The World According To Dr. Castro

$10 K Bicycle Stolen from Armstrong's Mellow Johnnys

2009-11-26T13:17:00.003-08:00

A very expensive Trek Equinox TTX SSL that costs $10,000 USD and that has the team member Ryan Baumann's name on the top tube and it's custom-painted Bontrager aero bars, has been stolen from the Lance Arsmtrong's bicycle shop, Mellow Johnny's, located in Austin, Texas.

Mellow Johnny's Manager Robbie Brennan said:

"...the theft is very disheartening. It's surprising, given the season. You know, it's Thanksgiving. It's more of a time for, you know, giving. So, we're all pretty bummed out that this happened," Brennan said.

Brennan also said that:

"...it is highly unlikely that whoever stole the bike can sell or pawn it. There are only 10 like it in the world."

Mellow Johnny's asked for help via Twitter
If anyone has any information about the bike, please, call store general manager Craig Staley at (512) 473-0222.

Thanksgiving could be Dangerous for Cyclists

2009-11-25T22:21:00.002-08:00

Click to enlarge image

Cyclists like to celebrate anything on their bikes. What can I say, we just love to be on our bicycles everyday, including holidays, morning, day and nights. But there are certain days of the year that could be a bit more dangerous than others to go out to bike train on the roads of the cities at high speed.
One of those days is Thanksgiving Day.

Forbes reports the following:

Thanksgiving tops the list of the deadliest times to be on the road

Good cheer leads many Americans to slip behind the wheel when they shouldn't on Jan. 1. Nearly half of all traffic fatalities that day involve alcohol, the most of any U.S. holiday, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

But New Year's Day isn't the deadliest of the year.

Read full article.

If you are going to bike tomorrow, just be careful out there, would you? Watch out for drunk drivers, be safe. Drunk drivers don't respect their own lives, don't expect them to respect yours. They are driving stupidly, their brains are drown in alcohol, they can't really SEE you even if you are wearing a colorful jersey and signaling correctly.

Cyclists, enjoy your Thanksgiving Day in the company of your family...and your bicycles!!!

Political Correctness Left Livingstrong Blog

2009-11-24T20:10:00.003-08:00

Would the CIA or the FBI kill me if I oppose the atrocities that the government of the United States has committed through out the years around the world fighting stupid wars and meddling in other countries problems?
Maybe not. I'm just a small blogger, my blog doesn't have tons of Internet traffic, I have never written popular songs that became world wide famous, like Imagine. Now, what about John Lennon? He was a real threat to Nixon and to the continuation of the Vietnam war, wasn't he? John Lennon was big, I'm a small potato.

I have come to a point where I just cannot take anymore all the American "war" talk that has been going on for so long. It is simply insufferable! That is all I hear, war on drugs, war against terrorism, war against this and that, and if there is nothing to fight against, the American government invents it! They just want a reason to be on war ALL the time.

I am tired of being nice, tired of being quiet, not saying anything fearing that people won't like me anymore for being against what's so popular right now: war, hate, racism.
Don't take me wrong though. I have NOTHING against the American people themselves, it's the war culture that has been promoted and the policies of the US government I'm against and totally detest.

So, from now on, don't expect me to be politically correct anymore. I will say what I have to say no matter what, and that includes my total rejection to:

war (promoted by any country in the world)
racism,
fanaticism of any kind (religion fanatics, atheism fanatics, etc.),
animal and human abuse,
cycling haters,
government involvement in health care-socialized medicine (Obamacare)
communism, socialism
...and more topics I have in mind.

Of course, I will still blog about my other favorite LIVINGSTRONG topics, which are, professional cycling racing, healthy habits and wellness in general.

But for now, political correctness has left this blog.

Radio Shack Cycling Roster 2010

2009-11-23T21:16:00.001-08:00

Radio Shack cycling team has completed putting the roster together and they are ready to start training on the second week of December. The place they have chosen to start preparing for the cycling season of 2010 is Tucson, Arizona, and I certainly hope that they share some photos with us. Wouldn't it be fun if they did?

