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Thread: Australia name 15-member squad for 2-match Test series against Pakistan to be played in the UAE
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11th September 2018, 11:50 #1
Australia name 15-member squad for 2-match Test series against Pakistan to be played in the UAE
Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel has named a 15-player squad for the Qantas Tour of the United Arab Emirates.
The squad, led by Tim Paine, will play two Tests against Pakistan, the first commencing on 7 October at Dubai International Stadium and the second commencing on 16 October at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
It features five players yet to debut at Test level - Queensland trio Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne, South Australias Travis Head and Victorias Aaron Finch.
Qantas Tour of UAE - Test Squad
The vice-captain position will be finalised and announced by the NSP ahead of the series.
Speaking on the squad, National Selector Trevor Hohns said:
There has been significant change to our Test squad, due to the unavailability of a number of key players, Hohns said.
That said, we firmly believe the squad selected is up to the challenge ahead, and is capable of playing a brand of cricket that can perform well in this series against Pakistan.
Its a blend of experienced players who have a significant amount of either Test or first-class cricket, and a number of younger players who we are confident are ready for the Test arena.
Looking at the conditions we may face in the UAE, we believe this squad covers all bases. We have selected four front-line fast bowlers and three spinners, with Mitchell Marsh ready to play as an all-rounder and a number of top-order batsmen who also offer part-time spin options.
There are five potential debutants in the squad, all of whom have earned selection through their performances and deserve this opportunity.
On the yet-to-debut players Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Michael Neser, Marcus Labuschagne and Brendan Doggett - Hohns said:
Aaron is in sensational form, and this is the right time to give him a chance to play Test cricket. He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield in recent seasons, and brings added experience and leadership to this group.
Travis has improved his game immensely over the past 12 months, and is the type of player we want in this environment. Hes a hard worker who has performed well with the bat in his recent four-day opportunities for Australia A and South Australia.
Michael is a strong all-round cricketer - he bowls and bats well, and is a mature player coming off a fantastic Sheffield Shield season for Queensland. He has impressed us with his performances for Australia A and in his white-ball opportunities for Australia.
Marnus is a young player with plenty of potential and a great work ethic. He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield, has shown hes a good player of spin for Australia A in India, and is an elite fielder who offers added variety with the ball as a leg-spin option.
Brendan is an exciting prospect, a fast bowler with raw pace and wicket-taking ability. He provides an additional option to Mitchell Starc if extra pace is called for, and this is an ideal opportunity to get him involved in a national set-up for the first time after his recent showings for Queensland and Australia A.
If selected to debut, Doggett would become just the second Indigenous cricketer to play Test cricket for the Australian Mens Cricket Team, following Jason Gillespie.
On the return of 62 Test-veteran Peter Siddle, Hohns said:
Peter is a proven performer in the Test arena, who has been in outstanding form in his recent first-class outings over in England. His experience will be crucial for this bowling group, and we know that he is a warrior who can bowl the type of long, tight spells which may be required in the conditions we expect to face.
Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, and Jhye Richardson were among a number of other players considered, but not selected.
Joe, Peter and Glenn were players we discussed when selecting the batting group, but we had to take into account the conditions and competition we are set to face in the upcoming series. All three remain on our radar for Test cricket, but we want them to perform for their States and continue to push their case ahead of what is going to be a big Australian summer, Hohns said.
Jhye is a player who has a bright future in all formats, and has been impressive in his international opportunities to date. He is one of a number of developing bowlers adding to the depth of our fast bowling group, and we see him potentially having an important role to play in the shorter formats of the game in the immediate future.
The squad will assemble in Brisbane for a pre-tour camp on 16 September.
29 September - October 2: warm-up match v Pakistan A, ICC Academy, Dubai
7-11 October: 1st Test v Pakistan, Dubai International Stadium
16-20 October: 2nd Test v Pakistan, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
11th September 2018, 12:01 #2
We should smash them, but then again Pakistan has a knack of making heroes out of nobodies. A quarter of this team are full of players most in Australia let alone abroad have never heard of
"Last time Uganda toured Canada, half their team ran away to start a new life" - cricfan967
11th September 2018, 12:46 #3First Class Captain
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Glen Maxwell would be fuming right now, his non-selection for the A tour seemed to suggest that he was a lock-in for this tour.
11th September 2018, 14:30 #4
A third of their squad is are new players. Cummins,Hazelwood,Smith,and Warner out. We should be winning this series , don't want to hear excuses that we still going through transition after Misbah and Younis retirement. They retired in April 2017!!!!!!! Most teams in transitions still win home series .
2 genuine spinners should be selected at a minimum.
11th September 2018, 15:18 #5
Five uncapped players were named in Australia's squad for the Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
The team announced on Tuesday, 11 September, wore a new look all around. Reinforcements were vital in the batting department in particular, with Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft serving bans. Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschange were the batsmen who made the cut, apart from all-rounder Michael Neser, and Brendan Doggett, the seam bowler.
Of these, Finch and Head have played a substantial number of international games in the shorter formats and Neser has played two one-day internationals, while the other two have never worn an Australia shirt. We take a quick look at the five new entrants.
Aaron Finch is an international veteran, even captaining Australia in the shortest formats. He first appeared for Australia – in a Twenty20 International – in 2011, and has since played 134 more games for Australia.
He has scored consistently in the longer format for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield. In all the opener has accrued 4338 runs in red-ball cricket from 76 matches at an average of 36.15. In the 2017-18 Australian domestic season, he scored 494 runs from eight games at 35.28.
"Aaron is in sensational form, and this is the right time to give him a chance to play Test cricket," Trevor Hohns, the national selector, said. "He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield in recent seasons, and brings added experience and leadership to this group."
A top-order batsman, Travis Head has featured in 39 ODIs and 16 T20Is with decent success. The South Australian has also enjoyed some success in the red-ball format, having accumulated 4476 runs at an average of 36.09.
In recent times, he has improved his performances against the red ball and furthered his case for Test selection with a resilient 87 for Australia A in India to secure victory against India A. In the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield, he amassed 738 runs from eight matches at 46.12. His bowls part-time off-spin, which might come in handy on the dry pitches of UAE.
"Travis has improved his game immensely over the past 12 months, and is the type of player we want in this environment," Hohns said.
Marnus Labuschange was the second-highest run-getter in the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield, scoring 795 runs from 11 games for Queensland at 39.75. In the recent match against India A, he scored 60 and 37 on a difficult pitch. The 24-year-old also bowls leg-spin, which improved his chances.
"Marnus is a young player with plenty of potential and a great work ethic," Hohns said. "He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield, has shown he's a good player of spin for Australia A in India, and is an elite fielder who offers added variety with the ball as a leg-spin option."
Michael Neser, the Queenslander, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the previous Sheffield Shield, taking 39 from 10 games at 21.84. He is reputed for being able to bowl a nagging line and length, which earned him 4/61 in the first four-day game against India A.
His bowling capabilities coupled with his penchant for lower order runs makes him a valuable asset to the side.
"Michael is a strong all-round cricketer – he bowls and bats well, and is a mature player coming off a fantastic Sheffield Shield season for Queensland," Hohns said.
Brendan Doggett is just eight first-class games old, but in his short career has displayed enough potential with the ball to convince the selectors that he warrants a place in the national side. In the last Sheffield Shield season, he picked up 28 wickets from seven games for Queensland.
If selected for any of the Tests, Doggett will become only the third player of indigenous decent after Faith Thomas and Jason Gillespie to have played Test cricket for Australia.
"Brendan is an exciting prospect, a fast bowler with raw pace and wicket-taking ability," Hohns said. "He provides an additional option to Mitchell Starc if extra pace is called for, and this is an ideal opportunity to get him involved in a national set-up for the first time after his recent showings for Queensland and Australia A."
Stats mentioned don't include numbers from ongoing second first-class game between India A and Australia A.
11th September 2018, 15:31 #6
Decent squad.
Surprised by Maxwell's omission.
Siddle's recall is a surprise. I suppose he is there to play the 'Abbas' role but someone like Jackson Bird could have done that too.
Interested to see whether Renshaw has improved against spin.
11th September 2018, 15:53 #7
it should be 2-0 in favor of Pakistan. It would be disappointment if they don't win 2-0.
11th September 2018, 15:58 #8
Pakistan should smash this team into oblivion.
And I get so high.. And I just can't feel it....
11th September 2018, 16:17 #9
Looks like a poor quality side. In theory Pakistan should be able to comfortable beat them... In theory... The pitches should be made conducive to spin
11th September 2018, 16:18 #10Test Debutant
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No Cummins, Hazlewood, Smith, Warner. This team will get obliterated in the UAE.
11th September 2018, 16:20 #11
11th September 2018, 16:36 #12
One of the weakest Aussie line ups ever.
"You aren't a failure if you fail, you are a failure if you don't get up to try again" - Imran Khan.
11th September 2018, 17:55 #13Test Debutant
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I assume that the Maxwell omission is related to the Al Jazeera scandal.........
11th September 2018, 18:02 #14
Anything less than 2-0 should be a disappointment.
11th September 2018, 18:04 #15
11th September 2018, 18:06 #16
11th September 2018, 18:28 #17ODI Star
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Anything less than a 2-0 win for Pakistan would be a disappointment.
11th September 2018, 18:33 #18
Kurtis Patterson and Chris Tremain should have been in there ahead of Labuschagne and Nesser.
Otherwise a much expected squad by Australia.
11th September 2018, 18:35 #19
11th September 2018, 19:03 #20First Class Player
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Maxwell blew up & didn't handle past dropping/ommision well and made a few moves/statements that saw him regarded as more a loose cannon than a team player. Given the inexperience of the team and attempt to build a new culture around a weakened captain (given circumstances) I'd say personality is more to do with it, given Maxwell will play other formats.
