Dr. Chirravuri Dakshinamurti (b.d. 17July 1914) the first project Director of the Water Technology centre, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, concurrently held the positions of project Director, Nuclear Research Laboratory and head of the Division Of Agricultural Physics at the same Institute at the time of his retirement from the ICAR service in 1974.
Starting his service career as a Lecturer in Physics in 1937 at the Benaras Hindu University, his alma mater for the M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees in Physics at the Andhra University, before Joining the IARI as Experimental Physicist in 1948.
Dr. Dakshinamurti Joined the Rothamsted Experimental station as a Government of India overseas Researcher in 1946 an year in which the London University initiated the faculty of soil physics and awarded him the first doctorate degrees in soil physics in 1948.
Dr. Dakshinamurti made significant contribution both in basic and applied research in the area of soil physical condition in relation to crop growth and development. He was a strong force behind the ICAR all India Coordinated Research Project on soil Structure for Crop Production and a number of useful practices for village operations were evolved by him. He was an outstanding teacher for complex subjects such as water and nutrient dynamics in soils in relation to uptake by plants. His well blended knowledge and expertise in pure physics and agricultural physics is a care combination in India.
An erudite academician, researcher and research manger, Dr. Dakshinamurti well travelled person in the country and aboard, his broad vision was the foundation stone for the building up of the water Technology centre in its present status of recognition in the area of water management research and development.
In his book author tries in his own way to expound both the themes i.e. science and Vedanta on which masters like Adi Sankara and Vivekananda thought wrote and lived their lives.
This is a unique book by unique person. Dr. C. Dakshinamurti is not only a great agricultural physicist and scientist but also and eminent philosopher and Sanskrit scholar. It is therefore our good fortune that he decided to write this book on "Origin of Universe -Vedic Approach." He has combined the depth of his scientific and analytical mind with the width of the Vedic view of life. He mentions appropriately "physics ends where philosophy begins," "no amount of limited knowledge can be a unravel the entire gamut of the nature where pure wisdom and knowledge become infinite and merge with celestial bliss.
While reading this book I was reminded of the following excerpts from book "What is Life?" by the eminent physicist Erwin Schrodinger.
"In Christian terminology to say. "Hence I am God Almighty' sounds both blasphemous and lunatic. But please disregard these connotations for the moment and consider whether the above inference is not closest a biologist can get to proving God and immortality at one stroke. In itself the insight is not new.
The earliest records to my knowledge date back some 2500 years or more. From the early great Upanishads the recognition ATMAN = BRAHMAN (the personal self equals the omnipresent all comprehending eternal self) was in Indian thought considered, for from being blasphemous, to represent the quintessence of deepest insight into the Happenings of the world. The striving of all the scholars of Vedanta was, after having learnt to pronounce with their lips, really to assimilate in their minds this grandest of all thoughts."
Thus the ancient Vedic thought was far ahead of all other philosophies in terms of understanding the unity of life. Also in the ancient Indian philosophy, concepts like God appearing in the from of fish, bird and other living organisms were accepted as manifestations of the almighty in numerous living forms. Even until recently such a concept was blasphemy in western thought.
We are indebted to Dr. Dakshinamurti for this labour of love. I hope the book will be widely read. Modern medicine is adding years to life, but it is only spirituality that can add life to years. This is the message of the and work of Dr. Dakshinamurti, the great scientific luminary of physics.
The first nine years of my childhood were spent in a village where my father was working as a head master of a Middle school. I had no regular schooling but under the guidance of and my mother tongue. Telugu. Our village is well known for scholars in Astrology, traditionally reputed to write almanacs every year. I was initiated by them to identify the positions of stars, and movement of planets rotating around sun. This led me to learn a bit of vedic Algebra Calculation of time by measuring the shadow cast by sun during daytime and marking the position of stars at the Zenith during night time to cast horoscopes of the babies born. Thus my curiosity in the cosmology around us increased day by day, but I could not have enough knowledge of modern science to understand or interpret the findings.
The more I used to think of these the more I used to get puzzled.
After passing, the B.Sc. degree examination in 1933, we attended the convocation to receive our degree. There we were each presented with a holy scripture 'Bhagavad Gita' alongwith the degree certificate. When I read that took at leisure, I was confused with a lot of questions unanswered and that was the basis of enquiry that started in me I retired from Central Government Service in 1974.
Vedas form the Basis of four holy scriptures. They are called "Apauruseyas" that is, not written by any known person or group of persons. These scriptures lived for a long time by being repeated from mouth to mouth. In those days when alphabets of languages were not developed to maintain the absolute purity of vedas it is commanded that the way in which they are spelt and pronounced is of supreme importance.
With time the material scattered widely and the Job of purifying and coding the vedas into four groups viz, Rgveda Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharavanaveda was left to the great saint Vyasa who was later reputed as Vedavyasa. The end part and essence of vedas is termed as "Vedanta" "Anta" means end. That formed the material for Upanisads. The Word veda has its origin from the root 'Vid' meads to know. This knowledge was taught to the aspirants by the teachers mostly sages and saints whose names are not known to us. Hence most of the Upanisads are called by the first word with which it was taught, Upa= near, ni=down, sad=sit. About 200 Upanisads were traced. The great saint Sankaracarya selected ten of them as most important and wrote commentaries in them. If there us one person who was responsible for passing the knowledge of Upanisads and established the "Advaita Philosophy" for the future generations to follow it is the great Jagadguru Sankaracarya, who in his short but glorious life, toured round the whole country and established five centres of wisdom in the East, south, West, North and the Middle of India. The heads of the five are today called Sankaracaryas.
The essence of all the Upanisads was taught by Lord Krishna in a conversation between him and Arjuna which formed an epic known as Bhagavad Gita was kept as a pendant at the centre of Mahabharata by sage Vyasa. The entire essence of Vedanta was written in 555 aphorisms called Brahmasutras for which Sankaracarya wrote an exhaustive commentary. These three sets of writings namely Upanisads, Brahmasutras and Gita Bhagavad Gita put together formed "Prastana Trayam".
Sri Ramakrishna Mission has done a yeoman service by translating all the texts noted above in English. Several saints in India such as Swami Chinmayananda, Aurobindo Ghose of Pondicherry, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh delivered extensive lectures on these topics. There are also a few erudite Sanskrit scholars in Andhra Predesh whom the author met personally and got valuable information on Vedanta.
The essence of all these writings, discourses, teachings etc. is to learn that Vidya, "Para Vidya", which redeem one from all bondages and leads to Atma Saksatkara.
Saunaka son of Sunaka Rsi, approached the great sage Angirasa and respectfully questioned him thus "Bhagavan", what should I learn by which I can understand the entire visible universe? "Angirasa" replied thus.
veditavye= those that are to be understood; due vidya =(are) two types of knowledge, iti ha = so say; bramavidah =those that know vedas vadanti sma =tell; yat =that; para ca=superior or noble; (and) apara caiva =inferior knowledge. Learned people say that there are two types of knowledge viz; Para Vidya and Aparavidya to be learnt"
tatra =amongst those; rgvedah =rgveda; yajurvedah= Yajurveda; Samavedah=atharvaveda; siksa= sastra connected with sounds phonetics; kalpah =sastra connected with daily actions or duties (karma); vyakaranam = grammar; niruktam =sastra connected (metre in poetry) with fixation of the meaning of words; dictionary etmology; chandah= prosody, jyotisam = astrology; iti = so say; apara = inferior knowledge; atha = the next ; yaya = by which knowledge; tat= that; aksaram = that which does not decrease or is permanent; adhigamyate = can be attainted para =(that is) para vidya.
"Almost these two Vidyas Apara vidya consists of the four vedas. Six other subject appended to vedas called vedangas and all those that do not lead the aspirant to self-realisation (Brahmanubhuti) while Paravidya (superior knowledge) is that which makes one realise the imperishable permanent and undestroyable viz. realisation of Self (Atma-Saksatkara).
This vidya which people call "Brahmavidya" is thus the 'ultimate' Goal that one should aspire for'.
We have by far advanced in our modern science where we reason out every aspect and come to conclusions. We thus feel that unless we are convinced by logical reasoning, experimental verification that leads to convinced conclusions we do not believe in those statement. As a student of science, I entirely agree on this principle. But how many hypothesis we make have an unshakeable base?
1) For instance the Big Bang Theory on which most of the scientist swear today is based on the assumption that infinite mass and infinite energy are concentrated at a POINT at the time the Big took place.
2) "Matter creates space into which it expands" not matter occupies space into which it is expanding. What is there originally before matter created space.
3) According to the famous uncertainty principle vacuum should have positive and negative particles in it. If that exist they should have infinite mass. The conclusion here is that if such an existence which theoretically is correct is there the universe should then curve up. This does not happen.
To my mind all these curve statements are correct if we go deep into the logic and science of Upanisads and keep patience enough to bridge the gap in understanding the truth.
At a time when even the rudiment of astronomy were not developed in western countries, india made strides of development in penetrating the celestial sphere. Apart from the four vedas there are six vedangas. One of those id "JYOTISA", such discoveries were possible not with the massive sophisticated equipment developed today to study even the speed of quasars but with the highly developed intuitive spirit and the sixth sense by mediation and concentration. It endorses the famous SAMASYA given by Bhojaraja to a family of four poets.
"it is not with the highly sophisticated equipment that we can make outstanding discoveries but the innate power inside"
That sort of skill has to be revived if the gory of India has to be enhanced.
Although several instances demand that velocity of a body should exceed the velocity of light we are shy of recognizing that because of Einstein's theory; based on an experiment of negative result of Michelson and Morley. Perhaps, it has its limitations like Heisenberg's uncertainty principle which penetrates the microscopic state in vacuum unveiling a new state of matter and does not allow gravity to work there. A new look towards these great divergences between the theory of relativity and the unearth principle needs to be established by intensive researches on vacuum physics. It is equally important to unearth the power of meditation and concentration established by seers and saints in India.
Human being, as we see today, has the highest developed brain (Manas) as compared to any other form of life existing on earth. This capacity to distinguish truth from untruth to make outstanding discoveries, which were not thought of, and capability of penetrating into imaginary filed that become real later on is significant. It is because we have the brain to convert it into action i.e. Karma the fruits of which we look and change or amend the developments in such directions as the new thoughts penetrate. The use if computer that are made by the brains is an example in this direction. Deep concentration and meditation should be revived as to explore the unknown fields of science.
By and large millions of human beings desire to enjoy the fruits of karma, at the end of which they are born over again to go through the cycle of life they deserve. The process goes on repeating till they complete all the unfinished Karma. Thus, as karma can be complete or annihilated by being born as a human being only, it is said that "Jantunam.durlabham.
When once they reach a state where their desires are fulfilled they begin are all of the same Atma they develop a universal look undisturbed by the vagaries of the society amongst which they live; have no further desire to be born again and therefore merge with source of origin. Such a soul may be on ea million million million, souls who realise that the objective of birth is not to be born again.
The few pearls that I have gathered and knit together in the pages to come are due to the foundations laid in me by my beloved parents-constant encouragement to gather them given by my wife Smt. Raghunath and supported by my five brilliant children. I am proud to be associated deeply with all of them in attaining my objective.
This is a brilliant book, a splendid blend of Vedic spirituality, Vendanta and modern physics. While there have been other interdisciplinary attempts to blend Eastern philosophy wtjh Western science, what distinguishes this book from the rest is that Om: Origin of the Universe provides citations from Vedic literature, the Vedas, Upanishads, a few references from the Aranyakas. This gives the book a great deal of currency and cashe. Dakshinamurti's thesis revolves around the sacred syllable, Om. Through Vedic literature commenting on the sacred syllable, Om is associated with scientific topics such as the Big Bang, the process of creation, light and the speed of light, and the vibrations exhibited by gravity, light and sound. It is with the vibration of sound that the link with the Vedas is established. The Vedas are the breath of the Paramatma, God, and co-exists with space, mind/heart (manas), and prana, which are part of the paramatma. The breath consists of vibrations in much the same way as gravity, light and sound, and exist and remain in the universe, to be picked up and received by, as Dakshinamurti indicates, the Rishis in the form of the Vedas, or by other souls receptive of their message.