Click for LARGER imageIt is a well balanced team," said Bruyneel. "We have experienced riders - with some of them I worked already many years in my former teams - but we also have young talents who can develop in the perfect environment. I am happy that our sponsors want to invest in the future of cycling.

"Our main goal will be the Tour de France and other stage races but I am confident that, with these riders, we can perform very well in the one-day races as well. I look forward to the new season with Team RadioShack and our first training camp."

Here is the roster for the 2010 professional cycling season:

Lance Armstrong (USA)
Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn)
Sam Bewley (NZl)
Jani Brajkovic (Slo)
Matthew Busche (USA)
Ben Hermans (Bel)
Chris Horner (USA)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Markel Irizar (Spa)
Andreas Klöden (Ger)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra)
Fuyu Li (Chn)
Tiago Machado (Por)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)
Sérgio Paulinho (Por)
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
Gregory Rast (Swi)
Sébastien Rosseler (Bel)
Ivan Rovny (Rus)
José Luis Rubiera (Spa)
Bjorn Selander (USA)
Gert Steegmans (Bel)
Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu)
Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)

Management

Johan Bruyneel (Bel) - Sports manager
Dirk Demol (Bel) - Sports director
Alain Gallopin (Fra) - Sports director
Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) - Sports director
José Azevedo (Por) - Sports director

Opposing the US Wars

2009-11-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

Something to think about:

Why I Oppose the US War on Terror:
an ex-Marine Sergeant Speaks Out

by CHRIS WHITE

The more I juxtapose logical world opinion with the Bush administration's actions in the war on terror, I realize one overwhelming theme: hypocrisy. No one in any of the branches of government runs a physical risk to themselves by entering a war with Iraq, and we can bet that none of their family members are at risk, either. That is, until the next "terrorist" attack. I put "terrorist" in quotes because its definition is subjective, and I myself used to be in the Marine Corps, part of the most powerful "terrorist" organization on the planet: the U.S. government. Of course, we never call our operations "terrorism" because every operation is considered legitimate to us. When found guilty by the World Court for violence in Nicaragua, we ignore the decision. Too bad the nations we hurt can't just ignore what we do to them. When the planet condemns us for killing between 2,500-4,000 people in Panama, we're too busy planning the next invasion of a country that can't fight back.

I oppose this war as a U.S. citizen, a veteran, and a doctoral student in history. While my military experience is what first made me skeptical about our government's motives in the developing world, it wasn't until I went to college and began reading hundreds of books and thousands of articles that I was able to truly grasp the profundity of our leadership's contempt for the freedoms they claim to protect. As a rule, we have worked hard to prevent the rise of democracy in the developing world, all the while claiming legitimacy as "the world's police force" because of our so-called "democratic" values. The hypocrisy is astounding. When one investigates our complicity in death squads, torture, massacres, rape, and mass destruction, one realizes that freedom often threatens the current power structure in this country.

I used to consider those incidents as anomalistic in comparison to the "protection" we offered the planet at seemingly no charge. But then I joined the Marines, and I realized why I had believed in the government: they were experts in manipulation. Barely out of high school, the Corps broke us down and built us up in order to shape us into machines, willing to defend the ideals of the power elites in Washington and corporate America. Just look at the companies, which are funding political campaigns, and benefiting from war: weapons producers, technologies, food, clothing, munitions, oil, pharmaceuticals, etc U.S. interventions since WWII have not been done in the name of the world's people (although that is always the claim), but for the preservation of concentrated power. The fact that they have been carried out against the tenets of international law (i.e. the rights of non-intervention and self-determination), in itself deflates their validity. If the U.S. government were held to the FBI's official definition of terrorism ("the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives"), their list of victims since WWII alone would include:

Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, Chile, Granada, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Zaire, Namibia, Lebanon, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Iran, South Africa, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Iraq, Cambodia, Libya, Israel, Palestine, China, Afghanistan, Sudan, Indonesia, East Timor, Turkey, Angola, and Somalia.