11th September 2018, 19:18 #21
even with our awful batting line up in tests we should be aiming for a 2-0 series win here against a weak Australian team.
11th September 2018, 19:24 #22First Class Star
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Pick and play both Yasir and Shadab and Pakistan will win this. Go with more than 3 fast bowlers and we are hurting ourselves.
11th September 2018, 19:25 #23
It's a puzzle because he plays spin well and was selected for the last test series. Langer has justified the non-selection by saying Maxwell needs to go and perform in the Shield, but that ignores the fact he averaged 50+ last season.
Even Ponting is confused:
11th September 2018, 19:53 #24
Once again, it's a case of "Don't get too cocky". I'm sure England fans when they saw the Pakistan squad without Misbah and YK they would have had an easy 2-0 victory in mind but we saw what happened.
I'm not saying I don't expect us to beat them, I do, but we shouldn't just assume we're going to roll them over.
11th September 2018, 20:26 #25
Need a 2-0 win, with at least one test won by an innings and runs. Anything less and Australia would have done well and Pakistan would have been mediocre.
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله
11th September 2018, 20:27 #26
11th September 2018, 22:16 #27
Ricky Ponting says he's confused by the omission of Glenn Maxwell from Australia's Test squad.
The former Australia captain said he was also surprised Maxwell was left out of the recent 'A' tour of India.
Australia's selectors announced the squad for the team's two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE on Tuesday.
Maxwell had been tipped for a call-up in the absence of suspended trio Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, but uncapped pair Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head were both picked ahead of him, with chief selector Trevor Hohns citing their performances on the A tour – for which Maxwell was not selected – as a reason.
Ponting, who has coached with the Australia limited-overs sides this year, says Maxwell should have been given a chance to impress selectors on the A tour.
"If I was Maxi I'd be thinking: 'Why didn't you give me the chance to actually go there (to India) and push my case to get myself into the team?'" Ponting told cricket.com.au.
"That's all a bit bizarre to me. If I was Maxi and I hadn't been given the chance to play for Australia A, I'd be ropeable.
Ponting has coached as part of the current Australia set-up Ponting has coached as part of the current Australia set-up
"They didn't pick him on that Australia A tour and they've said they've seen him play enough in those conditions and knew what he could do.
"But if you think about it now, that must have actually meant they weren't going to pick him at all. He didn't even come into calculations for that Test tour.
"With Marnus [Marnus Labuschagne] and Travis Head going on that A tour, they gave them the opportunity to play in those conditions, they've done well and then they picked them (for the Test squad).
"I'm not sure what the message is, but it's a bit confusing to me."
Hohns says Maxwell remains on the "radar for Test cricket", but head coach Justin Langer called on the 29-year-old to score more centuries.
"I'd love to see Maxi score more hundreds," Langer said. "And he and I have talked a lot in our brief time together about the art of concentration and watching the ball like a hawk.
"I'm sure if he does that more regularly, he will be making a lot more hundreds and be much more pickable for Test cricket."
12th September 2018, 00:38 #28
Agree with @Junaids on this Maxwell exclusion. Something doesn't quite meet the eye, they have been actively cajoling him almost to not play any cricket over the past couple of months.
12th September 2018, 01:36 #29
Personally I don't really mind Glenn Maxwell not being selected. Personally don't really rate at all much. Not a good choice as a Allround spin bowler for Australia.
12th September 2018, 01:41 #30
12th September 2018, 01:41 #31
S Marsh
T Head
M Marsh
T Paine + *
N Lyon
J Holland
M Starc
P Siddle / A Agar
12th September 2018, 04:14 #32
I would have liked to see maxwell in the playing eleven. An easy wicket for us.
12th September 2018, 08:54 #33T20I Debutant
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Allan Border questions Glenn Maxwells omission from Australia Test squad
AUSTRALIAN cricket great and former selector Allan Border believes double-standards are at play when it comes to Glenn Maxwells shock omission from the squad for the two-Test series against Pakistan.
Having enjoyed the finest Sheffield Shield campaign of his career (707 runs at 50.50) last summer and as one of only two available players to boast a Test century in Asia, Maxwell was considered a frontrunner for selection. Unfortunately for the Victorian that was not enough to earn him a spot on the plane to the United Arab Emirates, with coach Justin Langer calling on the right-hander to produce big scores on a consistent basis.
He needs to score more hundreds, its as simple as that, Langer said on SEN on Wednesday. Thats criteria Border says has not been applied evenly across the board.
It seems to me that hes viewed differently to the others, Border told foxsports.com.au. They say they want him to make hundreds.
Thats a common reason people use whenever Maxwells not in a squad or a team but they dont say that to the other guys in contention who are actually being picked. I feel sorry for him...Its a tough one to fathom.
Since first being called out for a lack of big scores by then Australia coach Darren Lehmann in late 2016, the Victorian has made two first-class centuries. Its not an outstanding record but its as many as many as Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne in the same period, and one fewer than Travis Head all three of whom were picked for the series.
Maxwell has also managed as many first-class centuries (7) in his career as both Finch and Head in fewer matches. Finchs seven hundreds have come across 76 first-class matches, while Heads have come from 70. Labuschagne has a comparatively impressive record with four tons from 35 first-class matches.
Border believes Maxwell is a victim of his own ability.
Hes frustrating at times because you know he can produce better with the talent hes got that can be frustrating for the coaches and people involved.
For his part, Maxwell has taken his omission in his stride, pledging to score the hundreds Langer wants from him.
He made it pretty clear he wants more hundreds from me, and thats fine, Maxwell said on SENs Whateley. Ill try and give him that during this JLT (one-day cup) and during this Shield season coming up as well. Ill make sure I can give him what he wants.
Despite his disappointment over Maxwells snubbing, Border said there was plenty to like in the squad, praising the selections of Labuschagne and Finch.
Marnus deserves his opportunity after couple of good seasons for Queensland, he said. Hes a strong character, brilliant in the field and an old-fashioned batsman. Hes not a power hitter. Hes got good technique and knows how to build an innings.
I like the selection of Finch. Hes a good person to have around the group because of his leaderships qualities and can be very destructive. If he can play the red ball anything like he does against the white ball, it could be pretty exciting to watch.
12th September 2018, 11:25 #34
Maxwell was a walking wicket last time he toured the UAE. Hes no Steve Waugh.
12th September 2018, 19:13 #35Tape Ball Star
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All the posters saying "we should obliterate them " and "roll them over " .... Just have a look at their probable starting eleven
RENSHAW ( gritty , strong minded lad who've done ok in India last year )
FINCH ( Dangerous in any format he plays and brilliant against spin as well)
KHAWAJA ( struggled initially against spin ...but a much improved player rn)
S MARSH ( a beast on highway tracks )
T HEAD ( weak link maybe....but still not to be taken lightly)
M MARSH (just like his brother, the guy can bat long and is in good form ATM)
T PAINE ( very good at playing with the tail)
A AGAR ( can do what Herath did last year)
N LYON ( the best offie in the world rn)
STARC ( lethal in any conditions with sheer pace)
SIDDLE ( vastly experienced and a workhorse)
All in all this team has 'the potential' to beat pakistan in the series. I'm expecting a lot tougher fight than a few of the posters are suggesting.
14th September 2018, 09:25 #36T20I Debutant
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Australia are a very average batting team: Shane Warne
Australian cricket has been in the doldrums since the triple suspension of Steven Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft earlier this year. The bowling has not really taken a hit, but the batting has really been jolted. To make things worse, the future does not look too bright, as Shane Warne told Fox Sports: I think with Australian cricket there are lots of concerns. One is talent coming through, why isnt the talent coming through? I cant think of one young batsman thats come through from any state that you think this guy is going to be the next superstar of Australian cricket.
Our batting, the top six positions who are the two certainties that were going to play? Probably Shaun Marsh and [Usman] Khawaja are our two best batsmen. Theyre good players, dont get me wrong but who are the other four batters that were going to have in the side? I dont think we have six genuine Test match batsmen, of genuine Test-match class.
We look at the Australian system, the Sheffield Shield and the pool to pick from and I scratch my head. Im trying to be realistic and Im trying to be positive but Im really worried about our batsmen against quality bowling, spin or fast Weve got to accept were a very average batting team our bowlers save us.
However, Warne also pointed out the upside of the current scenario: The exciting thing for me is the opportunity. I think we should be looking at players that have not so much got averages, but character, technique; they get runs when it counts, all those things. A throwback to Allan Borders brigade of the mid-1980s, perhaps?
Id be picking guys that have toughness of character rather than good averages. I want to know the personality and character and the size of the heart of the player at the moment. Theyve got to fight and not give up.
I think the opportunity that is available to people is the exciting thing to look forward to and also our bowlers. Weve got to be excited about them. When theyre all fit and playing weve got one of the best bowling attacks in the world, if not the best.
14th September 2018, 11:35 #37Test Debutant
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14th September 2018, 11:45 #38Test Debutant
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@Convict Why wasn't Tremain selected ahead of Siddle for this tour? He's younger and was Shield player of the year and hasn't bowled too badly on the A tour of India.
14th September 2018, 12:03 #39
Pakistan should win 2-0 against this squad.
15th September 2018, 10:39 #40
'Relaxed' Travis Head credits increasing maturity for Test call-up
Australian top-order batsman Travis Head feels he has become a more relaxed player, and has thus been able to string together consistent performances in first-class cricket.
Head was one of five uncapped faces named in the Australia Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. His chances of selection were boosted by his sublime 87 in the second innings of a four-day game against India A in Bengaluru recently. It set up the win for Australia A – the side he was leading.
But Head feels consistent performances over the last few seasons of the Sheffield Shield have played as big a role in securing him a chance in the Test team. In the 2017-18 season, he was one of the Shield's best batsmen, scoring 738 runs from eight matches at 46.12, while in 2016-17 he had amassed 645 runs from nine games at 43.