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The Air Niugini plane was on approach to the airport at the island, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, when it apparently fell short of the runway. A cargo plane belonging to Air Niugini went off a runway at Madang Airport in 2013, but there were no casualties.
The accident took place at the Chuuk global airport on the Weno island of the South Pacific nation of Micronesia.
It had been on route to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
It remains unclear what caused the plane to crash.
"The aircraft had 35 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, all of whom were able to safely evacuate the aircraft".
Passengers can be seen evacuating the submerged aircraft.
Only the top half of the plane was visible in a photo obtained by RNZ Pacific, and small boats boarded with people were scattered around it.
Air Niugini in Port Moresby was not immediately available for comment.
The aircraft was being operated by Air Niugini, the national carrier of Papua New Guinea.
Social media video footage has shown locals trying to assist in getting passengers away from the plane in small boats.


Seven's Thursday victory was driven by Seven News and another three episodes of Home And Away. The World's Deadliest Weather then kept 400,000 tuned to the channel.
RBT keeps its 7.30pm Thursday Nine timeslot while a repeat of 20 To One followed at 8.30pm.
Wolf Creek ended its first season with 173,000 watching. It was followed by a special on the making of Wolf Creek 2 which did 103,000.
Just one episode of Cram! this week on TEN with 246,000 watching.
Two episodes of Law & Order: SVU followed with the first on 213,000, but the numbers grew to 293,000.
The ABC screened the last regular episode of Lateline with host Emma Alberici joined at the end of the program with staff crowding around her to celebrate the end of the program's run. The Thursday episode had 100,000 watching on ABC with earlier in the night 72,000 watching on ABC News. Guests on a special farewell tonight include Leigh Sales, Maxine McKew and Kerry O'Brien.
Meanwhile Tonightly with Tom Ballard ended its first week on 74,000 ahead of a Friday Best Of program.
Michael Portillo delivered by rail again for SBS with Great British Railway Journeys on 319,000. SBS share was again close to 7%.
Food Safari Earth did 261,000 before the final episode of Struggle Street did 264,000. The after-show program, Struggle Street: The Conversation, was on 147,000.


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Hello Predrag, Thanks for the assist. If I understand you correctly, you were able to clear the notification box by clearing WP Engine cache and then running the asset file check. Is that correct? The reason you could not access the one subsite on this particular network is because the environment you were accessing is a dev environment and the other site is not configured to be accessed. Only that main site is configured for access. If you were able to clear the notification as described above, then I just need to try again in the live production environment. Thanks for your help.
The support access will expire soon. Any progress?
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text:
Ultrasonic cavitation device is a surgical device using low frequency ultrasound energy to dissect or fragment tissues with low fiber content. It is basically an ultrasound  probe (acoustic vibrator) combined with an aspirator device (suction).

It is mainly used for tissues with high water content and low fiber content, like noncirrhotic liver and pancreas. It has advantages of less blood loss, improved visibility and less collateral tissue damage. It is used in number of surgical procedures such as resection of small endocrine pancreatic tumours, partial nephrectomy, salvage splenectomy, head and neck procedures and gynecological tumours.

