"It's Not Tiddlywinks."

~
Cricket, that is. At least, according to Cricket Australia's head, this game ain't tiddlywinks. No kidding. The "cricket crisis" has been making the headline news in India for 4 days now and I'm bored of it. There, I've said it. Yes, the racism charge caused a bad reaction here. The Board of Control for Cricket in India -- the Indian version of Cricket Australia -- and ain't just the name enough to make you think of 1984? -- sees the charge and the conviction handed out to "Bhajji" as a national insult and is now out for blood. BCCI's official response cites India's "proud" stand against apartheid.... I'll let you imagine the tone of indignation and fury. Meanwhile, sources inform me that "sledging" (that's the correct term for on-field slagging in cricket) often involves racist, sexist and homophobic language. General all-around offensiveness. Apparently the Australians call it "mental disintegration" and use it as a deliberate strategy for throwing their opponents off their collective game. So I've said my piece about it -- I still think it's a pity that the racism is all tangled up with the particularities of this match and these teams -- but I'm now moving on.

A game of tiddlywinks, anyone?

Actually, what I wanted to move on to tiddlywinks for political junkies. Heh. I'll admit to getting up at 7am Indian time yesterday so I could find out who'd won the New Hampshire Democratic primary. Course, I got up, checked the nets, and went straight back to sleep. But still. I'd like to point out that that's probably showing way more interest in the US election than most American citizens do. So, tell me, y'all -- if you were Americans -- who'd you be voting for? I like to think that I know all of y'all pretty well so it's going to be Obama, Hilary, Edwards or Richardson. If there's a Giuliani fan reading this blog, please.... keep browsing. There's aint' going to be anything of interest to you here. I've been a fan of John Edwards ever since I saw footage of him addressing a small volunteer crew in post-Katrina Louisiana on my last trip to the US. I was stuck in a hotel in Philadelphia, infuriated by the racialization of poverty that I'd seen in that prosperous city.... I couldn't believe the contrasts to be found between black and white within a city block or two. I thought it crazy then and I think it crazy now: I still don't understand why there aren't riots on the streets. Anyway, that night, as I pretty much gave up the ghost on looking for academic work in the US, I turned on the TV and happened upon Edwards talking about the relationship between poverty and race and class in the US. And he was angry about it -- not in a contrived, this is an on-camera moment kind of way but blazingly, furiously angry. Since then, I've done a little bit of reading up on his positions and I'm convinced that he's as good as any of the mainline Democratic candidates are gonna get. If I were an American, my choice would be... Martin Sheen as Jed Bartlett. But if I couldn't have my Nobel-prize winning Professor of Economics, I'd probably go with Edwards.

And the joys of globalization mean that even though I'm not -- and can't imagine ever being -- American, the US elections matter to us in more ways than we know. Bah.

Anyway, back to tiddlywinks. Who'd you be voting for?