Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

Launched last year and offering a new option for those wanting some of the features of a traditional DSLR body in a more compact package, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 and its four-thirds format were arguably the front-runners as more camera brands look to travel down the more compact route.

However in recent memory thanks to the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D90, high-definition video has become a new sought-after feature in DSLR-style cameras, combining stunning quality with the versatility of interchangeable lenses. An update to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 now yields a full high-def version which shoots 1080p @ 24 fps or 720p @ 60 fps, framed with a 3-inch LCD screen or digital viewfinder. Some other notables alongside this release are a new “video optimized” 14-140 mm f/4.0-5.8 lens (read: quiet) and a “Creative Mode” which allows for instantaneous aperture and exposure control during recording. As the online world moves to new forms of digital communication, video playback through new innovations like these will arguably be the mainstay in just a short little while.

Source: Gizmodo


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LEGAL BRIEF: Blockbuster Prearranging Bankruptcy?


GamesIndustry Biz is reporting that Blockbuster may be “prearranging” bankruptcy, which has caused the New York Stock Exchange to halt trading in its stock:

According to a report by Bloomberg, bankruptcy specialist Kirkland & Ellis is looking into options which may include “pre-arranged bankruptcy,” where restructuring work is completed out of court.

“We’ve hired them for refinancing and capital raising initiatives,” Karen Raskopf, a Blockbuster spokeswoman, told Bloomberg. “We do not intend to file for bankruptcy.”

The company had planned to fund its own operations throughout 2009 after two credit facilities expired last August, said Raskopf.

Shares in the firm dropped as much as 86 per cent yesterday before the NYSE halted trading.

Blockbuster has been hurting from such services as Netflix and downloadable movie rentals, as well as GameFly, and has its own versions in MoviePass and GamePass, which don’t do as well.

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Apple Nehalem Mac Pro: Unleash the Monster Mac!

Intel’s latest generation architecture comes to the Mac in the new Mac Pro. It has the Nehalem Xeons which is like 2x the speed of the previous series. It’s really a single-die, 64-bit processor with all the power you could want of many cored CPU’s. It uses 1066 DDR3 Ram and Turbo Boost which gives it more power on full load! These are the fastest Macs that you can spend your money on. It’s a 2.66 Quad and 8-Core 2.26 options to choose from and you really won’t regret either. Wow! $2500.


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Latest Mac Mini released as speculated with Nvidia graphics

Exactly like the during the end of last month, Apple has now official released the latest updated version of the Mac Mini. The refreshed Mac mini continues to sport a 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inch footprint. On its backplane the Mac mini now sports two video interfaces, a Mini DisplayPort, for connecting to Apple’s 24-inch LED Cinema Display, and a mini-DVI connector, for attaching to industry-standard DVI displays. Like the image we showed before, the new Mini now has five USB 2.0 interfaces, up from three on the previous-generation model, along with a FireWire 800 jack, replacing the FireWire 400 interface. It also sports Gigabit Ethernet, audio line in and audio line out ports.

Under the Apple shell, both the basic and “stepped up” new Mac mini models will sport 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors with 3MB shared L2 cache. Both systems feature Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics, which are the same graphics that are featured on Apple’s MacBook laptop line. Apple claims that this enables the Mac mini to produce 3D graphics at up to five times the rate of the model it’s replacing; the previous-generation Mac mini was the last Apple product to ship with Intel GMA 950 graphics. Both models also feature 8x slot-loading “SuperDrives” capable of burning DVD media. They have AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR built in, as well.
While the basic model will cost $599, the $799 model steps up with 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, twice the RAM as the base model. It also gains a larger Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drive with 320GB of memory, versus 120GB on the basic $599 version. Of course, build-to-order options are still available and this includes a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB RAM, 80GB, 250GB or 320GB hard disk drives.
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Everyone: Folks, we’re having an issue showing videos in our feed right now, this is since we upgraded to Wordpress 2.7. We hope to fix it soon, meanwhile if you see a blank video slot, just click on the post’s link and you will see it properly on our site, sorry about this!
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Eye-Fi Announces 4GB Wireless SD Cards for Video Upload

The Eye-Fi wireless SD memory card now has 4GB versions dedicated to video upload and they come in two flavors: Eye-Fi Share Video and Eye-Fi Explore Video.