"Over the last three or four years in Shield cricket I've been able to put a few consistent seasons together on the board which is nice," Head was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Friday, 14 September.
"I think over the process of a few years I have come a bit more relaxed and especially over the last six months I have worked extremely hard on my game and the technical side of my game. I have spoken about my forward defence and that comes with more maturity. I just got a bit older and a bit (more) relaxed, so I am ready to go."
But batting is not the only department Head wants to contribute in; he's been working hard on his bowling and although he's not had the desired results yet, he'd like to be given the chance.
"It's something that I have worked hard on, although I didn't get the results in India (with Australia A) that I would have liked," Head said about his off-spin bowling. "I don't think it really reflected how well I was bowling at training, so hopefully I get a bit of an opportunity."
The 24-year-old has already had experience captaining his domestic side, and more recently took over the mantle of the Australia A limited overs side, but he isn't too concerned about trying to secure the vice-captain's role in the Test team.
"There is a lot of talk about that (vice-captain) role, but (I hope) I can help the team in any way, whether that be with leadership or with my batting, bowling, fielding, training, standards or values," he said.
"Everyone in that team is a leader. It is a great bunch of individuals and a great bunch of guys that work extremely hard at their craft and what they do. It's not going to take just "Painey" (captain Tim Paine) and just "JL" (coach Justin Langer).
"It's going to take a collective group over the series and over a period of time to get to where we want to get to."
16th September 2018, 06:33 #41
Pakistan should win it 2 - 0 .
They should attack with 3 spinners.
17th September 2018, 11:02 #42T20I Debutant
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Aaron Finch eager for long-awaited debut
Aaron Finch says he won't make any radical alterations to his belligerent batting approach as the Victorian firms for a long-awaited Test debut against Pakistan next month.
No Australian without a Baggy Green has played more international cricket than Finch, who finally earned a call-up to the Test squad last week after a number of consistent years at first-class level.
His five centuries and a batting average of 47.88 in first-class cricket over the past four-and-a-half years have not grabbed the kind of attention his limited-overs exploits have.
But with Australia reeling from the loss of three key batsmen for their Qantas Tour of the United Arab Emirates to face Pakistan, Finch's form is now impossible to ignore while his experience could also prove invaluable.
He looms as the most logical option to partner Matthew Renshaw at the top of a rejigged Test batting order, but Finch says he'd slot in anywhere.
"I'd bat number 11 if I had to," he joked.
While he hadn't quite entered into a now-or-never mindset ahead of his call-up, Finch conceded he thought the window to fulfil his childhood dream would have shrunk considerably had he been overlooked for the UAE tour.
The 31-year-old admitted his heart rate "went through the roof" when selection chief Trevor Hohns delivered the good news as he was driving home from Victoria training last week.
"It was probably the time when if it didn't happen now, it was probably less likely to happen down the track," Finch said.
"It would mean a lot (to make his debut). You grow up in the backyard dreaming of playing Test cricket and getting a Baggy Green. It's closer now than it ever has been before."
Speaking to reporters in Brisbane where Australia's 15-player squad is gathered ahead of their departure for Dubai this week, Finch was careful to point out there are no guarantees over a spot in the Test XI.
The right-hander has been touted as a likely opening option, a position where he's prospered in white-ball cricket, but he noted the likes of Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Travis Head all have experience at the top in various formats.
The beginning of an innings when the ball is new and hard is often the best time to bat on low, slow and turning subcontinental pitches, which could suit the aggressive Finch to a tee.
But he stressed there may be times where he'd need to reel in those attacking instincts.
"Being aggressive has made me reasonably successful in international cricket in the two shorter formats," he explained.
"(His approach) depends on the order they see me fitting in if there's a spot in the XI. If it's at the top, it's about playing your natural game. If it's in the middle, there will be times when you come in against a lot of spin and the ball is reversing.
"Pakistan are a side that tend to bowl a lot more spin with the new ball, particularly in the second innings.
"It's just about sticking to your natural game, playing to your strengths. When that happens, you give yourself a higher chance of success.
"Playing for 10 or 12 years you build up a game plan you think works for you pretty well. It's not about going away from that because it's Test cricket or you're playing in the subcontinent - it's about just changing your mindset slightly."
As one of five uncapped players in the Test squad, the know-how Finch has acquired from a seven-year international career could be crucial as the Aussies eye a first Test series win in Asia since 2011.
"There are some guys on their first tours, which is really exciting for them," he said.
"While this is my first Test tour as well, I've been around for quite a while and probably know the demands of international cricket - not necessarily Test cricket.
"(I can be) a sounding board for some younger guys if they need a chat - wherever Tim (Paine) and JL (coach Justin Langer) think I can help out."
17th September 2018, 15:15 #43
Holland ready to take one last chance
Spinner Jon Holland concedes next month's series against Pakistan could be his last chance to establish himself on the international stage.
Almost a decade after his first tour with Australia, Holland will head to the UAE this week with just two Tests to his name and a Test bowling average in the 50s.
Following the UAE tour, Australia won't play Tests in Asia again until February 2020, underlining the importance of this campaign for Holland to prove he can perform at the highest level.
The 31-year-old insists he's a better bowler than he was during his hurried and brief stint in the Baggy Green more than two years ago and says there'll be plenty of nerves if he's picked to partner Nathan Lyon for the first Test in Dubai on October 7.
"It definitely crossed my mind that I was probably running out of time (to play Test cricket again)," he told SEN.
Holland receives his Baggy Green cap
"Obviously every time you play cricket you want to do well, so the nerves and everything will be there again if I do get another opportunity.
"It probably is my last crack, so I really want to put a good performance out there and hopefully I can get a couple more years in the Australian colours."
Holland is back in favour having been surprisingly overlooked for Test tours to India and Bangladesh last year, with Ashton Agar, Steve O'Keefe and Mitchell Swepson picked ahead of him on those tours.
Former Test captain Ricky Ponting, Holland's skipper when he was picked as a 22-year-old for Australia's ODI tour of India in 2009, said last week it was a "no-brainer" for Holland to play alongside Lyon for the Pakistan series.
And Ponting added the left-armer had a chance to end any debate about who should partner Lyon if conditions require a second spinner on future tours.
"He has been Australia's second-best spinner for some time," Ponting told cricket.com.au last week.
"Whenever he plays for Victoria, he takes wicket after wicket. He's a quality bowler.
"He let himself down a little during those two Test matches he played for Australia in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago. He probably didn't bowl as well as he could have.
"If he gets a crack at it now, he's someone who could potentially play for Australia over the next few years in the right conditions."
Holland all but assured his Test spot on the recent Australia A tour of India, where his nine-wicket haul steered the tourists to a victory over a strong India A side in Bengaluru.
The Victorian was picked as the lone spinner in that side ahead of Agar and Swepson, his main rivals for a Test spot, and bowled more than 53 overs in a match-winning performance.
"I think it was important ... there were two other spinners over there that missed out on that game," he said.
"To take on the job as the only spinner and bowl the team to victory on the last day really strengthened my case for a recall.
"Throughout the winter I've been I've been working pretty closely with our coach at Victoria Andrew McDonald on a few plans and the conditions that we might face in India and maybe the UAE if I was to be selected.
"I had a little bit of a chat with Justin Langer and some other people about what they expected the conditions to be like and what was required in those conditions. So I think I worked pretty hard in the winter and luckily enough it paid off."
20th September 2018, 13:45 #44
Scandal-hit Australia vow 'hard but fair' series against Pakistan
Skipper Tim Paine vowed Australia will play "hard but fair" against Pakistan as they embark on their first Test tour since a ball-tampering scandal and with fresh controversy raging following allegations by England's Moeen Ali.
The squad jetted out late on Wednesday for their first Test series since the ill-fated tour of South Africa early this year, which led to 12-month suspensions for Steve Smith and David Warner and triggered an outpouring of public anger.
Australia have five uncapped players in their squad for a tour in which they plan to adopt a more respectful culture and move away from the win-at-all-costs mentality blamed for the explosive ball-tampering row.
"The Australian way has always been to play hard and fair and that'll be no different this series," Paine told reporters before departing for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"There's always a lot of eyes on the Australian cricket team wherever we play, so that will be no different, and this team is really clear on what's expected and our standards, and we'll uphold them."
Two reviews into the state of the game were set up in the aftermath of South Africa — one focusing on the culture within Cricket Australia and the other into the team.
While the team has had a shake-up and Darren Lehmann was replaced as coach by Justin Langer, they open the two Test series days after further off-field problems emerged after Moeen said in his autobiography that an Australian player called him "Osama" during the 2015 Ashes.
Moeen, a practising Muslim, said he was on the receiving end of the slur, a reference to terror leader Osama bin Laden, from an unnamed opponent during his Ashes debut against in Cardiff.
Cricket Australia has launched an investigation, calling the comment "unacceptable".
'Partnerships, patience, pressure'
With Smith, Warner and fellow ball-tamperer Cameron Bancroft missing, along with injured fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, it could be a tough tour for Australia, who have one of their weakest squads in years.
There are five debutantes — Queensland trio Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne, South Australia's Travis Head and Victoria's Aaron Finch.
Paine is expecting a demanding tour played in temperatures likely to hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
"We are going to have to play really hard, tough cricket particularly from the batting side," he said.
"And then in the heat over there, it's the same for our bowlers; it's going to be about patience, trying to wear them down and being in a position late in the game where we can make a move."
Matt Renshaw, who was dumped ahead of the Ashes late last year, is likely to open along with Finch, who is an experienced one-day and Twenty20 campaigner but has never played a Test.
A slimmed-down Usman Khawaja, who says he has lost several kilos after stepping up his training regime, is expected to come in a number three with Shaun Marsh at four and potentially Head at five.
