December 1 is World AIDS Day. The ICC, a solid supporter of the UNAIDS program, has issued the following statement:

Cricket world unites for AIDS

Dubai, Nov.30 (ICC press release): The leading teams and players from across the cricket world will unite together this week in support of people living with HIV/AIDS for the fourth consecutive year.

World Aids Day, which is on the 1st December, will be marked with a series of activities on or around the day at major Test and ODI matches, while the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Development Program will also run a number of events aimed at providing education on HIV/AIDS for young people on cricket programmes.

What John Winston Howard has been up to this morning.

It's the retirement announcement Australia has been dreading even more than Thorpey's.

The United Nations is usurping the sovereignty of the United States of America. It is taking over large tracts of US land by means of a sinister device called the "World Heritage Listing".

Last Saturday's edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an interview with Nathan Tabor, who explains all.

NBC News reached the same conclusion on Monday that we've all known since, oh, 2003: That there's a civil war in Iraq.

Matt Lauer read the solemn pronouncement on Monday's Today show, declaring that NBC (80% owned by General Electric NYSE:GE, 20% by Vivendi FR:012777) has decided to call the vicious and bloody conflict between the Shi'ites and Sunnis a "civil war".

MSNBC takes up the story.

Sad news this morning of the death of Graham Roope on Sunday while on holiday in Grenada. He didn't tour Australia but I remember him well from the 1977 series when England regained the Ashes from a WSC-shaken Australian side.

An outstanding slip fielder and a stalwart for Surrey for nearly twenty seasons, Roope played 21 Tests for England, scoring 860 runs at 30.71. In all first-class cricket between 1964 and 1986, he scored 19116 runs at 36.90.

Here's the announcement of Roope's passing on the http://www.surreycricket.com/news/surrey-cricket/surrey-and-england-bats...

First Test, Lords 2005: Australia defeated England by 239 runs. England won series 2-1.

First Test, Brisbane 2006-07: Australia defeated England by 277 runs. Is history about to repeat itself?

I doubt it. The yawning experience gap makes the difference this time, added to the intense hunger that the Australian team feels to regain the Ashes.

Has Australia blown its best chance of regaining the Ashes?

I'm serious.

Honestly, what was the point of batting on just long enough on Sunday morning to allow Justin Langer to get his hundred? Apart from allowing Ricky to strain his back while taking a run and thus keeping him off the field for the rest of the day... and possibly for the Second Test.

Today, November 26, has been proclaimed a National Day of Prayer by the Heads of Christian Churches meeting in this time of severe drought.

The heads of Churches called for all Australians to pray for:

• desperately needed rain
• those who are severely drought affected, and
• commitment to responsibly care for all our natural resources

There is a lot more information, including prayer resources, at the National Council of Churches website.

Do you think Ricky Ponting has enough confidence in his team? How big a target will he set England before he can breathe easily at the thought that the opposition can't win? Will 700 be enough? Maybe he'll bat till tea-time Sunday and hope that even Australia's bowlers can contain Strauss and Cook to less than 800 runs in four sessions.