Since I posted something about the comeback ride of Landis and didn’t follow up with the joy of his victory, let me wrap up the Tour de France (TdF) postings with two things.

First, it is interesting the press, notably the French press, is referring to Landis as a ‘champion’ (versus Lance Armstrong as a ‘winner’) and is generally heaping praise on him. It really isn’t too much of surprise considering the friction between L’Equipe, and the French media in general, and Armstrong. However, I’m sure something else in the equation is Phonak isn’t an American team…

Second, is this news from Eurosport.com (a channel you should watch the Tour, World Cup, and any other serious sporting event on instead of OLN / Versus or ESPN… the coverage is far superior):

Jan Ullrich is reportedly in talks with Discovery Channel after it emerged that the German will have one last pop at Tour de France glory. Ullrich was fired by his team T-Mobile last Friday following his implication in the recent Spanish doping scandal ‘Operacion Puerto’.

Where’s Vino? With Kloden without a contract but apparently with offers from other teams, will 2005’s T-Mobile be reconstituted on 2007 Discovery? Can the personalities mesh? I’ll leave that discussion to the experts in the field as my Calfee is simply collecting dust…

• DoD News: DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for June
  Figures for June 2006 recruiting and retention for June 2006, includes FY YTD numbers.
  (tags: Civil-Military)

• US Bill of Rights
  Something everybody should review every now and again.
  (tags: Law)
• Singer: Nation Builders and Low Bidders in Iraq
  “From the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison to the mutilation of American civilians at Falluja, many of the worst moments of the Iraqi occupation have involved private military contractors “outsourced” by the Pentagon. With no public or Congressional oversight,
  (tags: PMC)

Sporting events can be distracting, especially the World Cup and the Tour d’France (which started this weekend). It isn’t always the matches or races themselves, but the opportunity to see the world, literally. No, I’m not talking about German stadium architecture or the French countryside. In the spirit of cultural relations, I submit the following: FoxSports’ gallery of some fans at the World Cup and Pez Cycling News’ Distractions du Tour (and distractions for any other month).

Sorry for the sudden appearance of dozens of posts, some incomplete w/ only a title and a link to a (sometimes) password protected resource like Lexis-Nexus. Some raw notes from a capture program I use (Onfolio, since purchased by Microsoft) got published before I could stop it. Many of these are useful but some may not be, especially in the form they are appearing (as only a link here but as full-text in Onfolio). Also, some of the items are copyright protected and hence I should not be posting here. Look for more of these data dumps in the future, but with a bit more control from my end.

The mass posting has been fixed through either deletion or edits.

An off topic post but one worth sharing. Until not too long ago, I was a triathlon / marathon / cycling / swimming coach and among those I helped succeed in their athletic endeavors was a triathlon team of athletes with visual impairments. The few that I coached each had different causes of blindness: one was born without sight, two with macular degeneration (loss of central vision often leading to complete blindness), another with the opposite of macular degeneration (the name escapes me but the loss of peripheral and night vision more frequently leading to complete blindness), and another, a former USN sailor lost his vision when his step-mother killed his father, shot him in the head trying to kill him and then killed herself. There were a few others I provided guidance for, but this was the core group.

The group did a variety of triathlons ranging from the sprint distance Malibu Triathlon (0.5 mi swim, 18mi bike, 4mi run), Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon (1.5mi swim, 18mi bike, 8mi run), and Wildflower Olympic Triathlon (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run). (I guided the fastest of the group through those races… we were averaging 6min/miles for the faster run portions… that kid is fast.) Their goal, documented in the upcoming documentary "Victory Over Darkness", was to complete an Ironman Triathlon (2.4mi swim, 112mi bike, 26.2mi run). They did this at Coer d’Alene (Ironman Idaho). This teaser should give you an idea of the upcoming movie.

I don’t know when it’ll be released. Up to date info should be available here.

If ever thought getting out for a run, swim, or bike was just too tough, consider doing it with severe or complete visual impairment…

This is a bit off topic, but as one who enjoys the outdoors, note again this blog’s name, I know it is possible to get too close to nature and for nature to get too close to you. Fast-packing through various bear areas, with and without my dogs, one needs to be aware. Trail running in our local mountains has brought my dog and I up close to our local cougar a couple of times (we apparently only have one mountain lion now, he killed his mate and possibly all four of his cubs… not good for future breeding), as well as close (and friendly/neutral) encounters with coyote (near the end of a solo 20 mile run, on a misty hill top, I came across a coyote I’m sure I’ve seen many times; he gave me the right of way on the single track, trotting off to the side without any sign of being threatened by me). Anyways, with that in mind, there this video about nature getting to close to us…

Reading a post saying there are no posts is almost like somebody answering the door saying "there’s no one here." I noticed that what is now an old post saying I’ll be on holiday for a couple (few) weeks never changed from DRAFT to PUBLISH status.