See also
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References

Surgical instruments

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Looking back at the Booker: John Berger
Few young men were angrier than John Berger on his victory. But although G.'s anger is rather outdated, its energy and invention remains alive.
Sam Jordison
@samjordison
Wed 9 Jan 2008 06.00 EST First published on Wed 9 Jan 2008 06.00 EST
What are you rebelling against? What have you got? ... John Berger in 1962. Photograph: Peter Keen/Hulton
During its first few years, the Booker had drawn some press interest thanks to its comparatively large prize fund (£5,000), high calibre winners like VS Naipaul, and the presence of big hitters like John Fowles and Saul Bellow among its judges. All the same, until 1972, it was still very much in its infancy and received nothing like the media frenzy that surrounds today's award. It came of age rapidly, however, thanks to the political controversy provoked by that year's victor John Berger.
The Booker, you see, had a dirty little (open) secret. Its sponsors, Booker McGonnall, had garnered much of their wealth, as Berger related in his acceptance speech, from 130 years of trading in the Caribbean. "The modern poverty of the Caribbean is the direct result of this and similar exploitation," he said. He also later told everyone that he was going to give half his prize money to the Black Panthers - who were, as he explained, "the black movement with the socialist and revolutionary perspective that I find myself most in agreement with in this country". Right on!
Contemporary columnists huffed and puffed about this "kick in the teeth", labelled Berger a "literary thug" and generally described his decision as a Very Bad Thing. All the same, while it might not have been very good for its sponsors, the speech certainly garnered the prize some beneficial publicity and controversial interest.
In partial defence of Berger, another question is also pertinent: what else might the committee have expected in giving a platform to a man known fondly - even in 1972 - as "our one and only Marxist critic"? And what else, indeed, might they have expected from the author of a book as radical as their chosen winner, G.?
G. is the name that Berger gives - or rather, doesn't - to his "principal protagonist", the rich son of an Italian canned fruit merchant. G. is a libertine and a dilettante, and the determinedly non-linear narrative describes him being conceived under sordid conditions. In turn, we see his heartless raids on the the beds of women across Europe (including relatives), and his uninterest in great political events and movements of history. Eventually, he has something of an awakening and, instead of watching a rioting mob in first world war Trieste pass with his usual sardonic indifference, plunges into the middle of it. He is killed almost immediately for his trouble.
G.'s journey into class consciousness, coupled with the frequent demonstrations of how the old European order was to be washed away by great tides of dissatisfied workers and trampled under the march of technology, could hardly be a more blatant attempt to demonstrate Marxist principles - all of which gives the books the feeling of a lecture - and a dated lecture at that. Given the fact that imminent environmental apocalypse seems to have trumped class inequality as the most pressing political issue today, Berger's revolutionary advocacy reads as quaintly as a discourse on the qualities of lignin or the way the sun travels around the earth. An interesting curiosity, but hardly a pressing concern.
That's not to say, however, that even those allergic to Das Kapital-influenced homilies won't find plenty of value in G. - plenty, in fact, that remains urgent and radical. Berger has more than enough charisma and style to make up for any perceived deficiencies of theme and, like the best lecturers, is able to keep us with him by force of eloquence alone. He is not, as Francis Hope unkindly put it back in 1972, "inhibited by the fear of being pretentious". But for me, at least, his determination to experiment ,and readiness to expound complicated ideas make G. all the more interesting.
And it remains a live influence. Michael Ondaatje, most notably, seems to have learned an awful lot from this book, both in terms of its fractured narrative techniques and the way the fleshy frailty of human characters is so exposed by the technology of the early modern age.
Berger also shares Ondaatje's ability to produce wonderful set pieces. G. is worth reading just for its vertiginous description of the first crossing of the Alps by plane, its crushing examples of the first world war's futile slaughter and a barnstorming rendition of the Milan riots of 1898. The latter scene culminates in a suave refusal to finish describing the slaughter because stopping where he does is "to admit more of the truth". Of course, the space Berger leaves here is even more eloquent of confusion and chaos for the reader prepared to put in the imaginary work. It's a neat sleight of hand and similar clever little tricks abound in G. Sometimes, however, such metatextual interruptions are irritating. Try to read the following without groaning:
"I must emphasise that I have used the word 'play' as a metaphor so we can appreciate the essentially artificial, symbolic, exemplary and spectacular nature of the occasion."
Fortunately, more often, these authorial throat-clearings and finger-pointings enrich the text. Even the sample quoted above moves on to a vivid evocation of the very physical aspects of a hunt. Perhaps surprisingly for a writer so easily caricatured as a dry Marxist theoretician, Berger excels in such sensual descriptions. For all its high-minded experimentation and self-conscious stylistic quirks, this book remains firmly grounded in the physical world. In fact, G. is probably most memorable for its virtuoso descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of a lost world. As such it's a rich and pleasurable reading experience, as well as an admirably uncompromising, not to mention provocative intellectual challenge.
More kudos, then, to the early Booker judges, whose choice was again far more daring than recent victors ... even if that meant the prize-giving was a bit of a mess.
Next time: JG Farrell's 1973 winner, The Siege of Krishnapur.
Read the rest of Sam's Booker prize posts here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Tag Archives: the world game
Brazil 2014 World Cup Review
Brazil came to the party and delivered a spectacular World Cup. It will be remembered for the exhilarating football, especially during the group phase, the people, Brazil itself and the meltdown of the Brazilian national team. Despite many accolades of a new found Germany that took the game to a new level, they will be mostly remembered as being the most polished and cohesive team of an entirely pragmatic bunch.
Pragmatism continued as a theme for the World Cup itself. Everything worked as expected. People could get around to the venues easily. No real crowd troubles. No real security lapses. No real concerns with referees. No crazy interventions by FIFA. No controversies. That's the mark of success and, with the quality of games and football and a deserving winner, that made it one of the great World Cups. Not the greatest. One of the greatest. More on that later.
Germany's win is still a bit perplexing. They weren't heavily spruiked before the tournament, they remained inconspicuous throughout, and simply did enough in the final to win. If not for that 7-1 over Brazil in the semi final, the rapture over Germany's success would be much lower. After brushing aside Portugal in the first group game, they relatively struggled against Ghana, USA, Algeria and France. Even Argentina had enough chances to win the final, and then we're finding ways to laud another team.
It takes a moment to ponder all the other teams and realise that there was no clear stand-out. Factor in the recent form of German club football, especially having six Bayern Munich players in a starting team, then Germany begins to make sense. That still doesn't make them exciting, nor that they delivered an exciting new brand of football that will set a trend for the world.
It seems that much of the elite football commentary are desperate to ascribe something special to Germany just so that it took something special to lift THEIR World Cup, rather than some less inspiring and perfunctory unit. The significant ground that Germany made and that the saw the heaviest investment was in talent and player development, of which there's no dispute they had all round the most talented team on the pitch, and with plenty in reserve sitting on the bench. To describe the essence of Germany in this World Cup: clinical, professional and accomplished.
No surprise that Brazil wouldn't cope with the pressure in the semi final. The surprise is the magnitude of the capitulation. They were a total debacle and probably did themselves a favour. Brazil's real problem – evident for some time now – is it needs an attitude adjustment. No team has a divine right to win. Even though this Brazilian team was quite poor in comparison to others, the lesson to learn is to get used to losing. All other nations go through phases of their national team being poor. It's part of the journey that makes sport so intriguing.
It's not always about the winning. Fred and his cohorts delivered their nation a reality check. Better to be hammered in two successive games and learn your true place in the world than reach the final and lose to Argentina and proclaim it a national tragedy. Brazil would never recover from that, clouding itself in a belief the result was merely an injustice on their divine right to win. Now they know there's no injustice. They received the right justice. They have serious footballing problems, and cultural problems. As Les Murray so eloquently observed, get back to the "jogo bonito", and just let the results flow from there. Selling out your soul in the name of winning at all costs is not the way to guarantee true happiness for your people.
Third Place Game
It's a farce. You're in a knock-out tournament. When you lose, you're knocked out, that's it. No one cares about a dopey third-placed medal, and barely anyone remembers. All World Cup aspirations are to reach the final and then hope to win. To render another defeat on a team that's already had their dream shattered, it's soul destroying. Until one team makes a real issue of it, the charade of the match will continue.
Netherland's coach Louis van Gaal mocked the play-off pre-match, then preceded to field a strong team and show joy in winning it. Maybe that's more to do with getting in a kick on Brazil while they are down; you rarely get such opportunities to record wins over Brazil. One brave team needs to make the match a farce and treat it with disdain. Field all reserve players and just sit around the backline when in possession.
Goal Line Technology, Offsides and Referees
Great for the viewers at home to see the goal-line technology in action. In practice, it was never needed. In one match the referee might have waited for the confirmation (apparently that only takes 1 second) of a ball that was clearly over before the goalie dragged it back. There's countless wrong offside calls that deny goals and goal chances in in every game that should be addressed, yet FIFA focuses on something that might fix a refereeing error once every 20 years?
While the referees did falsely call many plays as offside, credit actually must be give overall as countless times the line-ball decisions were allowed. Some plays might have been a whisker offside. All fine because FIFA dictates to favour the attacker. It then became depressing that even when the referees got it right, the commentators would dwell about a potential offside. Geez. Even if you want to ignore FIFA's edict, the spirit of the law was to stop strikers loitering in front of the goal. It was never meant for the cynical and tactical device that it has become whereby anyone with a eyebrow offside must be halted for being a rampant cheat and grabbing a gargantuan advantage to score. Let it go. In fact, FIFA should amend the real that offside is only when there's clear space between the body of the attacker and the last defender. Meaning, the attacker can be a full body-width "offside" under the current goal-denying culture of the game.
Shock, horror, Brazil 2014 really should be remembered for the excellent refereeing. That won't happen because excellence in refereeing means they are oblivious to our senses. It's only when they are poor that the referees are noticed. While they can never be 100% correct, even if video referral were added, they were almost as correct as they could realistically get.
The worst decision and the best decision I saw came in one match. The best being the penalty and yellow card when Arjen Robben was fouled early in the third-placed game. The commentator, as did many pundits, said it must be a red and the foul was outside the box. No. Being given a penalty actually provides a greater goal scoring chance, not removing one, while Robben fell inside the box. Let's say you want to adjudge it as outside, then yes it would be a red because a goal chance was snuffed. So, after 3 minutes, we have no goal for the Dutch and Brazil a man down for the rest of the match, or do you want the Dutch a goal up and Brazil will a full team to try retrieve the game? I know the outcome I want: the one that is best for football.
The worst refereeing decision was when Oscar was given a yellow when it was a clear foul on him. The score was 2-0 when it potentially it's 2-1. While the referee excelled with the Robben decision to preserve the game, he totally fluffed the one on Oscar to prevent it really coming alive.
Since I was holiday just prior to the World Cup, my predictions were made as the group phase was well under way. The draw is always the key, and that allowed three out of the four semi finalists to be predicted. The miss was Germany, who were scheduled to meet France in the quarter final. France seemed to be the hot team of the tournament while Germany struggled after their initial 4-0 rout of Portugal, so favoured France. From there I expected France to humble Brazil and then there'd be a close final with Argentina. Initially leaving the result to fate as to whichever team was in dark blue due to a clash of strips, it was later realised there would be no clash of home strips so France would be dark blue and Argentina their light stripes. France the world champions.
In hindsight, the only change I'd have made had I predicted before the tournament was Spain to win their group and be in Netherland's spot of the draw, so a Spain vs Argentina semi final a lock. The other side would be Brazil vs Netherlands in the R16 game, and most likely would have picked Germany to reach the semi. France struggled to qualify and would never have been on my radar. The unknown is Italy. Had they won their group they'd have faced Spain in the quarter final. Had they been second, it would have been Brazil or Netherlands in a QF. Either way, I'd have certainly expected Spain to triumph in their semi final, and most like Brazil to eke their way into theirs. While always believing Brazil will fold under the pressure somewhere (most likely the SF), that meant a Germany vs Spain final.
Best Goals
After finally seeing the entire goal from Tim Cahill, it's number one because of the build-up from kick-off and for the purity of execution of a shot that had an ultra high difficulty level. It triumphs James Rodriguez's for Colombia for that was more a pot-shot and only made more spectacular with the controlled juggle that preceded it. I rate it third overall. David Luiz's stunning free kick for Brazil against Colombia is second because it's far more deliberate and skilful, and, again, the execution was sublime for something of a really high difficulty level. Van Persie's flying header for Netherlands against Spain in fourth.
Missing in many lists is David Villa's goal against Australia. On top of the delightful back-heel sweep to score, the goal was preceded by a 15-pass build-up that ripped the entire Australian team apart. These expansive and elaborately constructed goals are far more satisfying than the long range pop-shots. While they are spectacular, they are largely hit or miss, with 90% of them heading into the stands.
Sweeping counter attacks are also special. France delivered a few of those, especially against Switzerland, Mexico might have delivered one against Croatia, Holland hit Chile with one, and there's a few others I can't remember. Either way, the onus should be more on broader footballing elements when adjudicating best goals. These top 10 lists really should have a mix of goals in them, not just the long range bombs.
Player of the Tournament
No doubt it's Arjen Robben of Netherlands. It was the spark of that team and by far the tournament's most dangerous player, and the tournament's most dangerous player. The fact Argentina's Lionel Messi actually one the "Golden Ball" is just stupid politically correctness of FIFA. The world's best player of his generation had to be rewarded somehow if his team could not win the Cup itself. The simply fact of the matter is that when Messi had the chance to score a goal in the final and deliver Argentina the World Cup, he fluffed it. Whereas Robben delivered all the time. As did Colombia's James Rodriguez. He really carried that team more than anyone carried a team, and was the tournament's leading goal scorer. He's second pick, so Messi at least third.
For all Brazil's heartache, they did produce the most abiding moment of the World Cup: the disbelief on the faces of their fans in the crowd. As Germany piled up the goals, it really was stunned disbelief and the feeling of watching a trainwreck in slow motion. How much more could they take? Then it was just resignation to defeat, and pleas to stop the punishment. Enough damage had been done.
Second to Brazil would be the demolition of Spain by the Netherlands. While you could attribute that game as just a freak of sports, especially since many of the goals were circumstantial rather than Spain being actually dismantled or played ultra bad like Brazil did, the follow up loss of 2-0 to Chile confirmed a reign prematurely halted. That match also impacted directly on Australia, eliminating them from the competition. Up until that point, had Spain beaten Chile, Australia was still alive, needing to beat Spain in their final match.
Yellow Cards and Suspensions
FIFA's a joke. With the paucity of yellow cards, media was criticising FIFA for allowing referees to be too lenient so to prevent the stars of the sport being suspended from games. So guess who's wiping yellow cards before the semi finals start to prevent any star players being suspended for the final on a second yellow? FIFA! This was rushed in for the last World Cup, and remains for this one. UEFA just announced a similar rule for the Champions League.
Yellow cards will always remain problematic because they are no deterrent. Clearly the powers that be also don't like players being suspended for future – especially bigger – games. Not only are they denying the player a golden moment in life, they are rewarding a future team that was irrelevant to the game in which the suspension occurred. The answer is simple: If a red card means permanent expulsion, a yellow should be a temporary one. At least 10 minutes as a start, maybe 15 to really have the cards respected and the players curtail poor behaviour. That way the team is immediately and properly punish, while the infringed team gets the direct reward of a "power play" of sorts.
Sad to say, that's the culture of the sport in South America – to cheat. We hear it all the time, it's intrinsic to South and Central American teams to beat authority, to bend rules, even break rules, all to get one up. This "assault" in the quarter final that led to a fractured vertebrae is no different. The motive was to beat authority, not to injure Neymar. It looked harmless; only the result made it problematic, hence calls for a red card or some sort of post match punishment.
Let's look at it if it was the first minute and the foul had no consequences of injury, and the Colombian is red-carded. Suddenly we're all hysterical that the game was ruined by the referee's over-zealous action, and that Brazil could just breeze past Colombia. Sorry, we can't have it both ways. It was a dirty game in which Brazil committed 31 fouls. We either disdain this culture of cheating and applaud the courage of referees to give red cards, or we continue as normal.
Asia and World Cup Qualifying
As much as Asia's results were poor of winning no games and achieving just 3 draws, this World Cup is a reality check that Europe and South America still dominate the sport. Argentina vs Germany in the final. Yup, we've never see that before. Or Brazil and Netherlands in the semi finals. While it's easy to pick on Asia's teams in last place of their groups, let's not forget that seven of Europe's 13 teams failed too, as did 3 of Africa's. The two African teams that progressed had Asian teams in their group, and were then promptly beaten in R16 by Europeans. In the test against Europe and South America, Africa failed just as much as Asia did. Then you really should exclude Algeria, because they are more an Arab team and benefiting from so many French born players. From black Africa, the region Pele famously predicted they'd win the World Cup by 2000, they went backwards.
CONCACAF continue to be just two teams: USA and Mexico. Both eliminated in R16 too. In fact, Mexico has never progressed past R16, while USA's only success was in 2002. Of Costa Rica, the third team that reached the knockout stage, only once in 20 years you might see that happen. Then they were lucky not be bundled out by Greece.
The solution? Nothing. It's a tournament to represent the world, not necessarily the best 32. Otherwise, you should have a world qualifying phase, rather than by confederation and the squabble for spots.
Maybe there should be a world qualifying phase? Split the world into 4 regions: Europe, Africa, Asia/Oceania, Americas. Each get four direct spots, which could be based on their continental championships. Then you have 8 world groups containing a team from each region. Play round robin home and away. The winners and best 7 second placed teams go to the World Cup. The final spot is reserved for the host. This process would do more to help the weaker regions by playing serious games and against serious opponents, rather than mostly beating up their own to qualify.
Australia – Results Matter
It is about the results. You can't tell anyone that had Australia been hammered 5-0 in every game that we'd have learnt anything or, indeed, been happy with "the result". The fact Australia returned acceptable losses, pushing Chile and Netherlands in the process, is a "good result". That's because Australia exceeded expectations. So when you say "results don't matter", the real implication is that "unrealistic results don't matter".