In boot camp, deceit and manipulation accompany the necessity to motivate troops to murder on command. You can't take civilians from the street, give them machine guns, and expect them to kill without question in a democratic society; therefore people must be indoctrinated to do so. This fact alone should sound off alarms in our collective American brain. If the cause of war is justified, then why do we have to be put through boot camp? If you answer that we have to be trained in killing skills, well, then why is most of boot camp not focused on combat training? Why are privates shown videos of U.S. military massacres while playing Metallica in the background, thus causing us to scream with the joy of the killer instinct as brown bodies are obliterated? Why do privates answer every command with an enthusiastic, "kill!!" instead of, "yes, sir!!" like it is in the movies? Why do we sing cadences like these?:

"Throw some candy in the school yard, watch the children gather round. Load a belt in your M-60, mow them little bastards down!!" and "We're gonna rape, kill, pillage and burn, gonna rape, kill, pillage and burn!!"

These chants are meant to motivate the troops; they enjoy it, salivate from it, and get off on it. If one repeats these hundreds of times, one eventually begins to accept them as paradigmatically valid.

The demonization of the enemy is crucial to wartime planners, and the above examples of motivation techniques are relevant to the present. Before carrying out a security exercise in Qatar, my unit went through Muslim "indoctrination" classes. The level of racism was unbelievable. Muslims were referred to as "Ahmed," "towlheads," "ragheads," and "terrorists." We were told that most Muslim males were homosexual, and that their hygiene was so primitive that we shouldn't even shake their hands. The object was demonization through feminization and dehumanization, so as to make it easier for us to pull the trigger when ordered to. But Qatar is our ally, so imagine the language being used today in these indoctrination courses about Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Iraqi population has suffered countless U.S. supported atrocities over the past eleven years. Not only were between 100 and 200 thousand people killed in 1991, but the bombing has continued ever since then, and sanctions have led to the deaths of possibly 1 million people, in a nation of 17 million. Former UNSCOM execs assert that they destroyed 95-98 percent of Saddam's weapons by 1998, and that a nuclear weapons capability is extremely unlikely due to their devastated economy. According to this morning's New York Times, the U.S. reasons that Saddam's gassing of his own people and his hatred of the U.S. are what warrant our harder stance toward Iraq in comparison to North Korea. While we pursue diplomacy with North Korea (which has admitted to having nukes), we prefer to invade Iraq, who we claim is only looking for nukes. Have we forgotten the 1994 Congressional report revealing that we supplied Saddam with biological and chemical weapons during the 1980s? Although U.S. casualties will be lower than that of Iraq, let's not forget the danger we are placing squarely on the shoulders of U.S. troops, who have been indoctrinated as I was. Funny how the people who are least likely to go to war are the ones working the hardest to convince others to fight it for them.

Chris White is an ex-Marine and current doctoral student in history at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

Source

Pictures of the Great Recession

2009-11-21T19:50:00.003-08:00

I am sure we all can see how bad the financial recession has been hurting everyone, even upper class restaurants and business have been affected. Our pets suffer too if we cannot make enough money to feed them and to take care of their health and medical problems.
Ben Bernanke, Geithner and Barack Obama say that "the recession is over". Well, I don't believe so. I see people going broke, retail stores closing, houses and buildings empty, crime is rising everyday, suicides increasing in all states.
Yes, main stream media tries to hide it and sweep the homeless shame under the rag, but my eyes cannot deny what they see.