"We have spoken about partnerships and patience and pressure, which is going to be a real key over there," said Paine.
The first Test is in Dubai from October 7 with the second in Abu Dhabi from October 16.
20th September 2018, 14:30 #45First Class Player
- Debut
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Smith, Warner, Cummins, Hazlewood all out.
Apart from Starc and Lyon, there isn't a single world-class test player in that squad. Anything less than a whitewash and Pak should feel they were below par.
23rd September 2018, 12:26 #46
Renshaw gets another trick from The Wall
A chance encounter with legendary former India batter Rahul Dravid has reaffirmed Matthew Renshaw's commitment to be Australia's modern-day version of the 'The Wall'.
After forging a career as the hardest man to dismiss in the world and racking up over 13,000 Test runs, Dravid has since moved into coaching and helped India set the benchmark as the world's leading producer of young batting talent.
Renshaw last month made the most of hamstring niggle that saw him miss Australia A's opening four-day game against India A in Bengaluru by hitting up Dravid for advice, with a two-Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates on the horizon.
"I spoke to him a bit – my Dad has done a bit of work for his academy over there," Renshaw told cricket.com.au in Dubai on Saturday.
"I spoke to him a little bit over there and just (took away) some little things, little gems of wisdom.
"Someone who's got (over) 11,000 … Test runs is someone you want to take as much from as possible. He was always really welcoming and very good with us talking to (me)."
He added with a smile: "I talk about my ping-pong game being a little bit like Rahul Dravid - I just try to get everything back. I'll think about doing that in a Test match."
While Renshaw only managed 0 and 19 in his return for the second four-day game on that A tour, he's confident he's a more effective player on the subcontinent than he was for the Test campaigns in India and Bangladesh last year.
"I watched a little bit of footage of my India tour last year," he said.
"Although I got a couple of fifties, there's still areas I could work on and going big in those series would have helped us."
Renshaw grabbed the attention of Australian fans in his debut Test series two summers ago when he emerged as a modern version of a very old-style opener.
The left-hander's patience and willingness to leave ball after ball was a welcome trait for an overhauled Test side and he broke through with a brilliant 184 against Pakistan in the 2017 New Year's Test in Sydney.
His axing last November for the opening Test of the home Ashes after a lean start to the JLT Sheffield Shield season saw him brought back to earth, but this year he's stormed back into an unmatched vein of form.
Following an eye-catching Shield final performance and a productive winter stint with county side Somerset, Renshaw has six first-class centuries to his name this year - the joint-most in the world - while his 1199 runs (at 52) in 2018 are nearly 250 more than the next best Australian.
His stroke-play has expanded significantly, but Renshaw is still determined to be the immovable, Dravid-esque presence in his second coming to international cricket.
And with Australia's best two batters and the man who replaced him for the Ashes all missing due to ball-tampering bans, Renshaw looms as a vital ingredient in a depleted top-order.
"I (want to) get an opportunity to bat all day, bat two days, bat three days – however long," Renshaw said.
"I'm just trying to bat and making the bowlers bowl to me and make them get me out rather than me getting me myself out."
Renshaw admits it's comforting to know he has succeeded against Pakistan in the past ahead of the return leg of the 2016-17 series.
But he also noted the major leaps Sarfraz Ahmed's side have made in limited-overs cricket in recent times and expects them to be a tougher proposition in their adopted home in United Arab Emirates.
"It's always nice knowing you've got some runs against an opposition but it's completely different conditions over here," said Renshaw.
"They've got a new young side, who have been really successful in the white-ball format, so I think they'll bring a lot of success over to the red ball and it will be a really good challenge in their home conditions.
"Their spinners are good, but one thing I took out from (last year's) India series was working a lot more on pace.
"A few of the lessons I've learnt ... is concentrating when those quicks come back on.
"You have a little time where you switch off against the quicks in the subcontinent because the spinners are coming at you so hard that the quicks are a bit of a break, but we don't want to have that mentality."
23rd September 2018, 12:27 #47
Australia get warm welcome in Dubai
Justin Langer spent his first training session with his new-look Test squad pushing his charges to their limits in extreme desert heat ahead of their series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
With the mercury soaring above 41 degrees Celsius, Australia sweated and panted through an intense three-hour training session at the International Cricket Council's headquarters in Dubai on Saturday.
Australia are more than two weeks out from their series-opener at the nearby Dubai International Cricket Stadium, but their desire to be well prepared has brought them to the Middle East early.
Opener Matthew Renshaw says the Test side will refuse to use the punishing temperatures as an excuse for another failure on the subcontinent, where Australia have won just a single Test series in eight attempts over the past decade.
"It's going to be hot, we know that," Renshaw told cricket.com.au. "We've just got to not think about it.
"It's going to be tough at times, there's going to be a few hot days. But if we are mentally prepared for this weather better than what this Pakistan team is, we'll go a long way to winning this Test series.
"We've been ... talking about the way we want to play and how we want to go about preparing and being the best prepared team in the world, especially for overseas tours like the UAE. It's about as being as well prepared as possible."
With the specialist bowlers and allrounders padding up and hitting the nets first following an extended warm-up, Langer interrupted the session and gathered squad members and local net bowlers alike into a huddle. He animatedly implored the tail-enders to bat as if a debutant (of which Australia could field as many as five for the first Test) was approaching a century at the other end.
The dogged former opener's imprint on the squad is already apparent, as was the intensity of both the newcomers and (relative) veterans of the squad.
Uncapped quicks Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser charged in for the best part of an hour, while Peter Siddle was beetroot red after his first session back following a near two-year hiatus from international cricket.
Left-arm spinner Jon Holland, who looms as Nathan Lyon's likely spin partner against Pakistan, also wheeled away in the nets as well on one of the two pristine ICC Academy cricket grounds.
Only Ashton Agar, who has stayed back for the beginning of Western Australia's JLT One-Day Cup campaign, and Travis Head (personal reasons) were missing. Both are expected to join the squad ahead of a four-day tour game against Pakistan A, beginning on Saturday.
One of only six incumbents in the 15-player squad from Australia's most recent Test against South Africa in March, Renshaw was one a number of batsmen thrown an unusual extra challenge in the nets.
Langer grabbed a few of the hundreds of empty water bottles the Aussies had guzzled down and put them on a good length outside the batters' off-stump.
"JL put a few bowling markers and bottles around where the rough would be on, say, a day-five wicket just to get that in the back of my mind when the spinners were bowling," Renshaw explained.
"It's obviously very tough on day five when the spinners are bowling into the rough. It's more of a mental thing, you don't know which one's going to turn (and) which one's going to hit the bottle.
"It's about trying to play the ball as well as you can and not have that in your mental mindset. It was quite fun - a few ricocheted off and hit me in the elbow and the stomach."
Australia topped off their competitive bat versus ball component with a light fielding session.
South African-born batter Marnus Labuschagne practiced his short leg skills, while limited-overs star Aaron Finch – also in his first Test squad – donned his helmet as well and practiced his close-in reflexes.
As the sun set on a cloudless day, Langer finally sat cross-legged with the extended squad and support staff in a large circle out on the ground for a relaxed 20-minute debrief that ended in hugs and laughter.
24th September 2018, 12:21 #48
Bad luck, Tim ✌ <— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 24, 2018
The Aussies are back on deck at the ICC Academy ahead of their Test series against Pakistan pic.twitter.com/hZQEXDF5YT
24th September 2018, 14:18 #49
Nathan Lyon returns to the United Arab Emirates for his second tour with the Test side as one of the leaders of the Australian attack and as a "better cricketer and person".
When Lyon takes the field for the first Test against Pakistan on 7 October, he will need only five more wickets to go past Brett Lee and become the fifth-highest wicket-taker for Australia in Test cricket. The second-most prolific bowler in the squad is Peter Siddle, who has 211 wickets to Lyon's 306 and will turn out for Australia after a gap of nearly two years.
They have Mitchell Starc too, who has 182 wickets, and while he has emerged as the spearhead of the Australian bowling attack, in the hot and dry conditions of the United Arab Emirates and a surface known to assist spin more than pace, Lyon, perhaps, has the biggest responsibility of the three, especially with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood out due to injury.
But "no, not really," he told cricket.com.au when asked if he shares the larger share of responsibility with the ball.
"Starcy and I spoke about that. It is just about providing good examples. Leading in a way we have tried to do in each and every game. The big thing over here is that we will have to bowl well in partnerships."
In addition to Siddle and Starc, Australia also have fast-bowling all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Michael Neser in their midst and Lyon believes the pacers will not play merely to make up the numbers.
"The fast bowlers are here not just to make up the overs. They are here to attack and defend. It is not that only one person has to stand up here. It is the whole bowling unit," he said.
"It is going to be a great challenge and if we can bowl well in partnerships and if we can put the Pakistani line-up under pressure, and make sure they are being asked questions of their defence, that's going to be the biggest difference."
Inevitably, though, it will come down to how well the spinners bowl in Asia, a place where Australia's record has not been the greatest. With Jon Holland, the left-arm orthodox spinner who has 25 wickets in his last five first-class outings, for company, Lyon is now focussing on building a good relationship with his chief bowling partner.
"I am a big fan of Jon Holland. He has done extremely well back in the Shield games at home over the last couple of years and is a very talented bowler," Lyon said.
"We are good mates as well, so our communication while bowling together in the middle was brilliant. So hopefully we can build our relationship here and take that out in the middle."
And how exactly does he plan to build this relationship? "For me it's about bowling ugly over here. We will have to find a way to hit the stumps and that might be bowling the square or round-arm, whatever that may be," he said.
"So yeah, it's having those conversations. It has been a brilliant lead up here before the first Test. The four-day game here in a few days is going to be a great time for us to experiment and also see the way they are going to play us.
