomber who has had trouble remembering things. Balbir Singh Gharala entered the witness box for the second time today, his testimony conflicting with several statements he made a week earlier. …Bagri, a Kamloops, B.C., sawmill worker, and Vancouver millionaire Ripudaman Singh Malik are charged with eight counts, including conspiracy and murder, in two June 23, 1985 terrorist bombings that killed 331 civilians. Two baggage handlers were killed in a Tokyo airport when a suitcase from Vancouver exploded. An hour later, 329 people headed from Toronto to India died when a second bomb ripped apart Air India flight 182 off the coast of Ireland.

One can only imagine the homestyle justice this guy’s afraid of facing…

(via Madhoo) Interesting feature article in Little India magazine about 1st gen’ers unhappy w/ life in America –

Most wounding to her was the loss of her independence: Her H4 visa robbed her of her identity – she was not allowed to work, and did not have a bank balance or credit card – and to even take a trip back home, she was dependent on her husband. She had been driving for years in India, but here she failed the crucial road test because she was used to driving on the left. She recalls the utter hopelessness she felt then: “When I come out of the car, I sit and cry and cry. I donÂ’t believe this. IÂ’ve been driving for years and now they tell me I canÂ’t drive? IÂ’m crying like a baby. I donÂ’t want to live in this country. I mean, every day youÂ’re struggling.”

As Madhoo points out, it’s sorta hard to feel pity for someone trying to drive on the Left…. Continue reading →

The DesiBoyz photo collection shows us the real source of India’s IT prowess –

Check out the rest of the site for desi humor bits.

TCS: A Tech Central Station article which is generally quite optimistic on India’s future & econ development has an interesting stat –

For those concerned that the environment will suffer as a result of further development, consider that 70 percent of Indians today defecate in public, and many rural Indians rely on dung as a source of fuel.

There’s something rather apropos about reading this on a blog named Sepia Mutiny, eh?

From CNN’s World report –

AGARTALA, India (Reuters) — Authorities in northeast India have urged Bangladesh not to kill about 100 wild elephants that have strayed across the border and gone on a rampage, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more.

“We are very sympathetic about the elephants’ plight and we will not take any steps to kill them,” Munshi Anwarul Islam, Chief Forest Conservator of Bangladesh, told Reuters.

“But these elephants are destroying our houses and trees and are a threat to the local people. They are not finding a corridor to go back to India.”

Funny how the wild elephants get far more consideration from CNN/Reuters than the 13 “villagers” they killed….