Homeless dogs and cat
CLICK for larger image

Ed Yourdon took this picture. He is a passionate photographer and here it is what he has to say about this photo:

"The owner of these dogs (who I didn't bother including in the picture) was trying to generate sympathy for his dogs, and (more important) for himself, by implying that they were all homeless. It's a very busy street corner, just one block from Times Square, so lots of people walk by, especially in rush hour. While I was standing there for five minutes, I watched two or three people drop some coins in the small white bowl in the middle of the picture.. "

The best hot dogs in the world, in recession

Dock's Restaurant in New York

Commercial vacancies

This pic is in the heart of MANHATTAN

San Francisco, CA

Manhattan, USA

Love Generation CYCLING Bob Sinclar

2009-11-20T21:11:00.003-08:00

Today is Happy LIVINGSTRONG Friday, a time for laughing and relaxing, a time to put all the problems in a bubble and let them fly away from us, all the way into the vast universe.

When I'm on my bicycle -7 days a week- I feel like this boy, I have so much fun. Cycling is for me not only a form of exercising, frankly, CYCLING IS MY LIFE!

Peace to everyone from Mexico!

Food Banks Recession Pain

2009-11-20T09:42:00.001-08:00

In this economic downturn even the Food Banks of America are seeing their money and food in their shelves depleted. They are assisting the hungry with less and less donations. And the reason is that more Americans are unemployed, they cannot donate anymore, they need to save for themselves, to put food on the table of their own families.

US Hunger Rises Food Shortages

2009-11-19T23:09:00.003-08:00

Click for LARGER image

Undoubtedly, the US population is getting poorer and hungrier as the financial recession deepens, and as a consequence of this, more people go to bed hungry.
The United States Department of Agriculture has released new data that shows that almost 50 million people struggled last year to put enough food at their table.
As poverty and unemployment rise, Americans have more difficulty to have access to food. As a result of this, 1 out of 4 children go hungry everyday in the United States, and this numbers are expected to worsen in 2010 when the 2009 report comes out.

"This is unthinkable. It's like we are living in a Third World country," said Vicki Escarra, president of Feeding America, the largest organization representing food banks and other emergency food sources.

"Our network food banks are calling us every day, telling us that demand for emergency food is higher than it has ever been in our history," said Escarra.

Vilsack said that "Shortages of food would be much worse without the government programs. Just more than half of the people surveyed who reported they had food shortages said that they had, in the previous month, participated in one of the government's largest anti-hunger and nutrition programs: food stamps, subsidized school lunches or WIC, the nutrition program for women with babies or young children."

Just like I said in one of my past blog posts, this financial depression is going to be different from that of the 1929. Great Depression 1929: soup lines VS Greatest Depression 2009: food stamps.

Tom Cruise What's Wrong with this Picture?

2009-11-19T20:01:00.001-08:00

I'm sorry, but if I married Tom Cruise, I'd want my morning Starbucks coffee DELIVERED to my room!

Giro Helmet PROLIGHT Cycling Road

2009-11-18T23:35:00.001-08:00

As some of you might know, I am a passionate lover and fanatic coleccionist of cycling helmets. I have many of them in different models and brands. BUT, I don't have the newest Giro Helmet, which is feathery light, very airy, comfortable, and probably not as good looking like the other past models they have, but it still cool looking and its features are worth the buy.

Click to enlarge imageI am going to buy this baby, gotta have it in my collection! Only one bad thing: it will be available for purchase until April, 2010.

FACTS ABOUT THE PROLIGHT GIRO HELMET

1. It's 60-120g lighter than most top-end lids with an actual weight of just 181g for a medium-sized CPSC-certified sample (Euro versions are even lighter).

2. To help save weight, the Prolight does without an internal reinforcement skeleton so the vents are necessarily downsized to maintain structural integrity.

3. Ventilation is far better than expected nonetheless though thanks to extra-deep interior channeling that makes the most of whatever air is coming in by funneling it straight over the top of the cyclist head.