Reality is that if you're not playing for results at major tournaments, then why bother to show up? As we saw from Ange Postecoglou and some of the boys and many fans like myself, the fact Australia did not get a tangible result of at least 1 point or even a win, it was very disappointing. Missed opportunities will be long rued – especially that game against the Dutch in which Australia briefly led 2-1. While such losses will be tolerated for this World Cup given the inexperience of the team, it won't be for the next.
The only flaw with the coverage was Martin Tyler in the commentary box. He saps the energy from any game with his inane waffling. He's been poor for 20 years now and the way he drifts off, it's now far more frequent and lengthy these days. The best case in point was Germany's seventh goal against Brazil. Germany's in the attacking third and Tyler is waffling on, then suddenly there's a goal and he needs to reanimate again. He should have been already animated. SBS probably doesn't get much choice with Tyler, as he'd be part of a generic pool of English commentators for the English speaking world.
For an area that Australia could control, Craig Foster was a trainwreck as "special comments", or whatever you call the audible verbal spasms he makes. Especially against Spain, the jingoistic coaching and cheering on every play was a national embarrassment and a disgrace. How about a touch of professionalism? He'd probably be the first to mock the patriotic commentary that Channel 9 does for cricket, and here he is acting like an infant. With Les Murray sadly now hosting his last World Cup, let's hope Fozz is consigned to those more static hosting duties. The bonus for Australia is that there only three games in which Australia had to tolerate Fozz whereas Tyler was up almost every match day.
Other than the commentary debacles, everything was superb. The vision, all the studio hosts and studio experts and the support shows (sad that no World Cup show on Monday to review, hum, the world cup final!) – SBS might have delivered the best coverage of any major sporting event Australia has seen. All other Australian media was brilliant too, with News Ltd and Fairfax having comprehensive coverage, not to mention pay-TV Fox Sports having daily shows. Australia was so spoiled this time. It was amazing.
The Best Ever World Cup?
Was it a great World Cup? Yes. Was it the best ever? No. I still rate USA 94 as the best ever World Cup. After a gripping group stage, the knockout stage of Brazil 2014 was riddled with boring draws and predictable results. For all the talk of unpredictable results, that was mostly in the group stage. Come the knockout stage it was situation normal. All the group winners won their R16 match – the first time that had never happened. Of the lesser lights like Costa Rica and Belgium that made quarter finals, they couldn't progress, with the semi finals involving traditional big guns of Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Netherlands, with the final Germany vs Argentina. Hardly anything to portend a new world order in football.
In contrast, USA had an equally vibrant group stage, followed by an amazing knockout phase. Goals were as prolific with USA 94 averaging 2.6 goals per game in the round robin compared to 2.8 for Brazil 2014. That marginal difference is explained by the greater number of blow-outs in Brazil, not higher scoring competitive matches. Portugal, Spain, Cameroon, Honduras and Australia all conceded at least seven goals, while in USA only Cameroon (mostly from one game) and Greece conceded at least 7 goals.
In the knockout phase, Brazil 2014 returned a measly 2.2 goals per game (1.8 if you ignore the German whitewash of Brazil in the semi final), compared to 3 goals per game at USA 94. Even the memorable knockout matches, there were none in Brazil, compared to classics at USA 94 like Romania v Argentina, Italy v Nigeria, Netherlands v Brazil and Bulgaria v Germany. If not for the rubbish final, USA 94 would have been just about perfect. Mexico 1986 probably comes second of those World Cups I've seen, with Brazil 2014 in third. If I'm to factor in Australia's involvement, Germany 2006 will always have a special place in the heart.
That was Brazil 2014 – The Twentieth World Championship of Football
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Reality check as Spain outclasses Australia
Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Australia 0 – Spain 3
Amazing how the nation's mood swings. Before the tournament, no one gave Australia much hope of achieving anything against Spain. During the tournament, after the good performances against Chile and Netherlands, and with Spain at a low ebb after two losses, Australia believe it had a good chance for a result – at least a draw, to see it avoid finish bottom of the group. The initial feeling prevailed as the current world champions showed the gulf in class between Australia and the top teams, and delivered a reality check about Australia's overall status on the world stage. In the end, the group table read Australia in last place with zero points and a -6 goal difference. Who'd have thought that pre-tournament? Basically everybody.
It was not just the calibre of player that saw Australia outclassed; they were utterly destroyed tactically. Spain allowed them plenty of room for the opening 20 minutes of game, allowing to pass around the back-line, allow a little space in midfield. When it came to the final third, it was total denial, crushing all attacks, and looking dangerous on the counter attack. Then Spain put their foot down. The pressure went on higher up the pitch, and Australia soon conceded its first goal.
The second half was little different to the first. Some freedom at the start, then exploited by the end. You only need hear the blathering Craig Foster in the commentary box one minute commending Australia for playing so well, and then the very next minute, after Spain score their second goal, Australia are being "handed a football lesson". While Foster was a total trainwreck in the commentary box, cheering and coaching almost every single moment in the most embarrassing and cringe-worthy display ever heard on national television and should be sacked from any future postings, his nonsensical drivel at least illustrated the reality that Australia was facing. Indeed, it was a football lesson. Not just for the periods that led to the goals, it was a lesson over the entire match.
Such was Spain's dominance, Australia did not have one single, decent attempt on goal. The total of four shots on goal were longer range and speculative – mostly out of frustration to get anything closer off – and never forced a save. The midfield was riddled with turnovers – often very cheap ones. Final balls often went straight to a Spanish player. Many of these passes were not even under pressure, hinting at a tired team or simply a team wary of sensing pressure.
For the third game in a row, Australia conceded 3 goals. All three goals were as a result of the defence torn apart – almost seemingly at will – with the goal-keeper staring down point-blank shots on goal. Jason Davidson was caught out for two goals, giving too much space on the Spanish right for Juanfran to receive from Andres Iniesta and cross to an open David Villa for a nice back-heel tap in, and then failing to move up with the defensive line for the third goal. That second error saw Juan Mata played onside in almost a mirror image of the goal by Robben van Persie in the match against Netherlands. The second goal was a defence splitting pass by Andres Iniesta, who simply was allowed too much time on the ball. The jury is still out about purging all the experienced defenders for this World Cup. Just that touch more experience and maybe half of these 9 goals are avoided.
Final Player Ratings
Goal-keepers
As is often the case, goalies are generally judged by their mistakes, and Mathew Ryan played almost exactly to the level you'd expect of a goal-keeper playing in the Belgian league. Holland's winning goal would have been stopped by a higher calibre goalie. Overall, he was solid, making several great, reflex stops, without being the total security that you hope from your national team goalie.
In truth, Mathew Spiranovic and Alex Wilkinson did well. Especially Spiranovic, who'd been very inconsistent in his earlier Socceroos career when paired with senior defenders like Lucas Neill. Quite possibly being senior defender this time and giving him the marshalling duties has helped. While Neill might have helped plug some of the gaps this tournament, he wasn't needed as stopper. There's also Rhys Williams and Curtis Good – both injured prior to the World Cup – to push for a return.
Full-backs
Ivan Franjic supplied good crosses, while his injury replacement, Ryan McGowan, supplied the cross for Tim Cahill against Netherlands and defended well. No faults there. Jason Davidson, on the left, is the interesting one. Solid on the ball and at tight-defending; almost hopeless with positional awareness. He'll need to move to a much higher club level than a mediocre club in the Dutch league, where he'd rarely face the testing offence that you get at international level. This position is where Neill might have been handy. He played much of his club career with Blackburn Rovers at right back, and may have been able to adjust with a left back posting. We'll never know. Otherwise, Australia had few options there, and the position overall is still a problem.
All three used – Mile Jedinak, Matt McKay and Mark Milligan – all serviceable. This area was always the area that Australia did not lack, and it showed.
Tom Oar on the left disappointed with his touch, passing and even his pace was off. Without the pace, his small stature became a liability as he was often bustled off the ball. Other than against Croatia in a warm-up game, he has failed to really achieve the potential the nation has hoped. Mark Bresciano in the centre still has nice touches and passes. Unfortunately, he is let down by lack of pace, often dithering on the ball, and his shooting boots were way off. His substitute, Oliver Bozanic, did well enough to suggest a future. On the right, Mathew Leckie was a revelation, constantly beating defenders with pace and quick dribbles. He needs to improve in final passing situations and decision making to polish his game. Substitutes used in midfield of Ben Halloran and James Troisi were serviceable for the limited time they had and against the class they faced.
Tim Cahill is not a forward despite his exploits. Coach Ange Posteglou summed up the reality of the selection in a press conference saying Cahill is among the best in the world… with his head. That seemed a slight on his foot skills, which is probably right as they have deteriorated over time, making it a valid reason not to use him in midfield. His strengths are forward with his head, his shooting boots, and is general ability to be a nuisance. Leckie was tried forward in the second half against Spain and looked much more dangerous than Adam Taggart, who was tried in the first half. Leckie could be the future. Regardless, the situation now is Australia's biggest liability is in attack. Postecoglou said post-Spain that he wants Australia to be feared next time. That can only happen with a quantum leap in quality of strikers. Just imagine Arjen Robben and a Robin van Persie on Australia's team. Results could have been blistering. One salvation is the injured Robbie Kruse waiting to return the national team. Also Joshua Kennedy, who was sadly omitted from the final squad. Just his presence, at least another aerial option to Tim Cahill, can be invaluable.
Ange Postecoglou is all class and nailed almost everything asked of him. No one really expected Australia to gain any points from this tournament, so the disappointment felt when Australia actually did finish with nothing reflects more on the in-tournament possibilities that arrived. Reality is the players are just not at the required level yet. Ange's big test is the Asian Cup early next year. Situations will be reversed with Australia the team pressuring the opposition, with the opposition trying to create the surprises. Performing well will be a given. Winning will almost be expected.
Tournament Prediction
Being away for a month on holidays just prior to the World Cup meant no time for predictions. Here's a brief version.
As often is the case, it's the draw that counts. Also, teams that have "struggled" in the group stages and still won (like Argentina), no reason to write them off.
France have been the most impressive team so far, and have a soft draw, and should eventually meet Brazil in a semi final. Brazil's main challenge to reach the semi is crossing with Group D, where Costa Rica's success has consigned either Italy or Uruguay to second spot and a tougher path. Either way, Group D seems weak, so Brazil should cope with any of those teams. Germany, if it wins Group G as expected, could be bigger spoiler. If it in finishes second, it's thrown onto the opposite side of the draw.
Netherlands are the most impressive team on the other side of the draw and should face Argentina in the semi final there. Belgium is the team that could surprise. While not excelling as some pre-tournament hype suggested, they have still won both games.
Despite the potentially tough draw for Brazil, and the home-team pressure, they should at least make the semi final. From there, they fall to France. The other semi really should be Netherlands vs Argentina. With the Dutch defence being a little suspect, expect Argentina to prevail. So France vs Argentina in the final, and an image is appearing. It's whichever team is in the darker blue!
That is Brazil 2014 – The 20th World Championship of Futbol
Posted in 2014 World Cup Brazil | Tagged 2014, adam taggart, afc, alex wilkinson, ange postecoglou, argentina, asia, australia, australian football, australian soccer, ben halloran, brazil, chile, david villa, fernando torres, fifa, finals, football, fox sports, france, germany, holland, ivan franjic, james troisi, Jason Davidson, josh kennedy, juan mata, lucas neill, mark bresciano, mark milligan, mathew spiranovic, matt mckay, mile jedinak, netherlands, Oliver Bozanic, player ratings, predictions, robbie kruse, ryan mcgowan, soccer, socceroos, spain, the world game, tim cahill, tommy oar, World Cup | 2 Replies
Disappointing loss to Chile despite the promise shown
Chile 3 – Australia 1
We as a country must be at a low ebb if we are "proud" of a 3-1 loss to a team in which hoped for a better result. After conceding two early goals, it was disappointing not to convert one of the several chances created in the second half, and then even more disappointing to concede another goal in injury time. The goal Australia scored came courtesy of a Tim Cahill header that brought the game to 2-1 ten minutes before half time. Post match it was odd to see all the studio and commentary "experts", along with most fans, beaming with pride at the "performance" despite the sickly feeling of the final goal and the lack of converting the second half renaissance into something tangible. It harks back to the era of 20 or 30 years ago when Australian teams were indeed proud simply to get close to quality teams – to play well enough and not be annihilated, and regale in our "brave losses". Are we back in this situation again?
Thankfully coach Ange Postecoglou didn't buy into this nonsense of a good performance. While proud that the team did not capitulate after such a poor start that many anticipated in such a scenario, he was far more disappointed that nothing was gained at the result. He is not in Brazil for "performance" and getting style marks. This is not figure skating. It's a score based game and scoring is the quintessential measure of a result at such a tournament. Yes, even with the somewhat experimental and youthful team, that does not absolve the greater responsibility of achievement. After all, if you are not driving for a result at the pinnacle tournament of the sport, when will you go for it?
Australia will rue the horrible start to the game. Two goals in two minutes inside the first 12 minutes almost made the mission hopeless. Against fears of the inexperienced defence unravelling and an avalanche of goals conceded, Australia regained composure, and gradually worked back into the game. No doubt Chile also relaxed, with their objective of maximum points from this game before they face the tougher opposition of Spain and Netherlands well in reach. When Cahill scored, the pressure returned on Chile, further enabling Australia to have an impact in the game. Cahill had a goal denied after being just offside, he also had a penalty claim for a shirt pulled ignored, and Mark Bresciano had a low chance from a volley that was well saved. The shirt pull on Cahill was far worse than that seen in the game involving Brazil and Croatia that saw Brazil win a penalty. The difference? Cahill did not throw himself to the ground. You wonder why players "cheat".
While Australia could craft a few good chances, defence proved the issue. While unlucky for the first goal that the rebound fell to Alexis Sanchez, Mile Jedinak could be pinpointed for not charging at the ball to make a clearing header. The second goal was a mess, with the defence dragged to the right side of the pitch, leaving huge gaps on the left for Jorge Valdivia to exploit and score from mid range. The final goal came from a quickly rebounded goal kick that caught the defence out of shape, especially with Australia pushing for an equalising goal. Also, just after 70 minutes, Chile broke through for a one-on-one situation that could have been curtains for Australia had it not been wrongly adjudicated as offside.
In the group's other game, the Netherlands destroyed Spain 5-1. With the Dutch being Australia's next opponents, there simply cannot be any defence lapses. The Dutch victory also has interesting ramifications on the group. While mathematically it makes Australia's task to progress more difficult as now four points will almost certainly be the minimum required to qualify, it might see a somewhat relaxed and over confident Dutch team enter the game. The pressure on them to beat Australia won't be near anything as high had they suffered a loss to Spain. Of course, Netherlands have yet to beat Australia at senior level, even if that statistic comprises of only a handful of non-serious games. Continuing that streak will be handy.
Posted in 2014 World Cup Brazil | Tagged 2014, alexis sanchez, ange postecoglou, australia, australian football, australian soccer, brazil, finals, group b, holland, jean beausejour, jorge sampaoli, jorge valdivia, mark bresciano, mile jedinak, netherlands, soccer, socceroos, spain, the world game, tim cahill, World Cup | Leave a reply
Australia vs Chile – Preview
On paper, Australia's team is rubbish and they have no hope in this World Cup. Compare to 2006 when the attack was comprised of Viduka, Kewell and Emerton, with Cahill in support out of midfield, in 2014 it's Leckie, Vidosic and Oar, with Cahill thrown out of position to lead the line. The defence was tight in 2006 with Neill and Moore at their peak. Now it's the unconvincing Spiranovic, with either novices Wilkinson or McGowan as his partner. Midfield has only seen a minor decline, with Jedinak and Milligan as serviceable as Grella and Culina, and probably a tad better creatively, while Bresciano is still around, albeit in a greatly reduced capacity. Australia was always a defensive liability out wide with its converted midfielders of Chipperfield and Wilkshire. Davidson and Franjic are on par, at least defensively, and that's where it will really count in Brazil. Other than the retirement of Viduka, the squad largely remained for 2010 in South Africa, and accrued the same number of points in their three games as they did in Germany.
Since Ange Postecoglou took over as coach, Australia has shown little to suggest the heavy defeats against Brazil and France that saw Holger Osieck sacked won't be totally avoided. While 6-0 losses are unlikely, the team has still looked vulnerable in defence against the moderate opposition it has played so far. A 1-0 home win over an under-strength Costa Rica was put into context by a 4-3 loss to Ecuador in London. The four goals all coming in the second half after Ecuador made a raft of changes, including the replacement of their experimental defence with their first team regulars. Most recent results has been the uninspiring 1-1 draw at home against South Africa (again, defence easily breached for the goal conceded) and a 1-0 loss to Croatia in Brazil.
The issue with this team will be largely psychological: are the scars of those two thrashings healed? While the old guard of Neill and Ognenovski are gone, the replacements have never hinted at being superior. Like most of the team, they've been picked as part of a rejuvenation philosophy, not that they've usurped the incumbents. The pessimistic hue over this team remains, especially that once the defence is breached, it could be a goal avalanche. The novice defence just doesn't inspire confidence against the calibre of teams that Australia will face. Not that much is expected of them either. Ange's big challenge will be to inspire them. Even if he masters that, then there's the problem of goals. Cahill is a poacher more than anything. The lack of creativity and individual brilliance, the lack of a lethal edge anywhere in front of goal, and even the lack of a dedicated out and out striker in the team (Kennedy's omission was shocking), will make scoring difficult. As much as Australia's opponents are tough going forward, they are just as tough at stopping, and are unlikely to be troubled by the moderate opposition.
The one salvation for Australia is the group composition itself. If Spain can dominate as expected and win all three games, that makes the spot for second much more open. If Netherlands and Chile draw their match, then Australia could advance with just two draws. It would come down to the team pushing Spain the closest. Winning a match would obviously make the second phase more attainable, especially if Australia's other two matches are narrow losses, or even a draw could be gained. Facing Spain last could be advantage if they are already qualified and potentially relaxed. Also, given the tightness of the group and the low regard of Australia, Chile (especially) and Netherlands (especially if they are belted by Spain in the first game) will have all the pressure on them. If Australia snag a goal, they could indeed surprise. It's just a shame that these peripheral issues will be the dominant force for Australia to advance, and not sheer footballing ability. Unfortunately, that is the reality of it.
Posted in 2014 World Cup Brazil | Tagged ange postecoglou, australia, australian football, australian soccer, brazil, brazil 2014, chile, fifa, finals, football, holland, netherlands, soccer, socceroos, spain, the world game, tim cahill, World Cup | Leave a reply