The new Eye-Fi cards can upload photos and videos directly to one of more than 25 online photo sharing and social networking sites like YouTube and Flickr.

"The magic of Eye-Fi's new cards is that they work with the camera you already own to capture photos - and now videos - and send them directly to the Web for sharing," said Jef Holove, CEO for Eye-Fi.

Eye-Fi Announces 4GB Wireless SD Cards for Video Upload
The Eye-Fi Explore Video card automatically geotags photos and videos with location information about where the image was captured, and offers hotspot access at Wi-Fi locations for photo and video uploads away from home.

The 4GB Eye-Fi Share Video ($79) and 4GB Eye-Fi Explore Video ($99) are available for pre-order from the Eye-Fi website.

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Microsoft Gives an Official Screenshot of the New Live Search

Finally, the Microsoft Live Search Team has officially issued a statement regarding the press coverage that their new Live Search interface is getting. While everyone keeps on alluding to the fact the Microsoft is rebranding the Live Search into the Kumo brand, Microsoft is neither confirming nor denying the rumor.
But based on the official screenshots that the Live Search Team has provided it looks like the Live Search is going to be rebranded after all.

Microsoft said that the use of the Kumo brand and domain is just a way of telling the Microsoft employees who are testing the product that they are actually in a test environment. And that the company is still considering whether to use the Kumo brand.

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Anyway from what we’ve gathered from the not so clear screenshot, the new Live Search interface is integrating Live Search’s main results pages with Image search results. There will also be a navigational sidebar which shows search results from other Live Search properties.

It’s a pretty cool and neat interface actually. But nothing spectacular from the current Live Search interface, although a good improvement.

The Live Search Team did not mention any timeline as to when this will be rolled for public testing, although given the press coverage that it is getting, it could come sooner than they have planned.

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Mio Explora K70 Announced

Here's a direct competitor to the still upcoming Garmin NuviPhone, the Explora K70 form Mio, which isn't bad at all given the speclist below. Now Garming might want to husstle a bith with its Nuviphone, as the competition is starting to grow rapidly.
Mio Explora K70 Announced
Features of the Explora K70 include:

* Windows Mobile Professional 6.1;
* Quad band GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz);
* Tri band HSDPA / HSUPA connectivity (850/1900/2100 MHz);
* 3.5" TFT 240 x 400 touchscreen display;
* Qualcomm MSM7201A 528MHz processor;
* Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0;
* 3Mpix camera, autofocus, geotagging support;
* 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM;
* microSDHC support;
* Accelerometer;
* GPS usage time: up to 4 hours;
* Talk time: up to 4.5 hours;
* Stand-by time: up to 200 hours;
* 115 x 61.5 x 11.9 mm, 115 grams

Pricing and availability details weren't announced.

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Browse > Home / Article-byline, BREAKING NEWS, Politics, United Kingdom, World News / Obama Meets British Prime Minister at White House Obama Meets

WHITE HOUSE (RushPRnews) 03/03/09 -U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed the importance of their nations’ “special relationship” after meeting at the White House Tuesday.
Mr. Obama called Britain one of the United States’ “closest, strongest” allies on both the economic front and issues of common security.US President Barack Obama, left, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the White House, 03 Mar 2009
The British prime minister called the U.S.-British relationship a “partnership of purpose” born out of shared values and driven by the need to work together on the world’s economic problems.
He said he and Mr. Obama discussed how by taking action together, the U.S. and Britain can help other countries join together and create a more stable financial system.
Mr. Brown has called for a “global New Deal” to revive the world economy, referring to the economic policies former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used to lift the United States out of the Great Depression.
(photo,US President Barack Obama, left, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the White House, 03 Mar 2009)
Mr. Brown wrote in London’s Sunday Times that all nations should agree to inject cash into their economies and agree to international banking reforms and an overhaul of financial institutions.
Mr. Brown is the first European leader to meet with Mr. Obama since the president took office in January.
The talks aimed to lay the groundwork for a Group of 20 nations summit next month in London.
On Wednesday, Mr. Brown will deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress, where he is expected to urge U.S. lawmakers to abandon protectionist policies.