4. While there's no conventional ratchet or dial out back, Giro does at least include a three-position anchor up front to help tweak the circumference if needed.
5. Price, $ 200.00 USD

Mammograms to detect Breast Cancer not always necessary

2009-11-17T22:43:00.004-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

The Fed Task Force has recommended to all US medical doctors not to perform mammograms to women before age 50 nor older than 74. They also "recommend" changing the screening interval from 1 year to 2 years!!! Oh, let me not forget to mention that the Fed Task Force also has published specific guidelines for biopsies of the breast.

I just can picture the near future:

PATIENT: Doctor, I feel a mass in my right breast.
DOCTOR: Well, the mass is not consistent with the guidelines that were given to us by the FTF, I cannot perform a biopsy. Continue to check on it manually and come back if you feel any changes.

The "Fed Task Force", Federal, federal task force... the Government tells physicians in the United States of AmeriKa how to practice medicine. Seriously, this is absolutely abhorrent, greedy and hypocritical.
For how many years we, medical doctors, have been telling our patients that is necessary for them to have a mammogram every year as a preventive measure starting at the age of 40-45 depending on their particular medical risks?
You know why they are "recommending" doctors not to order mammograms that often right? BECAUSE OF MONEY! Because Obama and Co. don't want to spend money on cancer screenings, don't want to spend money on early detection of cancer of the breast. They want to spend the money on their friends, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Government -General- Motors, and the rest of the 'banksters'. Who cares about the hundreds of women who could potentially develop breast cancer and eventually die from it, not them, that's for sure.

This is the way Obamacare is going? Do you know how many lives are saved every year by yearly mammograms? Last year, more than 182,000 American women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and 40,000 died of it.

These idiots who are controlling the money of the tax payers of the American people are not only extremely greedy but unethical.

November 16, 2009 ( UPDATED November 17, 2009 ) — The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued new breast cancer screening guidelines, which are published in the November 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The task force now recommends against routine mammography screening for women before age 50 years and suggests that screening end at age 74 years.
The new USPSTF recommendations are in opposition to other existing breast cancer screening guidelines from organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology, which have both criticized the new document. Several agencies and organizations, such as the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, have said they will continue to follow the American Cancer Society guidelines."

Sources of information:
1. Annals of Internal Medicine
2. Medscape

Meredith Whitney Recession Will Return

2009-11-16T22:12:00.001-08:00

It seems that Meredith Whitney is trying to talk some common sense into the rest of talking heads of the main stream media. Hopefully, the wise will listen carefully. Other well respected economists and geopolitical trend analysts have foreseen and talked about it, but few have listened so far. Maybe, since Meredith Whitney is on CNBC, more people will listen.

One thing is for sure, Meredith Whitney is not telling the truth completely when she gave this interesting interview on CNBC today. And do you know why? Because WE HAVE NOT COME OUT OF ANY RECESSION YET, we still going down into a financial depression.
I don't see a "double-dip", at least not in main street, maybe in Wall Street because of Bernanke/Geithner/GS &Co. manipulation of the markets, other than that, the economy HAS NOT seen any recovery at all.
But I would like to give some credit to her -Meredith Whitney- anyways. At least she is talking some truth, and that is what people need to hear right now.

In a wide-ranging interview, Whitney, CEO of the Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, also said:

She was disappointed that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't spell out how the Federal Reserve planned to exit "the biggest Fed program to date, which is the mortgage-backed purchase program." In a speech earlier Thursday, Bernanke said the central bank was watching the dollar's decline but is likely to keep interest rates low.

The US consumer was going through the biggest credit contraction ever—even bigger than that during the Great Depression. "That credit contraction is accelerating," she said. "There's nowhere to hide at this point."

The banking sector is not adequately capitalized and will need to raise more capital in the coming year.

The residential real estate market is likely to worsen and remains a much bigger threat than the commercial property market. The government's mortgage modification program won't result in any major improvement in homeowners' ability to stay above water, she added.

"I don't know what's going on in the market right now because it makes no sense to me," she said.

