Silver Linings

Name That Tune

Powerline has a video that the Israelis use to break into Hezbollah broadcasts with. Psychological warfare with a beat, so to speak. As John says, who knows if it's effective or not, but it has a good beat and you can dance to it!

Waiting For Fidel - Day 6

Still no sign of either Fidel or his brother Raul in Cuba, but the Cuban communist government is rejecting any American calls for democracy. Reuters reports that the Cuban community in South Florida is starting to "come to grips" with the reality that it may not yet be liberation time for Cuba.

Neither Castro brother has been seen in public since Fidel's operation on Monday for internal bleeding, but two members of the cabinet gave assurances that all was well with the Communist island and its 79-year-old leader.

In Miami, Cuban exile leaders who earlier in the week declared the beginning of the end of the Castro era began to come to grips with the idea that their nearly half-century wait for Fidel's demise may not be over.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a message beamed to Cuba on Friday night, told the island's residents that "much is changing there" and now was the time to push for democracy.

"We will stand with you to secure your rights — to speak as you choose, to think as you please, to worship as you wish, and to choose your leaders, freely and fairly, in democratic elections," she said in a broadcast on the U.S.-funded Radio Marti network.

But Cuba's Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto, told reporters at a Havana event that Rice's message, which followed a similar statement by President George W. Bush on Thursday, would fall on deaf ears.

"Nobody in Cuba is going to listen to a message that comes from a functionary of a foreign government. That has no value for Cubans," he said in some of the first government comments since Castro's surgery.

"RHETORIC FOR MIAMI"

"I think all these messages are pure rhetoric for Miami," he said.

Prieto also said the Cuban government was functioning well with Fidel Castro recovering and his 75-year-old brother at the helm, despite suggestions from the United States that things were in flux. Castro has led Cuba for 47 years, since he swept to power in a 1959 revolution.

"I don't feel any uncertainty. The people love Fidel a lot and that has been seen in these days," he said.

What is not at all clear is why foreign journalists have been unable to get into the country as E&P reported yesterday if things are simply normal. I still suspect that Castro is dead, but we'll have to wait to see, won't we.

Recovering Archimedes

A high-tech effort to recover lost writings of the Greek mathematician and scientist Archimedes is enabling researchers to read old text that was erased centuries ago. Using an X-ray beam generated by a particle accelerator that is about the thickness of a human hair, researchers are able to decipher the hidden text without damaging the fragile parchment.

Over the past week, researchers at Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center in Menlo Park have been using X-rays to decipher a fragile 10th century manuscript that contains the only copies of some of Archimedes' most important works.

The X-rays, generated by a particle accelerator, cause tiny amounts of iron left by the original ink to glow without harming the delicate goatskin parchment.

"We are gaining new insights into one of the founding fathers of western science," said William Noel, curator of manuscripts at Baltimore's Walters Art Museum, which organized the effort. "It is the most difficult imaging challenge on any medieval document because the book is in such terrible condition."

Following a successful trial run last year, Stanford researchers invited X-ray scientists, rare document collectors and classics scholars to take part in the 11-day project.

It takes about 12 hours to scan one page using an X-ray beam about the size of a human hair, and researchers expect to decipher up to 15 pages that resisted modern imaging techniques. After each new page is decoded, it is posted online for the public to see.

On Friday, members of the public watched the decoding process via a live Web cast arranged by the San Francisco Exploratorium.

"We are focusing on the most difficult pages where the scholars haven't been able to read the texts," said Uwe Bergmann, the Stanford physicist heading the project.

Born in the 3rd century B.C., Archimedes is considered one of ancient Greece's greatest mathematicians, perhaps best known for discovering the principle of buoyancy while taking a bath.

It's a truly amazing thing, especially when you realize what obstacles there are to being able to do this. The text was scrubbed off the parchment by a monk over 800 years ago and the parchment reused to copy prayers onto. Later forgers then added artwork to the parchment thinking it would enhance it's sale value.

You can see the manuscript here.

Landis’ Second Sample Tests Positive

American Bicycle racer Floyd Landis now has a long legal road ahead of him if he wants to clear his name of doping charges. The second urine sample has tested positive for excessive levels of testosterone. What is not clear, despite all the rumors circulating, is why just these samples and none of the others before or after that stage show the high levels.

The International Cycling Union said Landis' "B" sample confirmed the initial "adverse analytical finding" for higher-than-allowable levels of testosterone.

Landis was immediately fired by his Swiss-based team, Phonak, and the Tour de France director said the 30-year-old rider no longer was considered the race champion.

If found guilty, Landis also faces a two-year ban from the sport. He continued to deny any wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name.

"I have never taken any banned substance, including testosterone," Landis said in a statement. "I was the strongest man at the Tour de France, and that is why I am the champion."

"I will fight these charges with the same determination and intensity that I bring to my training and racing. It is now my goal to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve."

Landis' urine sample was analyzed at the Chatenay-Malabry lab outside Paris, and the second positive result was announced nearly two weeks after he stood atop the winner's podium on the Champs-Elysees in the champion's yellow jersey.

"The analysis of the sample B of Floyd Landis's urine has confirmed the result of an adverse analytical finding notified by the anti-doping laboratory of Paris on 26th July, following the analysis of the sample A," the International Cycling Union said.

The UCI said it was asking USA Cycling to open disciplinary proceedings against Landis, and Phonak severed ties with him.

"Landis will be dismissed without notice for violating the teams internal Code of Ethics," the team said in a statement. "Landis will continue to have legal options to contest the findings. However, this will be his personal affair, and the Phonak team will no longer be involved in that."

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said Landis no longer was considered champion, but the decision to strip him of his title rests with the UCI.