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Michael Jackson Comeback Concerts Coming To The U.K.

Michael Jackson is expected to announce a series of comeback concerts in London, music industry sources said on Tuesday.

The 50-year-old last appeared at the World Music Awards in London in 2006, but the much-hyped return of one of the biggest selling artists of all time was a critical flop after he sang only a few lines of "We Are The World."


The sources, who asked not to be named, said the singer may appear at a press conference at London's O2 Arena on Thursday. His record label Sony did not have any immediate comment.

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Rihanna a victim of domestic violence?!

The soap opera that is the Chris Brown and Rihanna saga has brought the very real topic of domestic violence to the forefront of the black music community as well
as the mainstream.

News that the pair allegedly reunited at a home owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs left domestic violence experts “dismayed” but not surprised at the reconciliation.
Though experts have weighed in since the story broke, neither Brown nor Rihanna have made any explicit statements about the incidents.At this point, it’s also unclear whether or not Brown will be charged in the incident, as the Los Angeles District Attorney is likely to push Brown’s Thursday court date back due to a lack of evidence.Lack of evidence aside, it has not kept those in high places from painting Brown as the chronic abuser and Rihanna as the victim.

“It makes perfect sense that she would go back to him,” Madeline Garcia Bigelow,
director of the domestic violence project at Manhattan’s Urban Justice Center,
tells the New York Daily News.“The reality is that when you’re in an intimate relationship with anyone you tend to give people chances.”

Another Manhattan psychologist said the reunion sent a “negative message” concerning domestic violence in relationships.“I think it sends a really negative message that it’s okay to remain in an abusive relationship and just to accept an apology and move on. I think she’s a role model and that’s why it’s such a concern.”
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Late Night With Jimmy Fallon was pretty bad

I just finished watching the first new Late Night show with Jimmy Fallon (Late Night With Jimmy Fallon) and it was seriously one of the hardest shows to get through.

Jimmy Fallon is awkward as it is which makes him an awesome skit actor (think SNL), but man he is a terrible talk show host. I assume some parts of his interaction with Robert De Niro in the show were scripted to make De Niro seem disinterested, but you could REALLY see his boredom kick in when he was booted to the second chair as Justin Timberlake took the reins.


I don’t want to ruin the show for those who haven’t seen it as there were some good parts, like whenever The Roots houseband played their music. But that was about it. The rest of the show in my opinion was pretty boring. And if Jimmy and his producers don’t change something soon, I don’t see a very bright future for this show.

Honestly, I’m still wondering how Jimmy Fallon even got picked to be the successor to Conan O’Brien. Kinda random if you ask me.

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Apple Refreshes iMac & Mac mini [Bigger, Faster & Greener]

Apple has refreshed its desktop offerings with a new, bigger 24in iMac all-in-one computer and a smaller and greener Mac mini.

The 24in iMac joins the original 20in model but comes with twice the memory and storage at 4GB and 640GB, respectively. Under the hood are Intel chips ranging from 2.66GHz to 3.06GHz and a variety of integrated or dedicated nVidia graphics solutions.

The 20in iMac has a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive and nVidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics. The beefed-up 20in costs £949 and there are 3 24in models to choose from, costing £1,199, £1,499 and £1,799.

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Obama says he has reached out to Russia

WASHINGTON - President Obama said yesterday that he has told Russia that reducing Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon would in turn lessen the need for a U.S.-planned missile-defense system in Eastern Europe that Moscow has opposed. But Obama said he sought no "quid pro quo" with Moscow.
He also said it is time for the U.S. to "reset or reboot" its relationship with Russia, a nod to the increasingly tense relations of recent years.
Answering questions at a picture-taking moment in his meeting with visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama was asked about a letter he sent to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev regarding a series of mutual security concerns, including U.S. plans for deploying U.S. missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"What I said in the letter is the same thing I've said publicly, which is that the missile defense that we have talked about deploying is directed towards not Russia, but Iran," Obama said. "That has always been the concern -- that you have potentially a missile from Iran that threatened either the United States or Europe."
Obama disputed a published report that said he characterized his letter as "quid pro quo" with Russia, which has opposed the missile-defense system. He said it was simply "a statement of fact."