"The scariest thing about the Fed's program is that the money on the sidelines isn't going to support that asset class," she added. "So the trillion dollars of Fannie (Mae), Freddie (Mac) and mortgage-backed securities that the Fed is holding—there's no substitute buyer there."---Meredith Whitney todl CNBC.

VIDEO of the interview with CNBC

Eat Healthy Keep It Simple

2009-11-15T22:40:00.001-08:00

Want to live a longer-healthier life? Keep it simple, everything you do in your life, at work, with your family, even when you choose what to eat, keep it simple.

Eating over-processed food is damaging to your metabolism. The fresher the food you eat the healthier it is.
Do you want potato chips, re-fried beans, rice? Make them yourself. It is cheaper and healthier, with no preservatives and way less salt ingredients.

Let's put it this way: If it doesn't spoil fast, then don't eat it.

Staying healthy is very important for us not only not to be over weight or to avoid diseases like diabetes, hypertension, etc, but also to bring positive energy into our lives. Feeling good is not only about expecting others to say hello to us, it's much more than that and so simple:

1) Avoid Anxiety
2) Do not over eat
3) Exercise at least 4 times a week
4) Eat healthy
5) Have fun in everything you do in life.

United States WILL NEVER DIE

2009-11-13T16:05:00.003-08:00

Today is Happy LIVINGSTRONG Friday, a time for laughing and relaxing, a time to put all the problems in a bubble and let them fly away from us, all the way into the vast universe.

Having said so, let me introduce to you a wonderful song that I came across with on YouTube. It is abso-friggin'-lutely fantastic, hilarious with very smart lyrics. The whole context of the musical parody is so intelligent, really.

Happy Friday to all of 'youse'!

Stuart O'Grady Leaves Hospital In Spain

2009-11-12T20:57:00.005-08:00

My best thoughts go to Stuart O'Grady, and hope that he recovers promptly. The world of cycling needs him on the road, on his bike. Hurry up and heal soon, O'Grady, you are a fantastic cyclist and a great inspiration for many of us who love cycling.

"When the ride finished of course I could feel my heart rate soaring, my blood pressure rising, but I didn't give it much more thought," O'Grady said of the incident.

"But then I started having blotchy vision and 20 minutes later I had a seizure and collapsed.  

"It was possibly the extreme 'hyper tension' or maybe an old scar on my brain from one of my previous crashes but there's no use speculating or guessing, it's happened and that's that".

"It takes more than one lap to get rid of me," O'Grady added defiantly.

You can read more about this story here.

Hate Leaves CNN

2009-11-11T22:28:00.002-08:00

Hateful xenophobic Lou Dobbs is quitting his contract with CNN as of today. This contract was supposed to end until 2011, but CNN President, Jon Klein, said in a statement, "Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere. We respect his decision."
Well, hate sells and sells a lot, probably as much as sex does, who knows, but I am sure that if he got a better salary offer from another TV Network he will be working for, he will increase their ratings and earnings as well.
I wonder what network is getting in bed with him...Fox News maybe?

It's too bad that some people crave for this type of cheap entertainment. Hate infects ones brain and soul, hate brings disaster and pain, hate sickens, shortens the haters life. Hate, is never good.

1. As long as there is a market for hate, there will be work for bitter "journalists"
2. As long as there is a market for undocumented immigrants, they will keep on entering the United States illegally.
3. As long as there is a market for drugs in the US, the drugs will keep on rolling in my friends.

Let me make it clear for once and for all:

1. If you don't want hate, do not listen to hateful individuals who rejoice on hurting others with their words.
2. If you don't want "the Mexicans" in the US, DO NOT HIRE THEM!
3. If you don't want a country with drug lords next to yours...DO NOT DO DRUGS!

It's funny. I just published last week a post in this blog about Lou Dobbs, and now he's leaving CNN. What a coincidence, or not?