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British Friendly pays 94% of 2019 claims
Holloway Friendly: 'Radical' changes to mental health underwriting
Seasonal financial pressure worse than last year - Aegon
AMII AGM: Medicash continues campaign against IPT rise
Healthcare cash plan provider Medicash confirmed it will continue its campaign against the rise in insurance premium tax (IPT) at the annual general meeting of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII).
Speaking at the AMII conference ahead of an official meeting with the Treasury, Medicash chief executive Sue Weir pledged to continue to lobby the government to make all healthcare insurance products exempt in line with life insurance, permanent health insurance and other 'long term' insurance products.
She said: "This is a stealth tax that affects millions of people. It will place a further burden on an already hugely strained NHS and it directly contradicts all the Government's stated commitments around the health and wellbeing of the nation."
Fellow cash plan providers Sovereign, HSF and Paycare have joined forces with Medicash on its campaign against the rise in IPT.
Around 6.5 million people in the UK have who have a cash plan or private medical insurance (PMI) will be affected by the increase.
The UK now differs significantly from its European counterparts with 12 member states exempting health insurance completely from IPT and only cash-strapped Greece applying a similar rate.
Stuart Scullion, chair of AMII, said: "Medicash has spearheaded this important campaign and we welcome Sue Weir's comments. It is vital that action is taken against what is fundamentally an unfair and ill conceived tax.
"We are committed to supporting Medicash in its bid to force a U-turn on this issue and will do all we can to lobby other members to join forces with us and help influence the Chancellor's decision."
Weir added: "It's a fact that healthcare cash plans have a positive impact on business productivity and absenteeism as well as the physical and mental health of workers across the country.
"This tax makes no sense and affects millions of individuals of all ages and backgrounds and it puts UK plc at a major disadvantage in terms of growth and profitability. "
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1 Why choose Pandora bracelets gold?
2 How and from what materials are Pandora bracelets gold made?
3 Where can I buy Pandora bracelets gold?
4 How to choose Pandora bracelets gold to fit?
The Pandora bracelets gold is a piece of jewelry that has won the popularity and love of women around the world. And this popularity is well deserved, as in many characteristics the Pandora bracelets gold has no equal among the jewelry. This is an elite accessory, in which beauty, originality and precious metals are especially appreciated.
Why choose Pandora bracelets gold?
The Pandora brand gained its popularity due to its advantages over other brands. The Pandora bracelets gold have first-class quality. All of them are made by professionals by hand. Pandora bracelets are also versatile. They are able to complement any image. This brand has a huge range. In addition to the fact that you can assemble your own unique bracelet, it is easy to complement it with another jewelry product manufactured by Pandora. Also the advantages of the brand Pandora is the availability, wide selection, bonuses from the company.
How and from what materials are Pandora bracelets gold made?
The business card of Pandora bracelets gold is silver. Also, Pandora bracelets are valued for the fact that they are made of yellow and pink gold, silver and a combination of these materials. Genuine leather and cotton are also used. Pandora bracelets are often decorated with precious stones, crystals and top quality glass. All materials are environmentally friendly, safe to use and durable. It is among the Pandora bracelets gold of such materials that different color ranges are common. Primary colors are: pink, blue, black, turquoise, red.
Where can I buy Pandora bracelets gold?
Products under this brand can be purchased in 65 countries of the world, ordered through the online store or choose your Pandora bracelets gold on the official website. Now a special mobile application has been developed, having registered in which you will be able to follow the novelties and receive notifications about new collections, communicate with other customers. Also in this application, you can collect your own models of Pandora bracelets gold. When choosing an accessory brand Pandora pay attention to its authenticity.
How to choose Pandora bracelets gold to fit?
To make the Pandora bracelets gold look beautiful on your hand, you need to know the size of your wrist. To do this, you measure in centimeters the length of your wrist. Ideally, the bracelet should be 2 centimeters longer than your wrist. But all this is strictly individual and not suitable for every type of Pandora bracelets gold.