They have got different guys than Younis or Misbah, but they have still got a very talented batting line up
"They really tried to attack me the last time I was here and I am expecting pretty much the same. Obviously, they have got different guys than Younis [Khan] or Misbah [ul Haq], but they have still got a very talented batting line up, so it's going to be a great challenge."
In the current squad, only Starc, Siddle, Marsh and Lyon have experience of playing Test cricket in the UAE – in 2014 – and Lyon, for one, certainly believes has grown in stature since then. "I think I am a better cricketer and a better person," he said.
"The amount of cricket we play, we keep learning. If you're not learning in a side, then you get in a little bit of trouble. But I have definitely learnt a lot from my past experiences in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh and of course here in the UAE. I feel like I am in a better place."
Australia begin their tour with a four-day warm-up tie against Pakistan A from 29 September before the first Test in Dubai. The second and final Test will be played in Abu Dhabi from 16 October.
Last edited by MenInG; 24th September 2018 at 14:19.
11th October 2018, 01:39 #50
Bemused how the Marsh brothers are still part of the set-up, let alone batting in the top 4. Australia should really have persisted with Peter Handscomb, if Maxwell couldn't be picked for sinister reasons.
11th October 2018, 02:46 #51Senior Test Player
- Debut
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From this series, I think AUS has gained a good opening pair. Khwaja is looking good, while in AUS wickets, if Finch can stay for a session, he'll almost get a century.
Shaun at 5 & Mitch at 6 might just make it against IND, but they badly need a No. 3 & No. 4 - Hashcomb one, may be they'll call back Joe Burns, or this opener kid pushing Khwaja one slot down to 3.


text:
Gov. Lingle releases $85,000,000 for University of Hawaii projectsUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
UH Vice President for Administration
Russell Pang, (808) 586-0043
Chief of Media Relations
HONOLULU — Governor Linda Lingle has released $85,000,000 for a new University of Hawaiʻi (UH) West Oʻahu Campus, as well as for repairs and maintenance at 10 UH campuses statewide. The Governor made the announcement at the Centennial Campaign Kick-Off Dinner this evening, where she emphasized the importance of public and private collaboration and cooperation to achieve the goal of the University of Hawaiʻi becoming one of the best public universities in the nation. The campaign effort is being undertaken in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of higher education in Hawaiʻi.
"As the University of Hawaiʻi enters its second century of enriching the lives of students from Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific, the state remains committed to providing the resources needed for the university to reach its full potential as a center of academic excellence," said Governor Lingle. "At the same time, the growth and continued success of any major university also depends on the philanthropic support of alumni, the business sector and the community. There is no better investment of private and public funds than our University of Hawaiʻi system."
$35 million will be used for design and construction of a new four-year undergraduate college at the UH-West Oʻahu campus.
Currently, UH-West Oʻahu campus offers a two-year, upper-division baccalaureate program. Beginning this Fall, the university will offer a four-year baccalaureate program.
As of Fall 2006, the campus had an enrollment of 866 students. The first phase of the new UH-West Oʻahu campus will serve approximately 1,560 students, with a long-term design to serve 7,600 students with 1,000 faculty and staff. In order to accommodate the additional classes now, UH-West Oʻahu will rent classrooms in Kapolei. The campus will be constructed on a portion of the university's 500-acre parcel in Kapolei, part of which is being sold to a private developer for a total of $100,140,000, which will provide additional financing for development projects including roadways, utilities, and classrooms as well as administration and support buildings.
$7,321,418 will be used in the design phase to conduct studies on infrastructure including water, sewer, roads and drainage; noise and sound studies; and to obtain permits.
$27,678,582 will be used in the construction phase for the development of sewer lines and a 215-foot elevation water reservoir, which will be coordinated with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and a 440-foot elevation water reservoir that includes a non-potable water system.
"We are thankful that Governor Lingle continues to support the development of the new Kapolei campus for UH West Oʻahu, which we believe will bring tremendous value to the region," said UH-West Oʻahu Chancellor Gene Awakuni. "By releasing the funds, the Governor enables the new campus development to move forward in a timely manner."
Design is scheduled to begin in September 2007. Construction on these projects is scheduled to begin in July 2008 and be completed in Fall 2009.
$50 million will be used for repairs and maintenance, as well as health and safety projects at University of Hawaiʻi facilities statewide. The funds will be applied to various projects at all 10 UH campuses.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Set the exposure bracketing parameters.
#include <camera/camera_api.h>
camera_error_t camera_config_ev_bracketing(camera_handle_t handle, uint32_t num, double *ev_deltas)
- handle
The handle returned by a call to the camera_open() function.
- num
The number of exposure bracket delta values.
- ev_deltas
A pointer to an array of exposures deltas values.
This function can be called if the CAMERA_FEATURE_EVBRACKETING feature is available. You can determine whether the feature is available by calling the camera_can_feature() function.
An array of EV deltas can be configured when a burst is triggered. The exposure deltas will be applied to successive frames. For example, {-3.0, 0.0, +3.0} in conjunction with a three-shot burst would yield three images. The first underexposed by three stops, the second at nominal exposure, and the third would be overexposed by three stops.
Before you use this function, you must start the photo viewfinder. You can use the camera_get_ev_bracketing_limits() function to determine the exposure bracketing minimum and maximum values, as well as the maximum set in the num argument.
camera_error_t camretcode; double ev_deltas[] = {-3.0, 0.0, +3.0}; retcode = camera_config_ev_bracketing( handle, sizeof(ev_deltas)/sizeof(double), ev_deltas );
CAMERA_OK when the function successfully completes, otherwise another camera_error_t value that provides the reason that the call failed.


text:
WASHINGTON, DC – The chairman of the House oversight committee investigating White House involvement in the botched "gun-walking" program that led to the 2010 death of U.S. Border Patrol agent accused President Obama on Monday of downplaying his involvement in the program or intentionally obstructing the Congress' inquiry.
Rep. Darrel Issa's letter to Obama questioned the legal basis of the White House move to withhold subpoenaed documents from the Government Reform and Oversight Committee under protections afforded Obama by executive privilege. The Justice Department denied Issa's committee the subpoenaed documents last week, prompting the GOP-led committee to vote along party lines to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
The full House is scheduled to consider the contempt citation this week. The White House contends it's legally entitled to withhold documents related to internal deliberations on policy and advisory discussions among Obama's senior advisers. It was the first time Obama, who pledged a new era of government transparency, has exerted executive privilege.
Issa said the assertion of executive privilege, which occurred after 16-months of negotiations between his committee and Justice officials over documents related to the gun-walking program called Fast and Furious, raised two troubling questions.
"Either you or your most senior advisers were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it…or, you are asserting a Presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation," Issa wrote. "To date, the White House has steadfastly maintained that it has not had any role in advising the Department with respect to the congressional investigation. The surprising assertion of executive privilege raised the question of whether that is still the case."
Issa's committee has subpoenaed documents it believes relevant to Justice and White House deliberations that led to a false Justice Department submission—in Holder's name—in February 2011 that Fast and Furious was not a gun walking operation. The committee had been told by whistle-blowers that Fast and Furious allowed large quantities of AK-47 firearms and variants to "walk" into Mexico. Two of those firearms were discovered at the scene where Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed near Rio Rico, Az., on Dec. 14, 2010.
The White House dismissed Issa's letter.
"The Congressman's analysis has as much merit as his absurd contention that Operation Fast and Furious was created in order to promote gun control," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz. "Our position is consistent with Executive Branch legal precedent for the past three decades spanning Administrations of both parties, and dating back to President Reagan's Department of Justice. The Courts have routinely considered deliberative process privilege claims and affirmed the right of the executive branch to invoke the privilege even when White House documents are not involved."
Issa has at times suggested Fast and Furious might have been initiated as part of a larger push for tighter U.S. gun control laws. The chairman largely abandoned that theory on the Sunday talk shows.
The Bush administration in its second term initiated the gun-walking program in an attempt to prosecute gun-runners and drug traffickers in Mexico. Under a larger program called Operation Gun Runner, an ill-fated program called Operation Wide Receiver was conducted from 2006-2007. It was riddled with inefficiency and poor inter-agency cooperation and communication. It yielded no arrests or indictments on Bush's watch. The Obama administration reviewed the dormant Bush-era cases and brought charges against nine people accused of low-level gun trafficking offenses. In October 2009, the Obama administration expanded efforts to pursue high-level Mexican drug and arms traffickers. Building on Wide Receiver, efforts at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives greatly expanded the use of surveillance of firearms purchases. These efforts grew into Fast and Furious.
At the heart of Issa's inquiry is how much Justice and the White House knew about the origins of Fast and Furious, its scope and its operational ambitions.
As he did on the Sunday talk shows, Issa held out hope for a compromise over the disputed documents. The full House has never before voted to hold an attorney general in contempt of Congress.
"I remain hopeful that the Attorney General will produce the specified documents," Issa said. Short of that, the chairman urged Obama to "define the universe of documents over which you asserted executive privilege and provide the Committee with the legal justification from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)."
Issa acknowledged Justice has provided in excess of 7,600 documents, but said the high-stakes dispute is now over those related to Justice's initial denial—nearly three months after agent Terry's death—that that Fast and Furious was a gun-walking operation.
"These key documents would help the Committee understand how and why the Justice Department moved from denying whistle blower allegations to understanding they were true; the identities of officials who attempted to retaliate against whistle blowers," Issa wrote, adding the committee also want to learn "whether senior (Justice) Department officials are being held to the same standard as lower-level employees who have been blamed for Fast and Furious by their politically-appointed bosses in Washington."
Issa also asked Obama to explain "what extent were you or your most senior advisers involved in Operation Fast and Furious and the fallout from it" and sought documents related to "any communications, meetings, and teleconferences between the White House and the Justice Department between February 4, 2011 and June 18, 2012, the day before the Attorney General requested that you assert executive privilege."