He said that lessening Iran's commitment to nuclear weapons "reduces the pressure for, or the need for, a missile-defense system." But that, he said, does not diminish his commitment to ensure that Poland, the Czech Republic or other NATO members enjoy full U.S. support with respect to their security.
More broadly, Obama said he has had a good exchange with Russia's leadership.
"I've said that we need to reset or reboot the relationship there," he said. "Russia needs to understand our unflagging commitment to the independence and security of countries like a Poland or a Czech Republic. On the other hand, we have areas of common concern."
Obama said he wants a constructive U.S.-Russia relationship "based on common respect and mutual interests."
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Amazon To Sell E-Books For Apple Devices


Shaking up the nascent market for electronic books for the second time in two months, Amazon.com will begin selling e-books for reading on Apple's popular iPhone and iPod Touch.

Starting Wednesday, owners of these Apple devices can download a free application, Kindle for iPhone and iPod Touch, from Apple's App Store. The software will give them full access to the 240,000 e-books for sale on Amazon.com, which include a majority of best sellers.

Read the whole story: New York Times


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Kirkland's Dream Date, Jason Mesnick, Turns into a Nightmare

I've been festering over this whole thing since I watched "The Bachelor" finale and more importantly the 'after the rose' ceremony last night. There's Jason crying (photo left)- BOOHOOO! I didn't want to be hasty and write a nasty-gram blog post right when I got home because my outrage was still fresh. So, after about 14 conversations, 25 text messages, and a gazillion emails later(you guys crack me up, btw), I'll write you my I-can't-even-believe-it post now instead. Because my feelings haven't changed even with time to stew over it. And I know there are a lot of seething women out there-many with a renewed appreciation for our normal and stable husbands.

Our hometown sweetheart that convincingly charmed America with his nice guy persona has quickly delivered a swift but deadly stab to our hearts. There's no turning back now, Jason. We were so disappointed to learn that you're THAT guy. We've all known one of THOSE and now you're the poster boy. Branded for life- I hope Molly keeps you around b/c every other woman with a TV knows to run in the other direction.

My problem isn't with that fact that it didn't work out with Melissa- that's ok- things happen, things change. But to dump Melissa publicly and then be swooning over Molly 5 minutes later was just in poor taste. I realize you have to live this saga out in the public eye, but you can still have some decency and consideration for others. Couldn't you have broken up with Melissa privately and then updated us on the show? I can't believe the network could force you to do that. It was like a Jerry Springer episode. I'm suspecting that the threesome knew this was happening ahead of time which doesn't make it any better. That would make you just actors reaching for ratings in a publicity stunt that happens to be your twisted real life.

I couldn't stay awake for the Jimmy Kimmel episode w/Jason that followed the show, but you can find it here on you tube. Kimmel is a crack-up poking fun at Jason who's clearly spent some time prepping with PR. I was listening to the radio this morning and there was a guy that called in to thank Jason for lowering the bar for the rest of the men. Friends of Jason's seem to be surprised and confused and hopeful that there is more to the circumstance that what we all saw last night. Everyone who knows him insists he 'really is' a great guy. Well then, he's got some serious explaining to do. And for her sake, I hope Jillian has changed her phone number. ~j
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Steele trap? GOP fears grow

A month after Michael Steele became the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee, key party leaders are worried that the GOP has made a costly mistake — one that will make it even harder for them to take back power from the dominant Democratic Party.

Steadily becoming a dependable punch line, Steele has brushed back Rush Limbaugh, threatened moderate Republican senators, offered the “friggin’ awesome” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal some “slum love,” called civil unions “crazy” and promised more outreach to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings” via an “off the hook” public relations campaign.

He even threw a shout-out to “one-armed midgets.”

That’s in just 30 days on the job — and that’s just the PR part.

On the organizational side, Steele does not have a chief of staff, a political director, a finance director or a communications director. Last week, one of the two men sharing the job of interim finance director was forced to resign.