National Public Safety Dispatchers Appreciation Week, April 13-19, Thanks for keeping us safe.
The Burbank Police Department's (BPD) Communications Center is staffed by 3 to 4 Communication Operators per shift. They handle an average of 11,000 non-emergency calls, and 2,500 9-1-1 calls per month. In order to provide the community with a professional service, the Communications Center also has direct access to language service lines which provide translation services in almost every language. They also have access to TTY/TDD for the deaf/hard of hearing, and some Spanish or Armenian speaking personnel.
Communications Center personnel are considered to be the true "First Responders." They are the first to respond to the needs of the public when they call in for assistance. Communications Center personnel provide a calm demeanor to citizens and victims in distress. In high stress situations, they are compassionate yet diligent in ascertaining important information necessary to provide to the responding units when time is of the essence.
Although their jobs do not put them in "harm's way," Communications Operators make critical life-saving decisions on a regular basis. They take great pride regarding the welfare of our community members and keeping the officers of the Burbank Police Department safe.
In 2013, the Burbank Police Department Communications Center became the second dispatch center in the state to be certified by the National Center for Missing Exploited Children (NCMEC). The certification process included meeting training and policy standards established by NCMEC.
On behalf of the Burbank Police Department, we would like to say "Thank You" for your dedication, hard work, and compassion you display every day in keeping our officers and our community safe.