"It goes without saying that for us Floyd Landis is no longer the winner of the 2006 Tour de France," Prudhomme told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Our determination is even stronger now to fight against doping and to defend this magnificent sport."

Prudhomme said runner-up Oscar Pereiro of Spain would be the likely new winner.

"We can't imagine a different outcome," Prudhomme said.

UCI lawyer Philippe Verbiest said Landis would officially remain Tour champion pending the American disciplinary process.

"Until he is found guilty or admits guilt, he will keep the yellow jersey," he said. "This is normal. You are not sanctioned before you are found guilty."

If stripped of the title, Landis would become the first winner in the 103-year history of cycling's premier race to lose his Tour crown over doping allegations.

Since testosterone use for performance enhancement is generally a long term process, it is odd that just these samples showed the increase, is it not? Why would someone take a heavy dose of this stuff when there isn't any short-term effect from it? This will be an interesting one to follow. I rather hope Landis can clear his name, but if he did do something that is frankly stupid, then he should simply come clean and get it over with.

UPDATE: WaPo coverage.

Israeli Commando Raid On Tyre

Israeli commandos launched an amphibious raid into the port city of Tyre in Southern Lebanon today. Many of the rockets hitting Israel have come from the area of Tyre.

TYRE, Lebanon - Israeli naval commandos battled with Hezbollah in the southern port city of Tyre early Saturday, while a guerrilla rocket killed a soldier in clashes on the border and Israeli raids left at least eight people dead in multiple strikes across the country.

After days of desultory diplomacy, Washington said it was near agreement with France on a U.N. cease-fire resolution, possibly by early next week. But no cessation of fighting was in sight Saturday.

….

In Tyre, Hezbollah said its guerrillas repelled the Israeli commandos and killed a member of the force. Israeli defense officials said eight soldiers were wounded during the fight, in the first confirmation that a naval commando had raided the coastal city. Two of the wounded were in serious condition, they said.

The army said the mission was to take out the launching sites of rockets that have plagued northern Israel for three weeks. It said several Hezbollah fighters were hit.

A Lebanese soldier and a civilian were also killed in the clash, local officials in Tyre said.

Lebanese military officials said the Israeli commandos landed near an orange grove, cut a hole through a barbed wire fence and targeted the second floor of an apartment building.

The commandos were repelled by Hezbollah guerrillas and Lebanese soldiers who clashed with the forces, the Shiite militia said.

A resident said he saw the commando force attack the building. "They all had beards. I thought maybe they were Hezbollah," said 18-year-old Qassem Aad, who lives nearby.

Aad said he saw several people walk out of the building with their hands up, and that shooting then erupted. "I saw a man screaming — he was shot."

Ambulance workers said six people were killed, including two from Hezbollah and one soldier from the Lebanese army who was at a nearby checkpoint and was shot at.

A Lebanese army officer confirmed one Lebanese soldier died and said four people in the targeted apartment were killed.

The Jerusalem Post has more on the raid:

The operation, which was conducted based on military intelligence, targeted terrorists that were responsible for firing long-range rockets at Israel, including those that reached Hadera on Friday.

The commandos entered an apartment building in a crowded residential area in northern Tyre, where they engaged with Hizbullah operatives, including three senior members.

When the elite unit left the apartment, they were fired upon from several directions. IAF aircrafts and drones covered the force and cleared an exit for it. Seven Lebanese were killed in the operation.

Head of Naval intelligence told Army Radio that an aerial assault on the building was avoided since it was not known whether there were civilians in the building. He also mentioned that the ground operation sent a strong message to the fighters, indicating that the IDF can reach deep into Lebanon.

A Hizbullah statement said that Naval commandos tried to land in the orchards of the village of Chabriha, just north of Tyre, at 3:30 a.m. but were repelled by Hizbullah guerrillas and Lebanese soldiers who heavily clashed with the forces.

"One member of the infiltrating force was killed and a large number of others were wounded," the Hezbollah statement said.

No IDF soldiers were killed in Tyre.

Note that Israel risks their own troops to avoid civilian casualties. It would have been infinitely easier to drop a bomb and level the house. Note also the message it sends to Hezbollah: there is no safe place for you where we cannot find and kill you.

UPDATE: Ynet has an extensive report including some video.

Sliming Lieberman

Ned Lamont has said he doesn't know anything about the blogs when asked about Jane Hamsher's little 'blackface' escapade over at HuffPo. Perhaps it's time someone illuminated him. Dan Riehl has dug up a number of lovely images and examples of racist and sexually perverted language Hamsher has used when raising funds for Lamont.

Obviously the Black Face image isn't the first time Hamsher has invoked racial overtones in her condemnation of Lieberman. In this March post she referred to Lieberman as a Ho, pronouncing someone who had the audacity to write a positive NYT's Op-Ed on Lieberman … his pimp. The post, entitled: Ho Lieberman doesn't need the Times to be his pimp was accompanied by a fund raising plea for challenger Ned Lamont.

In a post entitled, Screw Israel, Lieberman Sticks To His Bush, Hamsher had this to say: Commander Codpiece knows that Joe Lieberman can always be counted upon for the public fluff. The codpiece reference is aimed at President George Bush and a fluff girl is pornography industry vernacular for an individual charged with keeping waiting actors stimulated, often with oral sex. Race and sexual perversion appear to be Hamsher's regular stock in trade. Hopefully she's toned it down a bit when offering the Lamont campaign advice on video's and such.

Go over to Riehl World View for the rest of it. It's not stuff that responsible politicians want to be associated with. This is going to severely erode the netroots with the Democratic party. Lamont may be too new to politics to realize how this plays in the general population, but the old hands know. And they are cringing right now and trying to figure out how to politely tell the netroots to keep away from them.