YouTube – MASH SF AUSTIN WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG

YouTube – MASH SF AUSTIN WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG.

Tibet Protesters Are Held in China After Riot – NYTimes.com

Tibet Protesters Are Held in China After Riot – NYTimes.com.

Armstrong fractures collarbone in Castilla y León

www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling.

“It the first time in my career I fractured my collarbone and I can tell you it hurts a lot.”

“In 17 years as a pro I have been lucky to avoid one of the most common cycling injuries. The crash has put my upcoming calendar in jeopardy but the most important thing for me right now is to get back home and rest up and begin my rehab,” said Armstrong.

Armstrong is preparing for the Giro d’Italia, May 9 to 31, and the Tour de France, July 4 to 26. He returned to the sport this year after a three-year retirement following his seventh Tour de France win.

“This is racing. Give me a few days to think about what I have to do. I am upset, it is a big problem ahead of the Giro d’Italia.”

A broken collarbone typically needs four to six weeks for recovery, which would leave him in jeopardy for the Giro del Trentino, April 22 to 25. It would also compromise his form for the Giro d’Italia.

In Moro Bay

Mom and Dad acting innocent - I think they were stealing oysters

“Technological Doping” ? Fina cracks down on hi-tech suits

BBC SPORT | Olympics | Fina cracks down on hi-tech suits.

Well it seems like it was bound to happen, the LZR swimsuits worn by 94% of the gold medalists and on 23 of the 25 record breakers in Beijing have now been restricted. Fina has stipulated swimsuits should not cover the neck and must not extend past the shoulders and ankles.

“…matters came to a head in December when 17 world records tumbled at the European Short-Course Championships with the sight of swimmers squeezing into more than one suit in an attempt to compress their bodies and trap air for buoyancy dismaying many observers.”

So I guess I won’t be buying one now. I doubt that it would have really helped me this morning anyway. It makes little difference how fast your suit is if you’re hanging on the wall.

China ‘worried’ about safety of US assets

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/14/china-us-economy

In forthright remarks on the intertwined nature of US and Chinese finances, Wen told a news conference he was “worried” about Beijing’s holdings of American government debt. Analysts believe China has $1trn (£716bn) of US treasury bills in its coffers, implying a delicate balance between two powers whose fortunes are interlinked.

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the US. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.” In rare comments on another country’s financial health, he added: “I’d like to take this opportunity here to implore the United States … to honour its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets.”

I’m worried too Wen.

Kevin G. Hall (McClatchy Newspapers) adds this:

Still, Wen’s criticism reflects a misunderstanding of China’s own risks. In questioning the U.S. ability to make good on its debts, China threatens to undermine the value of the very assets it’s holding.

“In a formal sense, China has lent money to the United States because they bought our Treasury paper … but in reality China is holding its international reserves, its international cash, in the safest place possible because that is in its best interests,” Keidel said of China’s dollar reserves. “The U.S. has a long track record of financial responsibility to guard against the kind of inflation that would threaten” China’s holdings.

The flap over Wen’s remarks also underscores how interconnected the world’s two economic engines have become.

“It shows us how interlinked our economies are and long term, if China did start selling Treasuries, it could be hurting itself, since the value of the rest of the Treasuries could go down,” Schrage said. “We’re really in the same boat on many of these issues.”

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/politics/story/650650.html

China Reports On Tibetan Uprising’s 50th Anniversary – Sort Of

Visit to 14th Dalai Lama’s last residence in Lhasa_English_Xinhua.

China’s Xinhua News agency didn’t exactly ignore today’s 50th anniversary. It was briefly mentioned in an otherwise rosy travelogue:

LHASA, March 10 (Xinhua) — Norbu Lingka, in western Lhasa, was the last residence for the 14th Dalai Lama before he started his life in exile following a failed armed rebellion in 1959.

Traces of the turmoil have faded over the past five decades in the fast-changing Tibet and can hardly be spotted in the tranquility of early spring in the garden park.

And buried somewhere near the end:

Fifty yeas ago, the upper ruling class in Tibet staged an armed rebellion to preserve serfdom and theocracy and the Norbu Lingka was the location of the rebellion headquarters.

And China Daily gives us this when China on Tuesday called for the withdrawal of a proposed US congressional resolution on Tibet:

As this year marks the 50th anniversary of end of feudal serfdom in Tibet, Ma said,”The democratic reforms are the widest, most profound and most comprehensive social reforms in Tibetan history, blazing a new path for Tibet’s prosperity.”

In March 1959, the Chinese government dissolved the aristocratic local government of Tibet and freed more than 1 million serfs.

“Over the past 50 years, Tibet has undergone profound changes in the political, economic and cultural sectors and the millions of serfs have become the new owners of Tibet,” Ma said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/10/content_7564826.htm

So everything there is great – right?

Armstrong applauds Landis’ return

VeloNews | Armstrong applauds Landis’ return | The Journal of Competitive Cycling..

“People serve their time, and when their time is up they get to go back to work,” said Armstrong. “Sometimes I get frustrated with people who criticize his return, and then they stand up and cheer when David Millar returns.

“It’s the same thing. You serve your suspension, get back on the bike.”

Armstrong said Italian Ivan Basso, the biggest name in the peloton to be snared by the Operación Puerto drugs scandal, should also be given a second chance.

“There’s no point in criticizing Basso or Landis ─ they’ve paid their penalty … that’s normally the way society works and let’s forgive and forget and get back on down the road,” he said.

Israel to begin unilateral Gaza cease-fire

Israel to begin unilateral Gaza cease-fire at 2 A.M. – Haaretz – Israel News.

The announcement comes after three weeks of fighting in the coastal strip, as Israel launched a massive military offensive aimed at halting years of daily rocket fire on its southern communities. Palestinian sources say that more than 1,100 Gazans have been killed since the offensive began on December 27. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israel Defense Forces have been killed during that period.

Hamas defiant – Al Jazeera

Hamas, however, said it would continue fighting in Gaza as long as Israeli troops remained in the Hamas-ruled Strip.

“If the Israeli military continues its existence in the Gaza Strip, that is a wide door for the resistance against the occupation forces,” Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Lebanon told Al Jazeera.

Fawzi Barhum, a Hamas spokesman, said: “The Zionist enemy must stop all its aggression, completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip, lift the blockade, and open the crossings. We will not accept the presence of a single soldier in Gaza.

“The enemy’s declaration of a unilateral ceasefire confirms that this is a unilateral war launched in one direction, from the enemy upon our people,” Barhum, who is in Gaza, said in a statement.

Speaking at a forum in Beirut, Hamdan called on Arab leaders to stand by the Palestinian “resistance” and urged European nations to cut ties with Israel for its “crimes” in Gaza.

Martin Luther King Recording Found In India : NPR

All Things Considered, January 16, 2009 · In February and March 1959, Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, traveled throughout India. Nearly 50 years after that visit, staff at All India Radio discovered a message taped by Doctor King. In it, he emphasizes his intellectual debt to Mahatma Gandhi’s message of nonviolent social action.