text:
CYPRESS, Calif.–UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company, has named Dr. Sandra Bruce Nichols chief medical officer, West Region.
Dr. Bruce Nichols will focus on helping ensure access to and use of appropriate medical services for UnitedHealthcare plan participants, promoting quality clinical care and positive patient outcomes, and effectively managing health care costs. She will also maintain relationships with contracted physicians and physician organizations throughout the region and collaborate with other staff physicians to achieve quality objectives.
Dr. Bruce Nichols brings to her position more than 15 years of experience in health care, medical education and medical management. Previously, she was the national medical director of clinical performance for AmeriChoice, a UnitedHealth Group company that serves beneficiaries of Medicaid and other government-sponsored health care programs. Also, she was director and commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Health; a cabinet member for Arkansas governors Jim Guy Tucker and Mike Huckabee; and regional CEO of Amerigroup Corp. in the District of Columbia and Virginia.
"Sandra's outstanding leadership in multiple health care settings, her clinical expertise and direct care and administrative experience will help enhance patient outcomes and drive a more efficient and effective health care system for our customers throughout the region," said Sam Ho, M.D., UnitedHealthcare's executive vice president and chief medical officer.
Dr. Bruce Nichols is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice. She earned her medical degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine.
UnitedHealthcare provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefits plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses.


text:
Kent Steven Brown – Fake Veteran29
05/11/2018 by militaryphonies
. . .
Kent Steven Brown comes to us from Indianapolis, Indiana. He's 28 years old as of May 2018. He's an insurance salesman and financial advisor who owns his own business called Kent Brown Insurance and Financial Services LLC.
Kent says that he is a veteran and served in the armed forces before he started selling insurance. He has a series of videos on his Facebook business page and in one he makes this claim. We shortened the video from over 18 minutes to 30 seconds in order to isolate the claim.
SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/KentBrownInsurance/videos/2036171933267109/
(32 SECOND MARK — NOTE: He removed the video from his business page)
NOTE: For the record, the video that Kent Brown removed from his page was called "My business model and why we are the company you need and deserve."
Brown was also approached via Private Messages and asked about his status. He said he was in the Army.
Although we did not see or hear of this directly, we had heard rumor of anecdotal claims of Kent Brown saying "he was in the special unit that was Black Ops – and that it was 'a high class military group only some people can get into.'"
Since this represents 3rd party hearsay, we only provide that here in case others have heard a similar story and would like to come forward. We can also obtain sworn statements should the need arise.
Kent Brown was approached recently by PM and asked about his veteran status through his business, but it sounds like he may be sensing the boot is about to drop so he is being cautious.
His answer was a bit odd – you either are or are not a veteran so we're not sure how "political issues" come into play since I don't believe he is running for any elected office.
. . .
Kent Steven Brown's military records were requested. The National Personnel Records Center, which would hold Brown's records, could find no records indicating that Brown served in the Armed Forces. It is possible that he could have served in a state level guard, but active duty would have shown up if he went to boot camp and certainly any specialized Army training.
We also checked systematically with the SCRA / DoD Manpower database and again it showed no active duty for a Kent Steven Brown between the periods 2004 – May 2018. We did not go back earlier than 2004 because he would have been 15 years old and too young to have served.
Again, there was no indication that Brown was on active duty. He could have served in some reserve capacity, but basic and advanced military training would show up as active duty.
. . .
The key word to keep in mind here is "veteran" since many organizations define a veteran as having 180 days of active duty. The two resources that we checked with would show active duty if Brown had active duty military service.
Brown says in the PM that he is a veteran and served in the Army. He says in the video promoting his business that he is a veteran and served in the armed forces.
There is no record of active duty for Kent Steven Brown and there is nothing we could find that would support his claims. If he is using his claim of "veteran" to secure clients through his business then this may be a violation of the Stolen Valor Act.
. . .
. . .
FACEBOOK (personal): https://www.facebook.com/kentbrown023
FACEBOOK (business): https://www.facebook.com/KentBrownInsurance/ (deleted 5/12/2018)
WEBSITE: Kent Brown Insurance and Financial Services LLC
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/KentBrownIns
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kentbrowninsurance/
This Ain't Hell: http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=79391
29 thoughts on "Kent Steven Brown – Fake Veteran"
This website is a joke. You cannot legally make these claims. What you are doing is against the law and this website, in my opinion due to the erroneousness of your claims, should be shut down.
I've clicked the link above for the video and it doesn't exist. Also, Kent has been contacting Facebook because a fake business page was created. It takes 14 days to be shut down. Those messages of chat do not exist.
If this has occurred to one person, how many other innocent individuals have been falsely accused.
Emphasis on "in my opinion", Jennifer.
Thanks to the efforts of REAL veterans, you're just as entitled to your opinion as is someone else that exposes lying POS like this douchebag.
Tell Kent hello for me.
Then tell him the only way to save what little honor he has ,if any !would be to publicly apologize.
Jennifer, It's really pretty hard to say someone "cannot legally make these claims" when they are backed up not only video proof, but the POS's own comments. I'm almost inclined to send this link to the media in Indianapolis, I'm sure they would love to know the story of this POS.
I cannot believe the stupidity of people first we have a law called the freedom of information act to get any information on anyone including you Jennifer and me being a Cold War Veteran and Pursian Gulf Veteran in the UNITED STATES ARMY for 6 years will defend my brother's and sister's of the UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES so go somewhere else snowflake since you obviously don't have a clue how the military works we take care of our own. Goodbye and quit wasting our time with your self made collusion.
You people are pathetic and it's sad that you have nothing better to do with your time then spread lies about Kent and his business. Who knows how many other people's lives you've tried to ruin that does not deserve it. He is an honest business person and the farthest thing from a liar. He is actually making something of his life by coninuing to help people rather then hiding behind a computer screen spreading false accusations around. It's said in your disclaimer you can't guarantee the accuracy of anything posted on this website which shows how fake any of this information is. This alone should get your website shut down.
Hey "Vanessa"…What do you have to say about the Official Government Records Offices saying you, I mean Kent, NEVER SERVED! Why is it that your/his business page is shut down? If you were legit, you'd fight tooth and nail to prove it, not run from it. Do you want to be part of the problem or be a part of the solution? Why is it that "Kent" himself has nothing to say about it?
Anyone want to say hi to Vanessa? It's open to ask her questions…
This Insurance company seems sketchy as hell. All five star reviews, mostly by people with this as their only review – including a certain Jennifer Julius. Bad reviews also seem to be actively removed in realtime, which I'm pretty sure is a violation of the Google & FB TOS.
Seems our "secret soldier" here has a criminal record. Most of these fakers have at least one arrest on their record for something more serious than a traffic ticket. And Kent here is no exception.
Wonder if ol' Jennifer knows about this?
This is the corrected link for my statement above. Sorry about that.
I actually still have all text message and voice recordings we have between each other. He told me when I went to his house that he was black ops special force I have texts about his criminal past that he told me what supposedly happened. Then I started getting a bad vibe from him and he told me if I screwed him over that he knew people. I don't know what he meant by that but anyways he was contacting people I knew saying I owed him for his financial services. All he did was wrote what I owed on a piece of paper and did some calculations. When things don't go his way he gets defensive and is a complete jerk.


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Instructions for Levain
Day 3 (evening) or Day 4:
Now, you're either on the 3rd or 4th day of the breadalong, and you're getting antsy. You have been entranced by your chef. You've been amazed as it doubles in volume over a 24-hour period. You are mesmerized by all of its tiny bubbles. But, let's face it, it's time for some payoff.
8-10 hours before you make bread dough, and 12-14 hours before you want a piping hot bread, you need to make your levain. Again, the levain is your bread starter. It's thicker than your Mother of All Breads, the chef.
To transform your chef into a levain, add 3 ounces of flour to your chef and stir, stir, stir. You're creating a stiff dough, so this is going to take a bit of muscle. That's it! Let your levain sit, storing up it's yeasty power, for 8-10 hours.
What you're doing with the levain is mixing it and letting it rest for 8-10 hours. At that time, your levain's volume should be at its highest point because your yeast have multiplied to their maximum density for that amount of food. Right at your levain's peak is when you make your bread dough, and again your yeast density will rise, even through your 2 rising periods.
This is in contrast to your chef. When you're making your chef, it rises and falls each day because after 8-10 hours, the yeast start to starve and die off. 24 hours later, your chef will still have more yeast than the day before, though, even though some of the yeast have starved.
Instructions for Pain au Levain:
8-10 hours after you made levain:
Your levain should look similar to the picture below. It is full of holes and it smells slightly sour. Those are good traits for a levain.
If you're using a mixer, combine
- 8 ounces of levain
- 8 fluid ounces of water
- 10 ounces of bread flour
- 1.5 teaspoons of salt
At first, your dough will be a goopy mess that sticks to the sides of your bowl and the dough hook. This is normal, but if after 4 minutes or so your dough still looks like this, it's time to add more flour. Add more flour 2 tablespoons at a time, then let it incorporate into the dough for a minute or so. If your dough is still sticking, add another 2 tablespoons of flour.
A dough that has the perfect mixture of flour, salt, and water should look like this:
Some days, my bread dough takes an awful lot of flour to get to this point. Other days, I don't need to add a thing.
Once your dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl and comes together in a ball, like in the picture above, continue mixing it for another 10 to 15 minutes. How will you know when it is done? Well, there are two tests out there. The first is to poke your bread dough and to watch its reaction. If the dent you just made in your bread springs back right away, you're done! The other test is the window pane test. Pull off a ball of dough, and use both hands to spread it apart into a sheet thin enough to pass light. If your dough tears as you're doing this, back to the mixer it goes. Personally, I use the first test, the poke test, and my bread turns out fine. Both of these tests are designed to give you, the baker (yes, you're a baker now!), a rough estimate of the gluten content in your dough.