For now, “the fourth floor,” as the RNC’s executive suite is known, is being run by a pair of consultants.

“There’s frustration that there’s no discipline, no planning,” said a well-known Republican consultant. “He’s risking being overexposed by accepting every interview, which makes gaffes more likely.”

In a lengthy interview, Steele was unapologetic, referring to the high-level GOP critics and skeptics as “nervous Nellies” and saying that he actually has been tempering his public remarks.

“If I told folks what I really thought, I’d probably be in a lot more trouble,” he said. “I think that’s what I bring to this job, as a voice of the party: I think it’s important to have that kind of newness and rawness to it that grabs folks’ attention and hopefully ... take a look at what we’re doing.”

Steele said he would make the “hip-hop” comment again — and that when he told The Washington Times that the GOP needed to “uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets,” it was a repetition of a question from the reporter.

Doug Heye, a Republican consultant who has worked for Steele, said the chairman uses “common-sense, frank language” that connects with an array of audiences.

“He is unwilling to sugarcoat issues,” Heye said.

Steele, who has been traveling aggressively since taking the job, says the vacancies at the top of his organization are by design. He said he’s re-examining the whole structure with an eye to streamlining it and will have most of his team in place by the end of March, after he begins implementing reports from transition teams that are planning the party’s own first 100 days.

“I know some folks in Washington feel that they’re kind of on the outside of this — that they don’t have the day-to-day blow by blow of what I’m doing,” he said. “And that’s exactly how I like it. I want to be about the business of putting in place a good infrastructure that will enable me to go out and build a better brand, stronger brand, for the GOP. And I won’t get there by tattle-telling every day what I’m doing.”

Jim Dyke, a communications consultant to Steele, said: “The public process has raised some eyebrows, and that has some people concerned. But the internal process is actually unprecedented and right on schedule. And when people find out about it, they are going to be very pleased."

A 50-year-old lawyer who likes to call himself a Lincoln Republican, Steele was lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007, the first African-American elected to statewide office in the heavily Democratic state. After leaving office, he became a Fox News contributor, and became chairman of GOPAC.

Born at Andrews Air Force Base, Steele attended a Catholic high school in Washington and graduated from Johns Hopkins, then spent three years in seminary preparing for the priesthood before switching to Georgetown Law. At the urging of top Republicans, he ran for U.S. Senate race in Maryland in 2006, garnering a respectable 44 percent of the vote.

During this winter's nasty, tight contest for chairman, Steele promised that, if elected, he would be able to say to the party and to America: “And now, for something completely different.”

But this kind of “different” is making some party leaders extremely nervous.

“I’m worried that we need someone to manage the chairman,” said one frustrated Republican National Committee member.

Other party leaders have voiced similar concerns in private conversations, but they’re wary of taking on the chairman so early in his tenure.

In an embarrassing soap opera that unfolded this week, Steele took the bait from Democrats who were trying to make Limbaugh the face of the Republican Party. Steele first seemed to criticize the radio host in comments aired Saturday night on CNN, referring to him as an "entertainer" and "incendiary." But when Limbaugh roared back about the “sad-sack” state of the party and said that Steele was “off to a shaky start,” Steele backpedaled, telling Politico he had been “inarticulate” and saying he had not been trying to undermine Limbaugh.

Steele offered an implicit apology during a phone conversation with Limbaugh Monday night and said afterward through a spokesman, “We had a nice conversation. ... We are all good.”
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With the whole subcontinent out of bounds, what now for cricket?

No team will go to Pakistan now and few would volunteer to tour Sri Lanka, India or Bangladesh either
In the 15 minutes it took 14 armed men to arrive in Gulberg and pepper with grenades, a rocket launcher and bullets from AK47s the convoy carrying the Sri Lanka team, match officials, and, lest we forget since they gave their lives, Pakistan police and the drivers of the vehicles, they may have managed to undermine, perhaps terminally, certainly for the foreseeable future, the multibillion-dollar foundations of cricket on the subcontinent.
Bus bullets sri lanka
Sports teams, cricket teams mostly because of their relationship with the subcontinent, have been caught up in terrorist attacks before, in Sri Lanka and Pakistan in particular, but they have been inadvertent misadventures. Hitherto, though, it is only the Israeli athletes in Munich's Olympic village in 1972 who have been deliberately singled out. Sport, specifically cricket, has been immune, the rationale being that any sympathy there may be for the terrorist cause would dissipate in an instant such is the importance of the game.