Swift 3 was released on September 13th 2016. PusherSwift 3.0.0 was released on 14th September 2016. A day late, I know, but in my potentially slightly biased opinion, it was worth waiting those extra 24 hours.
It's been pointed out to me, on many occasions, that I never wrote a blog post announcing our release of a Swift library. Now we're at version 3.2.0. So in a move I'm describing as "maximising efficiency" I'm using this blog post to announce PusherSwift to the world, as well its update to version 3.2.0 (although I'll only really focus on the changes from pre-3.0.0 to 3.0.0). I've also written a second post about some of the more technical parts of building a framework that is going to be used by other developers, which will be published soon!
As I wrote in my blog post on why you should learn Swift I'm the office fanboy when it comes to Swift. I won't rehash that blog post here but the short version is that if you've not given Swift a try, you should.
So here it is – we have a Pusher client library written in Swift which you can find here in all its glory!
If you're just interested in the recent changes then you can jump over to the changelog on GitHub.
Normally I'm not one to be too much of a perfectionist but I have a weakness when it comes to Swift. From my point of view, there was always a reason not to put out an announcement.
"I just want to make this part of it nicer before I announce it".
"Swift 2 is just about to be released so I can't announce it until at least after that…".
"I've restarted Xcode 8 times and it still won't build successfully even though it worked fine yesterday!".
"Well Swift 3 is being released in a couple of weeks so let's wait for that!".
They were all pretty terrible reasons not to announce it though (apart from the Xcode one). So let's crack on with the changes that PusherSwift 3 introduced.
Perhaps unexpected in a blog post that is ostensibly focussed on Swift but probably the biggest change that PusherSwift 3.0.0 brought was the ability to interface with it using Objective-C.
Apple has some docs about using Swift and Objective-C in tandem. If you've ever worked on something that involved interoperability then you'll know this, but for those that haven't, it's not all plain sailing.
At first look, it appeared that we'd be able to add the interoperability with a few well-placed @objcs and some : NSObjects. That gets you surprisingly close, but not all the way. Tucked slightly out of the way in one of Apple's docs about interacting with Objective-C APIs is a list of Swift types that you cannot use in Objective-C.
Cutting to the chase, the main problem was the lack of Objective-C compatibility with Swift's structs and enums. These appeared (and still do – I'll get to it in a moment) in PusherSwift in quite prominent areas. Specifically, when creating a PusherClientOptions object you're creating a Swift struct and when creating that PusherClientOptions object you'll likely be using a Swift enum (AuthMethod, or even PusherHost).
You can see that the authMethod object in the Objective-C example is of type OCAuthMethod. This is just a Swift class that is able to be used in Objective-C and provides an almost identical API to the Swift version. The downside is that the APIs for the Swift and Objective-C versions are every-so-slightly different in places, but the benefit is that each API feels natural to use in the language it was written for.
If you're interested in more specifics about how the Objective-C interoperability works then your best bet is to take a look at the Objective-C.swift file which encapsulates pretty much all of the code that is specific to making the interoperability work well.
A few months ago we announced the start of our Mobile Push Notifications API beta. If you've not taken a look at this then I suggest that you at least take a look at the link to the product page – it looks great and gives a nice, quick overview of the product.
If you're interested in seeing how you can get setup with mobile push notifications in your app then head on over to our docs. One of our developers has even spent some time looking into having macOS support for the push notifications part of the library, so stay tuned if that's something you're interested in.
Before 3.0.0 was released the PusherConnection class was loaded with properties for things that were all related to the connection. It didn't really make sense to keep them so directly tied to the connection object though and so a good chunk of these were removed and instead became part of a new delegate property, of the type PusherConnectionDelegate.
In practical terms that meant that the debugLogger and stateChangeDelegate properties were absorbed by the new delegate, along with two new subscription event delegate functions that can also be optionally implemented.
I imagine that in one of the future release of PusherSwift that the newer PusherDelegate and the PusherConnectionDelegate may well be merged into a single delegate to keep things a bit tidier.
Even with all of the recent changes, there's more that we're looking to implement in the library. There are plenty of changes that can be made, all the way from more substantial things like turning the connection state of the underlying websocket into a proper state machine, down to simpler tasks like allowing binding to specific event names at the global level.
If you're up for the challenge of working on these or any other improvements, don't hesitate to create a pull request! We're always more than happy to accept work from people in the community.


Volume 10, no. 1, e02529-18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02529-18. Figure 1A spotting images were incorrectly duplicated for the Candida albicans and Candida auris plates. We confirmed the essentiality of HSP90 expression in C. albicans and C. auris with multiple biological replicates and multiple assays, as in Fig. 1B (repression of the HSP90 transcript in a tetO-HSP90 strain using 10 μg/ml DOX) and in Fig. 1C and Fig. S3 in the supplemental material (pharmacological inhibition of Hsp90 using geldanamycin). Figure 1A has been updated to include the correct spotting images of C. auris strains to demonstrate the essentiality of HSP90 expression.
Copyright © 2019 Kim et al.


Holiday celebrations. Shoptagr has recently launched a new shopping tool to enable penny-pinching, deal-hunting shoppers to find their coveted fashion items at the best price. The newly launched Startup is the best shopping tool to serve you when you search for holiday deals this season.
Shoptagr assists shoppers in alerting them when their desired products go on sale. To get started, you simply need to download Shoptagr to your favorite web browser and +TAG your coveted items. The +TAG button commits your product to memory, tracks the product and its price fluctuations, and adds the product to your personalized wish list.
Finding the right size and color in clothing is a cinch because Shoptagr tracks that as well. When you have tracked an item, Shoptagr will send you an email when the item goes on sale, so you can place an order directly from your favorite store.
Shoptagr currently partners with hundreds of the biggest retailers and brands including ASOS (a TBF fav), Nordstrom and Net-A-Porter.
Look, stay at home this black friday (seriously). Holiday shopping becomes a breeze with Shoptagr. Shoptagr enables you to avoid the melee while adding to your savings with the great deals found on the items on your holiday shopping list. Email alerts from Shoptagr helps you to manage your shopping time and dollars.
Shoptagr sends you fun, easy email alerts, empowering you to shop smartly. Simply download Shoptagr to your web browser, +TAG each and every item you want, and remember to check for your alerts. Shoptagr will always alert you on relevant price drops, because the company has your best interest in mind.
Save time and money. Join Shoptagr today and relax, because they will alert you to deals at your favorite stores.
This is a paid sponsored post by Shoptagr, a new startup that we love. Please visit them and show them some love!


10-night stay in top-rated 4* hotel in Bali + flights from Prague for €497!
Take advantage of this package deal discover stunning Bali! Book Skyteam flights from Prague, Czech Republic and 10 night accommodation in very well rated 4* hotel for only €497 (on a 2 adults basis)!
To find out more about Bali and Indonesia go to Destination Fly4free: Bali >> and Lonely Planet online shop >>.
We picked for you the very well rated 4* Atanaya Hotel Bali. Conveniently located a 5-minute drive from the lively Legian Street, Atanaya Hotel boasts stylish accommodation and a rooftop swimming pool. All air-conditioned rooms include a flat-screen TV with satellite channels. Free Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the building. Fitted with wooden flooring, each room is decorated with modern interior and earth colour tones. In-room comforts include a minibar and a coffee/tea maker. Shower facilities and complimentary toiletries are included in the marble-floored bathroom.
We picked for you the very well rated 4* Atanaya Hotel Bali so follow our links and book your vacation!