What? You think using a mixer is cheating and you want to knead your dough by hand? You don't have a mixer? No worries. I got your back.
If you are mixing an kneading the dough by hand, combine
- 8 ounces of levain
- 8 fluid ounces of water
- 10 ounces of bread flour
- 1.5 teaspoons of salt
Now, you knead. It usually takes me 15 to 20 minutes of hand kneading to get my dough to the right point (see the mixer instructions for testing dough doneness).
Now that your dough is done, it is time for it to rest and rise. Form your dough into a ball and place it into a well oiled bowl and cover it tightly using either a lid or plastic wrap.
Note how big your dough ball is because this is only phase 1 of the rising process and the dough ball's size will determine when this phase is complete. Phase 1 is complete when the dough has doubled in volume. The time it takes for your dough to do this varies by temperature (faster rising for higher temperature). The longer your dough rises, the more flavor because fermentation equals flavor! This is why some people choose to let their dough rise in the refrigerator. However, your yeast can only rise so much before calling it quits, and if you push your rising time beyond that point, you'll end up with flat bread. The temperature in my house varies from 50 to 70 degrees F, and that means that my dough doubles in bulk in 2-4 hours.
Now that your dough has doubled in bulk, punch it! That's right, punch it! You'll hear your bread dough make a sad, defeated sound as the gas bubbles deflate. I love this part. Take your dough out of the well oiled bowl, form it into a ball again, and let it rise for a second time. It's the second rising! At this point, I place my dough into a banneton, a bread proofing basket that makes pretty lines. If you're using a basket, make sure to sprinkle a little flour in the basket so it won't stick when it comes out. You can also shape your dough into a torpedo or a ball and let it rest on floured cutting board. To keep the dough from drying out, I put my banneton in a plastic bag. You can also cover your loaf with a plastic wrap or a clean, damp towel. Again, note the bread dough's bulk because you are ready to bake your bread when the dough has doubled in volume (2-4 hours).
When your dough is almost ready to bake, get your oven ready! Turn on the oven to 450 degrees F. If you have a baking stone, don't forget to place it into your oven at this point. You want your oven to preheat for at least 30 minutes or so so the temperature will return to 450 quickly when the oven door is opened. If you have a clean spray bottle full of water, get that ready too.
When your dough is done with its second rising, gently place it on your baking stone (removed from the oven) or a pan. If you used a rising basket, you gingerly flip the dough out of the basket so the pretty pattern stays intact. Now, give your bread some vent holes by swiftly slashing your dough using a serrated knife. I usually cut 3-4 slashes that are about an inch deep and 2 inches long. Be creative with your pattern because this is your signature!
Quickly now, open your oven, place your bread in, and close the oven door. Note the time because it usually takes 25 to 30 minutes for the bread to bake. If you're using a spray bottle, open the oven door again and spray water into your oven floors and walls (careful, don't squirt the oven's light bulb!) to create some steam - this helps with crackly crust development. You can repeat this spraying process a couple more times during the first 10 minutes.
When your bread is done, about 25 to 30 minutes later, your crust will be browned and when you thump the bottom of your bread, it makes a hollow sound (like the sound I get when I tap Mingus's head). Let your bread cool on a rack and no matter how tempting it is, do not cut into it until it is completely cool. If you want hot bread, you can reheat it later, but cutting into your bread as soon as it is done from the oven makes for crushed bread slices.
Congratulations! You have bread! But wait, you're not done yet. This is a continuous process, remember?
Back to the Chef
So, let's get back to our levain. You used part of it to make your bread, but there is still some left in your container. What do you do with it? Drum roll please..... It becomes your chef! Place your container back on the scale and add 3 fluid ounces of water and 1 ounce of flour. Scrape down the sides of your container and mix it well. Voila! You have a chef again!
If you are not going to bake bread in the next 3 days, you may place your chef into the refrigerator. If you do this, you'll only have to feed your chef once a week versus once a day.
If you are going to bake bread in the next 3 days, you do not need to repeat part 2 of the breadalong because you now have a fully developed chef. Here's what you do: on day 1, the day you make bread dough, follow the instructions in this section for turning your levain back into a chef. On day 2, make a levain again by adding 3 ounces of flour to your chef. Now, follow the instructions on making bread dough. Neat, eh?
Feeding the Chef
To feed your chef, first remove 4 ounces of chef. You can discard of this excess chef, or my preference, put it in a hot skillet to make a sourdough pancake! Now, add 2 ounces of flour and 2 fluid ounces of water to your chef container and mix it up. That's it! As mentioned before, if you stick your chef into the fridge, remember to feed it once a week.
If you are on Day 3 of the breadalong and you do not want to make bread immediately, just follow the instructions in the above paragraph to keep your chef going.
Final Notes
As you continue baking with your levain, the flavor will continue to improve. Sure, we started by cultivating commercial yeast, but as your chef ages, the wild yeast in your environment will start taking over giving your bread a one of a kind taste.
If for any reason you have pink liquid in your chef or your chef smells skunky, toss it and start again. However, a grey liquid that smells like alcohol is normal. It's called hootch, and all you need to do is mix it back into your chef. For me, I only see hootch when I refrigerate my chef.
Whew, this is a long post! As always, leave me any questions or comments and I'll answer them. If you make bread and post about it, let me know so I can share it with others.


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Review on Self Control
Here is the video on the "Marshmallow Experiment". Please watch it:
Here is a slideshow with tips about how to improve your self-control. Please read it:
Have you used any of this tips this year? Have you done something else to improve your self-control. What helped you with self-control this year?
Reflecting on the Year at Oak Ridge
Please write a comment of at least three (3) sentences about one or more of the following:
- There have been a lot of changes here at Oak Ridge this year, how do you feel about these changes?
- What are you looking forward to about the summer?
- What have you learned this year that you're proud of? What meant the most to you?
- How do you feel about becoming a fifth grader next year? What will it mean?


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Britt's got talent
Britt Assombalonga bagged a brace as Southend made it three home wins in the space of seven days with a 3-1 triumph over 10-man Dagenham.
The striker netted twice in the first period to send the Shrimpers on their way before Ryan Cresswell added a third in the second half.
Paul Sturrock's side played 82 minutes with an extra man after Daggers defender Luke Wilkinson was dismissed for a professional foul on Gavin Tomlin.
Following that red card, Southend went in front after 18 minutes when Sean Clohessy crossed from the right and Assombalonga headed the ball in to the top-right hand corner of the net.
The on-loan Watford youngster doubled his tally just before the break when he bundled home inside the six-yard box after Kevan Hurst's low shot had been parried out by Daggers keeper Chris Lewington.
The visitors got back in to the game on the stroke of half-time when Dwight Gayle's right-wing cross squirmed past Paul Smith in the Southend goal.
However, the Shrimpers made sure of their win 20 minutes from time when Cresswell volleyed in from 14 yards.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG


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Sunday, February 08, 2009
Bodybuilding Posing Seminar
I not only stepped out of my comfort zone, I took a flying leap from it and landed at the Myth in Maplewood. I wasn't at the Myth for a concert but will be on April 30 for Lamb of God but for a Bodybuilding Posing Seminar. Yeah.
When I made the decision to do whatever is necessary to compete in a Bodybuilding competition this fall I researched any type of learning venues that I could make available to myself. I found this seminar which still had openings.
Thinking about walking into to a room full of bodybuilders made me nervous weeks ago, but as the seminar arrived I was more excited. Excited to learn, excited to spread my wings, excited to meet others that could inspire and motivate me.
The first round was posing for the Figure class. OK, those of you that know about this world of bodybuilding will probably find these next paragraphs boring. You may be saying "well, duh" I though, am a complete newbie. I know nothing about this other than lifting iron. So, for Bodybuilding shows of course there are male and female divisions. The females divided themselves among Figure, Bikini and Bodybuilding. Figure is the division where the women have lots of muscle, it isn't heavily striated but the women that I see competing in Figure are heavily muscled and defined so I am not sure on this and the definition isn't quite as defined as bodybuilding. The Figure girls wear the 5" high heels, the beautiful suits with all of the crystals, no longer the one piece but two piece only. They walk along the stage and then complete the quarter turns. They don't put together a routine to music and I don't believe they complete the mandatory poses which are done in bodybuilding.
Bikini, which is a brand new division this year, is for a woman that is more 'beach body', lacking muscle definition, and even muscle at all, from what the show director was saying. She told us that if she had a Figure girl that wanted to go Bikini, she would have that Figure girl stop lifting and just diet.
Bodybuilding is the division where the woman has clearly defined, well striated muscles. Nice, big, full muscles, then dieted down and dehydrated down to show all of them off. She wears a plain two piece, no jewelry to distract from the physique in the morning for judging, preforms the mandatory poses ( Double Biceps, Front Lateral, Side Chest, back Double Bicep, Rear Lat Spread, Side Tricep, Front Abs and Thigh) in front of the judges and then completes a 30 second pose-a-thon to the music of judges choice. For the evening show the woman can but doesn't have to wear a crystal suit, makeup, bling, jewels, and performs her 60 second routine to music of her choice and a routine with mandatory and non mandatory poses. This is the night show that is more exciting and loud than the pre juding of the morning.
For those of you that live this world, please feel free to comment and set me straight. I only have a glimmer of this side and can use all of the help I can get! Any links or books or CD's you could recommend would be appreciated.
Intimidating and scary? Oh yes, yes; but what an accomplishment! To get a body into that shape, to be strong enough to follow through with this .. the diet, the workouts, the music, and to be confident, super confident with one's body to be able to get on stage and do this..amazing.
