Provocations

Trinidad & Tobago's Soca Warriors hang in with ten men

Rugby player catches baby thrown from burning house

A rugby-player caught a baby thrown from burning house - then put out the fire. This all happened yesterday in Newport, Wales. It's a Christmas story too: the fire was started by a burning Christmas ornament.

Mr Webber thinks his rugby-playing experiences helped him catch Brandon safely, adding: "I cupped my hands like I would with a ball and he just came into my hands."

Read about this holiday hero

2013: Toddler caught after five-storey fall in China

A Beautiful Loser?

By their own (general) admission, the United States is a nation where "winning is everything"; the difference between gold and silver at the Olympics is vast; and one of the biggest insults is "loser".

The nation could be in the midst of a global therapy session, courtesy of world sports; an opportunity to learn that losing will not make them less loveable, perhaps even the opposite. Here's what I've noted in recent days

• Tennis: No men in the U.S. Open semi-finals; no women in the finals; no U.S. team in the doubles final
  
• Golf: Tiger Woods ousted from his No.1 spot on the golf rankings
  
• Ice hockey: beaten by under-dogs Finland in the semi-finals of the world championships.

Could this help them as a nation see that a strategic withdrawal from Iraq might not be the end of the world (it may even help a bit)? Like cricket, diplomacy and nation-building are not their strong suit - at least not of the present leadership.

Applying a ittle "psychological insight" to myself, I think this is a little like hoping a good friend will learn from a "bad" experience. It doesn't usually work, but maybe this time . . . ?

The Other Olympics

I've been watching on tv and enjoying some of the Olympic contests. Events like this do generate excitement and bring out some fine qualiites in people. Although these games seem to have avoided crass commercialism, it is no secret that you cannot enter the stadium wearing a Nike symbol on your t-shirt (you have to turn it inside out); and to bring in any drink that is not made by Coca-Cola, you have to remove the label.

For a truly non-commercial games, take a look at these, held on the edge of the Brazilian rain forest by a diverse group of local tribes:

"The First Traditional Indian Games of Pará (I Jogos Tradicionais Indigenas do Pará). From 15–20 June 2004, 470 indian men, women and children played ancient and modern games, such as soccer, archery, spear throwing, tug–of–war, canoeing, swimming and running. Some gave stunning demonstrations of traditional sports played only by their own tribes, like the tree–log relay race of the Gavião indians, where men carry 200–pound (90 kilogram) logs on their back, or the hockey sport of the Kayapo indians called Ronkrã."

The full story, beautifully illustrated.