Blogging will be sparse as more holiday time and working on the house (we’re selling and our offer on a new house was accepted… lots going on) take priority…

• China actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations
  “China is gradually increasing its participation in peacekeeping operations of the United Nations, said a senior official of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday.” — the increasing importance China is placing on PKOs is stated in this Dec
  (tags: peacekeeping China)

• Photo2Search: Explore the Real World via Camera Phone
  Someday soon, using technology developed by Microsoft Research Asia, camera-phone users may be able to search the Web for information via photographs of their surroundings.
  (tags: ICT)

• How Much Is That Worth Today? | EH.Net
  Comparing the purchasing power of money in Great Britain from 1264 to 2005
  (tags: Research)
• Current Value of Old Money
  Comparisons of purchasing power are only reliable over short periods. A typical computer in 2006 is a very different machine from its counterpart of 5 years ago. Indices of inflation fail to take proper account of improvements in quality.
  (tags: Research)
• Indexes & Archive of Studies in Intelligence
  Articles by the intelligence community on the intelligence community in one place.
  (tags: intelligence reference)

• TRADOC Future Warfare Studies Division Home Page
  (tags: Military Netwar)

• Foreign Policy: The Failed States Index
  The Failed States Index
  (tags: security)

• PINR – Intelligence Brief: Iran, Nigeria
  The Ijaw population in the Niger Delta lives in extreme poverty despite the oil wealth that surrounds them. The failure of the government in Abuja to address the concerns of the Ijaw effectively means that militias will continue to organize and mount smal
  (tags: Africa Nigeria security)
• Next step in pirating: Faking a company – Technology – International Herald Tribune
  Small step from pirating a company to a country… it’s called misinformation in the intangible world.
  (tags: China)
• America’s Shaky Ambassadors
  Mr. Oberwetter had never set foot in the desert kingdom before he became Ambassador two years ago. His resume boasts a stint as chairman of the American Petroleum Institute, which lobbies on behalf of over 400 oil and gas interests in Washington D.C., and
  (tags: PublicDiplomacy)

• State Failure Task Force
  State failure is a relatively new label that encompasses a range of severe political conflicts and regime crises exemplified by events of the 1990s in Somalia, Bosnia, Liberia, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire).
  (tags: ICT4D Africa)

• Five Key Messages: Recommendations for Capacity Development in Africa
  As Africans and their international partners gear up for a major push to fuel development and poverty reduction, Africa has a new opportunity to push the development agenda and to improve conditions for the continent’s poor. In July 2005, the Group of E
  (tags: Africa Nigeria)
• Dr. Nancy Snow: American Persuasion, Influence, & Propaganda
  Well worth repeated visits
  (tags: PublicDiplomacy)

• What if there is a Revolution in Diplomatic Affairs?: Publications: Virtual Diplomacy Initiative: U.S. Institute of Peace
  Ronfeldt and Arquilla and a version of their RAND publication on the noosphere at USIP
  (tags: PublicDiplomacy)

• State’s Hughes Promises “Long-Term Foundation for Waging Peace”
  (NSS 2006) US is in the first years of a long struggle…. clear marching orders…. bull. 4 April 2006 reiteration of something that is not: a unified plan for public diplomacy of these United States.
  (tags: PublicDiplomacy)
• Pentagon Eyeing Google, Blogs
  An influential advisory panel to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is exploring the military implications of powerful Internet search engines like Google, online journals and other new tools for accessing and distributing information.
  (tags: DoD ICT)

Briefly, Asian sea piracy information centre to be established:

Asian sea piracy information centre to be established
Singapore: A 24-hour centre dedicated to sharing information about pirate attacks around Asia is expected to be established here by December, media reports said Friday.

The facility will act as a nexus for 16 countries including India, China and Japan in their bid to stamp out piracy.

It is hoped that the centre’s work will help persuade Lloyd’s of London to take the Malacca Strait off its list of war-risk areas, Singapore’s Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong told The Straits Times.

• Rethinking the Future Nature of Competition & Conflict Seminar Series Video & Podcast Archives
  Rethinking the Future Nature of Competition & Conflict Seminar Series… useful especially if you can’t get there in person.
  (tags: Military security Strategy)