I learned so much. I learned the poses, a good pose and a bad pose. Apparently posing is everything. A bad poser can lose the comp to a good poser even if bad poser had a better body. She has to know how to pose.
Christine Bongiovanni, Minnesota's FIRST IFBB (International Federation BodyBuilders), put on this seminar. She puts on a few shows each year through the NPC. She had the bodybuilders on stage showing us the poses, then showing us a 'bad' pose versus a 'correct' pose. It was amazing.
Amy, the woman bodybuilder on stage was 16 weeks out from her show in June. She looked to me like she could go on stage with a few weeks of dieting down. Her muscles. Good grief, made my quads look non existant. She is still feminine, definately, but has lots of muscle. When I feel like eating off plan I'll think of her.
Sadly, there aren't very many women that take part in bodybuilding. Most of the women, 23 of them, at this seminar, were for Figure. Get this: 2 of the women, and one was I, were there for the bodybuilding. Lots of men were there for bodybuilding. I don't get it. I really don't. Why wouldn't more women try this? Stretch yourselves, see what you can do.
When I was driving home I was talking with Tyler. I told him I had learned quite a bit, but was shocked that so few women were involved with bodybuilding. He said "well, mom, just like your ultra running".. isn't that the truth.
I'm going to buy a few posing sessions with Christine between now and October. I'll need all of the help I can get!
I love to learn something new. I'm going to enjoy this very very much!
10 comments:
How cool and interesting. I joined a gym this winter and hired a personal trainer to teach me to lift and get stronger. She is a body builder that I think does the figure posing. There are a few other girl's at the gym that are working for this too.
I find it all intriguing....
Not sure I could slap on a bikini and go do that!
I have always been fascinated with women body building. Excited about following you on another thrilling adventure!
I definitely want to hear all about this Julie! When my body recovers (if it recovers) I'm going to do a comp. Women don't gravitate towards this because they all think they'll get "big like a man". You hear it over and over and OVER!! And they believe this, despite the fact that most Americans are obese...go figure!
One reason I don't do bodybuilding is because its hard enough for me to get figure lean much less bodybuilder lean and then have to learn a routine on top of that...I have two jobs and three kids and I'm single. Doesn't leave much time or room for anything but my gym workouts lol :) I think it's awesome that your doing this and can't wait to follow your journey!
- A Prelude To... said...
CANNOT wait to follow this new journey, Julie!!
- SteveQ said...
I knew Chris a little back in the day!... and have some photos of her - absolutely jaw-dropping. You might want to check with Ronda Sundermeier (on my blog list) about how to balance bodybuilding and ultrarunning, as she does both.
- Julie B said...
Thanks for the great comments! I have a much to learn and am very excited about the journey. Steve, I know Ronda well and followed her very closely through her Figure comp.
- keith said...
This is a fascinating subculture.
I can't wait to see where this takes you. You excel at whatever you put your mind to, that is for sure.
- Matthew Patten said...
I can just see you know showing up to a race in the spring and saying (in your best Austrian accent) "look at all of these girly men here, they lack maximum pupeture"
"hear me now and listen to me later"
Sorry, I could not resist.
I think it was at Afton last year where I saw your arms and said "dang! you are ripped!"
Look out bodybuilders, the Tenacious Julie Berg is coming.


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New! "TurtleBack" PacMate Accessory Pouch QX
The TurtleBack QX Accessory pouch is designed to hold the note taker recharger unit on the side of the case. It is manufactured of leather and is secured to the note taker case with Velcro and four snaps. The pouch is closed with snaps and Velcro. This Accessory Pouch fits all the Freedom Scientific QX cases designed by TurtleBack.
See �Other Accessories� for Straps/Handles and other items.
With further modifications by Electron Jungle LLC.


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Historical Broadsides
A broadside is a sheet of paper generally printed on one side only and typically used as a poster to announce some event, proclamation or other matter. The Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia Libraries holds a collection of more than 2,000 historical broadsides dated 1746-1980s.
This database serves as a finding aid for Hargrett's broadsides holdings and provides digital versions of most broadsides. The images provided are the property of the Hargrett Library. They may be used for personal study and instruction, but other uses require permission of the Library.
Database Provider: The Hargrett Rare
Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia
• Database Tutorial: Georgia Historic Broadsides Handout
Express Link (bookmark): http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=gahb


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A war began this month, a war between two savvy generals — former allies turned rivals — vying to take the place of an old, creaky and formerly ruthless dictator grown lazy from decades of unfettered success and largess. The outcome of this war will change forever the way we gather, process and act on information. And the environmental consequences could be devastating. Read More
I am of course talking about the war between Apple and Google, two companies that have been circling the remains of the Microsoft Empire for several years and have now moved in for the kill, attempting to seize control of the computing market.
They aren't waging war by trying to gain market share in the traditional desktop and notebook markets. They're battling by changing the way we think about some devices (the cell phone); supporting the creation of new devices (the netbook); and inventing devices out of whole cloth (the tablet).
And this is where the environmental issues come – the devices that these two companies are pouring money into (and that Microsoft is desperately trying to keep up with) are inherently disposable:
- They are small, cheap, and ultraportable;
- They have limited storage capacity — meaning you'll store most of your data on the web; and
- They have limited battery life.
Combine all of these things, and you have products that will end up in the waste stream as soon as they are no longer shiny and new.
Even more insidious, as I've written about before, by creating devices with non-replaceable batteries, Apple has a planned obsolescence strategy that essentially requires your iPhone to begin a slow death from the very moment you pull it out of its ultra-designed box.
But at least there are only two versions of the iPhone. Google's strategy to dominate the cell-phone market hinges on creating free open-source software — called Android — and allowing any and all comers to develop phones with the system and offer them to any and all providers. Currently, there are more than two dozen versions of the Android phone on (or coming to) the market, including the highly sought after Motorola Droid and Google's own Nexus One.
Most of these cell phones, including two versions of the iPhone, are under $200. Some are even free with certain contracts. This means most consumers won't think twice about chucking them once the battery — or their cell phone contract — expires.
That means 15.8 million iPhones and millions more Android phones hitting the waste stream in the coming years.
To stem the tide of this e-waste, Apple and Google should implement robust, verifiable and free recycling programs for the devices they manufacture — and in Google's case, the devices their software powers.
This last point is especially important, because it will be very easy for Google to shirk its responsibilities here and say, "the manufacturers should be responsible for the recycling." However, most of those manufacturers wouldn't be making devices without the software Google is providing.
(UPDATE: A reader notes that Apple has a pretty bullet-proof recycling program already running. I regret the error, but stand by my assertions on the disposable nature of the iPhone and smaller devices.)
But the cellphone glut just the beginning. The rollout of netbooks and tablets — small computing devices designed to fit the space between a full-size notebook and a smartphone — promises to bring even more disposable devices to market.
Google has made the most aggressive moves in this space. The company has created an absolutely ingenious operating system – Google Chrome OS – that boots up in seconds and runs only web applications. Chrome OS is designed specifically for netbooks, which Google will be pushing aggressively. Not only will they be giving the software to hardware manufacturers for free, Google will be designing and creating its own branded netbooks.
A netbook costs between $300 and $400. Google sees a world in which "you could buy 5 to put them around your house." Right now netbooks are made on the ultracheap with generally very few environmental safeguards and at a price point where they can easily end up on the trash heap in two-to-three years.
Tablets seek to fill a similar market, but with an even smaller device that relies solely on a touch screen. Several manufacturers have rolled out unimpressive offerings during this year's Consumer Electronics Show, but the real tablet mania is expected to hit on January 27, when Apple unveils its version of the device. And, of course, Google also has plans to manufacture a branded tablet.
With these devices coming onto market real recycling programs from Apple and Google must be brought online. But what's our personal responsibility in all this? Well, there are several options, of course: including refusing to buy; making the devices we purchase last longer (say, by replacing your iPhone battery); or, of course, finding your own recycling center.
(Image credit: jizzon/Flickr through a Creative Commons license.)
Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Nature Conservancy. For more information about our editorial policy and legal terms of use, see our About This Blog page.


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New research by Professor and CSAIL Principal Investigator John Guttag and Professor Collin Stultz is featured in famed photographer Rick Smolan's new book on big data. The Human Face of Big Data, which will be released in November, was formally announced last week. The book will feature numerous photographs, including one of Guttag and Stultz, depicting the ways in which the massive onslaught of new data being collected through websites, sensors and other channels is being used by scientists to gain new insight into human behavior.
Guttag and Stultz developed a new software system that combs through a patient's EKG data to predict a patient's risk of death following a heart attack. The new technique could be used to help develop better techniques for treating patients. The photograph of Guttag and Stultz used in the book shows the two standing in piles of electrocardiogram (EKG) paper.
For more information, check out The New York Times article on The Human Face of Big Data featuring the picture of Guttag and Stultz: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/big-data-gets-its-own-photo-album/.
For more information on Guttag and Stultz's work, check out: http://www.csail.mit.edu/node/1623.


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Damien High School product Grant Hockin has signed with the Cleveland Indians.
The right-handed pitching prospect was drafted in the second round (61st pick overall) of Major League Baseball's free agent draft a week ago. He met with the organization's representative earlier this week and made it official.
Hockin, 18, is believed to have signed for a $1.1 million bonus, slightly above the $928,700 at which the Indians' second-round pick was valued.
He will leave today to join the organization's rookie ball team in Arizona.
Hockin went 9-3 with a 1.49 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 80 innings this season for the Spartans.
He also was one of the team's top hitters, batting .379 seven doubles, two triples, two home runs and 15 RBIs. He played shortstop when not on the mound but will be a pitcher in his professional career.
He had also signed with UCLA and had the option of forgoing a professional career for college.
Upland High School catcher Tommy Pincin was drafted by the New York Mets in the 26th round. He was meeting with team representatives Wednesday night.