VILLAS AND APARTMENTS TO RENT IN PENISCOLA, SPAIN.
Welcome to our selection of holiday homes to rent in Peniscola, Spain.
North of the popular and highly developed Costa Blanca is the quieter and more Spanish Costa del Azahar, or the Orange Blossom Coast. Sun worshippers will be happy to see they have a number of different beaches to choose from, while those who prefer more active holidays are also well catered for in the surrounding area. The city itself is home to some interesting and famous historic attractions and is worth visiting if you are staying nearby.
The town itself is probably most famous for the medieval castle on the headland, built on the site of an older Moorish fortress and used as the backdrop for many of the scenes in the famous film �El Cid�. The walls of the fortress still surround the old part of the town and visitors can enter through one of three gates, to get access to the winding cobbled streets of old Peniscola. There is even a beach below the old town, allowing you to sunbathe while you enjoy a view of the ancient castle; the North Beach is over five kilometres long so there is always plenty of space, even though it is one of the most popular spots in the area on summer weekends. The North Beach has a Blue Flag award for cleanliness and all the amenities you would expect, such as toilets, showers and a snack bar. Water sports enthusiasts can try out wind surfing, sailing and even sea kayaking from various centres along this stretch of sand too.
If you enjoy water sports and other more extreme activities, there is plenty on offer in the surrounding area to keep you amused on a trip to Peniscola and the Costa del Azahar. There are lots of walking routes that take you through the Peniscola marsh on the outskirts of the town. This area is home to some rare species of fish � so no fishing is allowed! However, the marked trails will help you to explore all corners of this interesting and unique landscape.
There are also marked hiking trails around Peniscola itself, including a steep climb up to the San Antoni Hermitage which has great views over the town and the coast. Longer walks, of varying difficulties, can also be found in the natural park of Sierra d'Irta, which also offers mountain biking trails and rock climbing. Walking round this mountainous landscape, you can also stumble upon the ruins of historic buildings, like the Hermitage and the Xivert Castle.
Looking for self catering holiday accommodation in Peniscola? Then below is a selection of apartments in Peniscola and villas in Peniscola that can be rented direct from their owners. You can either click on each listing for further details or you can use our search engine on the left if you are looking for something in particular.


Indigenous Locations (ILOCs) are single Collection Districts (CDs) or aggregates of CDs which have a population of at least 80 Indigenous persons. ILOCs aggregate to Indigenous Areas (IAREs). ILOCs cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.
Summary Census statistics, including a range of Indigenous statistics, are available by ILOC. Indigenous Summary Profiles are also produced for ILOCs.
See also Indigenous Area (IARE) and Indigenous Region (IREG).


Most internet marketers today are of the opinion that email marketing is a redundant marketing strategy. These marketers have abandoned this technique and replaced it with social media promotion. In second thought, social media looks sexier than an email. But is social media post truly as powerful as an email? If we look at the fact that its easier for us to send a friend request on Facebook than collect one email address. Then surely email marketing looks less effective. But trust me email marketing is many times more useful than promoting your brand on social media, like Facebook and Twitter.
In this blog post, we'll elaborate a little more on email marketing.
Email marketing is a promotion strategy that uses emails targeted to customers. Emails are sent to potential customers to make them aware of the brand that the company is promoting. The subscriber receives an email which is either promotional or in the form of an Ad.
Now, many marketing companies include this strategy in their campaigns. Moreover, an increasing number of bloggers are making use of email marketing nowadays. One case scenario is worth a mention: an internet user checking a website notices a field where they are asked to submit their name and email, to receive a free e-Book. This is a basic example of how email marketing works.
Why Is Email Marketing A Good Marketing Strategy?
Email marketing Iowa start with a technique that helps improve the customers' or the users' experience. It's totally different from the glamorous and flashy social media marketing. It's a more efficient way to engage customers. It's even a much better way to reach maximum users. To say the least, it provides a better click-through rate.
In the year 2013 nearly 3.2 billion new email accounts were created.
95% internet consumers are active users of email for using as a medium of communication.
91% of these consumers check emails that they receive on a daily basis.
Moreover, this is an era of mobile browsing. So, people are easily notified when they receive emails on their mobile devices. On the mobiles, notifications are displayed for easy access to the users. Also, on a mobile phone, the users find it more convenient to check an email than a Facebook or Twitter post. This is since millions of people post content at once, so finding the specific post you liked to say a couple of weeks ago is cumbersome.
To conclude email marketing is a good way to boost your online presence.
Next PostNext #CX Buzzwords or the Real Deal?


text:
Panthers' Darnold designated to return from IR, practices
Dec. 15, 2021 at 10:12 am Updated Dec. 15, 2021 at 12:46 pm
STEVE REED
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers' quarterback situation took another turn on Wednesday as Sam Darnold was back at practice earlier than expected after being designated to return from injured reserve.
Darnold went on injured reserve Nov. 10 with a shoulder injury.
The Panthers have 21 days to decide whether to activate Darnold to the 53-man roster. Panthers second-year coach Matt Rhule said he's unsure if Darnold would be able to return at all this season.
"He can't really practice yet," Rhule said. "He's throwing but he's not cleared to play. I'm not sure when that will be. We will have to make sure he's good enough to throw and move around but he can't take contact yet. So that will come down to a CT scan in the coming weeks."
Darnold was not available for comment.
Rhule said he plans to continue to play Cam Newton and P.J. Walker at quarterback against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Both Newton and Walker saw action Sunday when the Panthers lost to the Atlanta Falcons, their eighth defeat in the past 10 games.
Darnold was the team's starter to open the season and won his first three games before things quickly went downhill after running back Christian McCaffrey injured his hamstring. The Panthers lost four of their next five games and Darnold was benched late in the fourth quarter of a lopsided road loss to the New York Giants.
He was later diagnosed with an incomplete fracture of his right shoulder blade, prompting the team to sign Newton to a one-year contract to finish out the season.
After Darnold went on IR, the Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals on the road with Walker as their starter and Newton playing in a backup role. But the Panthers have lost three straight games to fall to 5-8 since Newton took over as the starter.
The team also announced cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver was designated to return from IR after suffering a foot injury in Week 11.
NOTES: Cornerback A.J. Bouye (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. Wide receiver D.J. Moore (hamstring) and guard Michael Jordan (hamstring) are questionable, while guard John Miller (ankle) returned to full practice after missing last week's game vs. Atlanta.
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL


text:
Title 10. ARMED FORCES
Subtitle A. General Military Law
Part II. PERSONNEL
Chapter 83. CIVILIAN DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE EMPLOYEES
Subchapter II. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY PERSONNEL
Section 1621. Defense Intelligence Agency merit pay system
10 U.S. Code § 1621. Defense Intelligence Agency merit pay system
The Secretary of Defense may by regulation establish a merit pay system for such employees of the Defense Intelligence Agency as the Secretary considers appropriate. The merit pay system shall be designed to carry out purposes consistent with those set forth in section 5401 of title 5, as in effect on October 31, 1993.
(Added Pub. L. 97–89, title VII, § 701(a)(1), Dec. 4, 1981, 95 Stat. 1160, § 1602; amended Pub. L. 98–615, title II, § 204(b), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3216; Pub. L. 103–89, § 3(b)(3)(A), Sept. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 982; Pub. L. 103–359, title V, § 501(b)(1)(C), Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3428; renumbered § 1621 and amended Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XVI, §§ 1632(a)(1), 1633(d), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2745, 2752.)
Section 5401 of title 5, referred to in text, was repealed by Pub. L. 103–89, § 3(a)(1), (c), Sept. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 981, eff. Nov. 1, 1993.
A prior section 1621, added Pub. L. 99–145, title IX, § 924(a)(1), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 697; amended Pub. L. 99–433, title I, § 110(g)(2), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1004; Pub. L. 100–26, § 7(c)(2), (k)(2), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 280, 284; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VIII, § 853(c)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1518, defined "program manager", "procurement command", and "major defense acquisition program", prior to repeal by Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XII, § 1207(c)(4), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1665; Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1061(a)(26)(C)(i), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1474, effective Oct. 1, 1993.
1996—Pub. L. 104–201 renumbered section 1602 of this title as this section and struck out "and Central Imagery Office" after "Intelligence Agency".
1994—Pub. L. 103–359 inserted "and Central Imagery Office" after "Defense Intelligence Agency".
1993—Pub. L. 103–89 inserted ", as in effect on October 31, 1993".
1984—Pub. L. 98–615 substituted "section 5401 of title 5" for "section 5401(a) of title 5".
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–201 effective Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1635 of Pub. L. 104–201, set out as a note under section 1593 of this title.
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–89 effective Nov. 1, 1993, see section 3(c) of Pub. L. 103–89, set out as a note under section 3372 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Pub. L. 98–615, title II, § 205, Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3217, provided that amendment by Pub. L. 98–615 was effective Oct. 1, 1984, and applicable with respect to pay periods commencing on or after that date, with certain exceptions and qualifications.
Pub. L. 97–89, title VIII, § 806, Dec. 4, 1981, 95 Stat. 1162, provided that:
"The amendments made by titles V, VI, and VII and by this title [enacting this chapter and sections 3513 and 3610 to 3613 of Title 50, War and National Defense, and amending sections 2108, 6304, and 8336 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and sections 3073, 3505, 3506, 3607, and 3608 of Title 50] shall take effect as of October 1, 1981."


Official T-Shirt of the Dual Honda collection of the pilot Jorge Lorenzo white and black with red stripe. With the number 99 and Honda logo on the front and the Honda logo on the right sleeve. On the back the number 99 large and HONDA.