B. Raman: WE ARE ALL TEAM INDIA TODAY

Team India!

Can you hear me cry?

I have been crying since I saw our captain Dhoni score the winning six last night.

I have been crying even more since I saw Harbhajan and other members of the team crying after the victory.

Till the moment of victory, they were men of steel, men of determination.

Once the moment of victory came, they became like you and me and like millions of others in the country.

They cried, they wept, they sobbed like children.

How many of us saw Harbhajan being interviewed by a journalist who asked him how it felt like in the moments of victory.

"Great", he said, "but it is not just our victory. It is the victory of all those people in the stands. It is the victory of all the people across India. It is India's victory."

Team India!

Could you sense my feelings of jealousy, my feelings of envy in the morning as I saw all of you lined up and singing the National Anthem.

Millions of people across India shed tears of pride and wished enviously they were there with you singing the National Anthem and playing for India instead of sitting before their TV sets and computers.

Team India!

You made us all Team India---- whatever be our religion, our language, our age.

You were the privileged eleven, but you made us part of you.

Team India did not have just 11 players. It had over a billion. You made us all play with you. You made us all achieve greatness. You made us all climb to victory with you in the lead.

Team India!

You made India shine last night. Like it has never shone before. You made us all shine in every nook and corner of India. You gave us moments of glory, moments of pride.

The glory and pride were yours, but you shared them with us----so readily, so generously, so humbly.

Team Sri Lanka!

How you fought! Every inch of the way, every ball!

Your country must be proud of you. So are we. After all, you are our cousins of history. Our own flesh and blood.

Team Pakistan!

You too. Our cousins of history, our flesh and blood.

You might have lost a hard- fought match. But, you and Team India jointly won the battle for the hearts of millions of people in the sub-continent.

Afridi became a household name in India---a name every Indian, young or old, knows and loves. He is our Afridi. Not just yours.

What mixed feelings at the end of the semi-final! Could you sense them?

Feelings of joy that we won it. And feelings of sadness that we had to win it against a brave team like yours.

Team India, Team Pakistan.

There is spring in the air across our two countries. You together brought that spring. I hope like millions of others we have the wisdom and foresight to preserve it.

Team India! Team Sri Lanka, Team Pakistan!

May God continue to be with us as He was throughout the series and make us better human beings by being better sportsmen. (3-4-11)

Bold Moves

Where in the world is Zhou Xiaochuan? The first three reports are always wrong. What we do know, however, is that an explanation will follow (after the dust has settled; after Monday's market close).

The continued perceived weakness of the Obama administration on virtually every front, is inviting bold moves. When the North Koreans attacked the South Korean war ship, Cheonan, and the Obama administration did essentially nothing, China knew it can do whatever it wants. America is no longer an impediment to whatever goals it might set for itself.

That much is true: America no longer has a foreign policy. As long as Obama remains in office, America will maintain the classic stance of the ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ monkeys. The sole challenge Obama acknowledges is the one here at home where he has deemed the American people the enemy.

Abroad, countries are scrambling to get what they can before America regains its senses. China has been building infrastructure throughout Asia to accommodate its ever growing military might . Just this month, Chinese naval vessels made port call in Myanmar for the very first time. Major Chinese construction projects are ongoing in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. China has been busy making deals all over the world to secure exclusive rights to important natural resources. China is putting all its ducks in a row.

Clearly, China is readying for war. Why, you might ask, is China so intent on positioning its military favorably at a time when the U.S. is in clear decline? China does not view the U.S. as the enemy. It is not the U.S. it must be ready to fight. It’s the chaos that will ensue once it has become clear to everyone that the U.S. has exited the world stage.

China is already in a position to push the U.S. over that edge. Its holdings of U.S. debt give it that power. However, China feels, it is not yet ready. When she moves, she will move fast. Much of her U.S. holdings will go up in smoke. But it won’t matter. America will lie in ruins. Taiwan will assume the position of low hanging fruit.

The current act is simply a way for the gamers to squeeze some temporary cash out of the markets. Strictly small stuff compared to having to face the Russian bear …later.