Imran Khan, the great Pakistan cricketer and now a political figure, has said as much on numerous occasions, most recently in the aftermath of the Mumbai atrocities late last year. Few seemed to doubt him. Now that has gone. If the small band of men with backpacks and weaponry have sought to destabilise the Pakistan government, which is seen as allying itself too closely to the west, then it is cricket that has been destabilised more, for cricket does not have the resource, or the brief, to fight terrorism. The rules of engagement have changed. Cricket can never be the same again.

This attack bore all the hallmarks of last November's on Mumbai's people, the Taj Palace hotel and other buildings in the city. It is this connection that leads to fear for the future of the game in a region that claims, with good cause, to be the power centre. That attack was indiscriminate, targeting the place rather than distinct groups. It showed the capacity of this Pakistan terror cell to operate outside its own borders. Yesterday's tragedy was not targeting the Sri Lanka team specifically, a cricket team who because of their willingness to fulfil a fixture that others would not, just happened to be there.

That is further cause for concern for a taboo has now been broken. If Sri Lanka are attacked randomly then no team is safe in Pakistan. That much is a given. But given Mumbai, and the willingness to attack a cricket team, any team, then cricket in India can no longer be regarded as immune either. And if India, then also Bangladesh, a country in strife anyway, and Sri Lanka.

The whole of the Asian cricket bloc is under threat. It goes beyond that, though, for once a team of star players are under threat, then so are the individuals therein. The Gulberg terrorists have been given the oxygen of publicity by their deeds with no mind to public opinion. None. So what price Sachin Tendulkar now, or Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Or, for that matter, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, all, in a month's time, due to fulfil million-dollar contracts in the Indian Premier League?

When England's security assessors advised pulling out of the proposed Champions Trophy last October one thread of reaction suggested that there was risk-reward to consider. Would a million-dollar contract for a hypothetical Lahore Lightning tempt someone who might not go for the modest remuneration from an international tour. Workers do not man oil-rigs for minimum wage, it was argued. So the Indian Premier League, which has helped create cricket's highest ever profile, would go ahead. Clearly now that competition is deeply concerned. Suddenly Rajasthan Royals come into the terrorist equation. How will the players respond to that? Such is the vast level of income into the Indian cricket economy from the IPL that all effort will be to talk up how the show must go on.

The same would apply to the Twenty20 Champions League. But how sustainable, even in terms of manpower, would be the money-no-object level of security given to England on their return to Chennai and Mohali last December, which would be the minimum demanded now?

No team will venture to Pakistan now, but neither will they consider India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. The huge TV revenues that support the Board of Control for Cricket in India will have purchased no product. Sponsors will receive no exposure. If the global economy was said to be biting, then this will hit every bit as hard, if not more. The competitions of the ICC, that were set for the subcontinent, will have to be rethought. Already this year's Champions Trophy, removed from Pakistan and rescheduled for Dubai, must be in jeopardy. So too must be the 2011 World Cup, marked down for India but also Pakistan.

Relocation to a less volatile part of the world will always be a consideration, but how far do the tentacles of terrorism now reach? Not all tournaments can be played in Australia, or New Zealand, South Africa or the Caribbean. In July England hosts the World Twenty20, in which a dozen teams will participate. The level of security now demanded will be astronomical in scope and cost.

Is it reasonable to continue matches in such circumstances? Then we have the Ashes. No one should need reminding that in 2005, three days before a one-day international against Australia at Lord's, terrorists bombed the London Underground and a bus. The Gulberg shootings have raised the stakes of their business. Targets are now group specific, terrorist cells global. Sri Lanka unwittingly is the first in a new direction for their anger.

Once it was said that cricketers, in demanding presidential levels of security on the subcontinent, were over-rating their importance. That has changed. Now no cricketers, perhaps no sports people, can regard themselves as immune. It is a terrifying prospect.
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