Some activists are celebrating Lou Dobbs leaving CNN:

"Our contention all along was that Lou Dobbs — who has a long history of spreading lies and conspiracy theories about immigrants and Latinos — does not belong on the most trusted name in news," said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org. "We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has the legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate."

Tom Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the leading Latino legal organization, said, "The Latino community can and should celebrate that Lou Dobbs is no longer on CNN."

I am not celebrating Dobbs leaving CNN. He'll just move somewhere else where he can continue his journey of hate. And CNN is not that unbiased either. Let's admit it, CNN, Fox, MSNBC and the rest of the main stream media are not longer reporting the truth, they are all controlled and manipulated, they don't want the public to know the absolute truth and reality about what is happening around the world, so what's to celebrate?

I will celebrate when real and honest journalism governs, until then...

Iceman Cometh Challenge Michigan US

2009-11-10T22:59:00.007-08:00

The 2009 Iceman Cometh Challenge is always held the first Saturday of November each year, in Kalkaska, Michigan.
This cycling National Event attracts competitive cyclists from all over the US, from the ages of 3 to 82. Some are amateur racers and others are seasoned professionals. They have it all, and enjoy the race, the beautiful scenery, well, even the food the organizers provide.

This is my favorite picture of the event, but you are welcome to enjoy some others.
Amanda Carey (Kenda-Trainwitheric.com) chasing Elliot with a lap to go

Doctor Convicted of Assaulting Cyclists

2009-11-09T22:35:00.001-08:00

Dr. Christopher Thompson, 60, is a real embarrassment for all of us who practice medicine with love, honor and pride.
I am concerned that a medical doctor can react in such a hateful way towards human life.

The crash happened on July 4, 2008, when this emergency physician stopped his car suddenly after passing three road cyclists who were riding down the Mandeville Canyon Road in Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Thompson said that the cyclists were not riding in a single file and he "wanted to teach them a lesson" by slamming the brakes of his car after passing them and pulling back in front of them, but that "it wasn't his intention to hurt them", yes sure, what a psycho!

I am a medical doctor -have been for 24 years- and a passionate competitive amateur cyclist -have been for 10 years- that is why I cannot possibly understand this doctor's rage, especially when he saved hundreds of lives in his more than two decades of medical practice at the Beverly Hospital in Montebello.

Well, I am glad that he is off the streets for now, since he is facing up to 10 years in prison for causing severe physical injuries to the cyclists.

The LA Times reported these injuries:

"Ron Peterson, a coach for USC's and UCLA's cycling team, was flung face-first into the rear windshield of the doctor's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and lacerating his face. Christian Stoehr, the other cyclist, hurtled to the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder."

"Our hope is that this brings to light how vulnerable cyclists are out there," Peterson, 41, told reporters. His face was permanently scarred from the crash and he underwent reconstructive surgery on his nose, which he said remains numb.

"Stoehr, 30, said the crash left him unable to work for months and that he rarely rides his bike anymore"

My most sincere wishes for a prompt recovery go to all cyclists who were injured by this deranged doctor. I hope that he gets proper mental treatment and that he never leaves jail until he can prove that he would never be a danger to society.

Floyd Landis Tour of Southland 17 Place

2009-11-09T08:06:00.002-08:00

Photo: © Pete Bruggeman
American professional cyclist Floyd Landis hasn't finished his 2009 cycling season yet. He participated in the Tour of Southland but couldn't make it to the podium, ending in 17 place in the General Classification. I feel for him, he is trying but he cannot perform well after his comeback, not even in this cycling event which only has a 2.2 classification category by the UCI.
He is trying though. He broke away with 6 riders in the last stage -stage 9- advancing in the overall place a bit even though he was caught in the chaos of the mass crash on the opening day.

The Tour of Southland is a premier national cycling event in New Zealand that run from the 2nd to the 7th of November.

Final general classification

1 Heath Blackgrove (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 21:44:52
2 Jack Bauer (Share The Road) 0:01:03
3 Tom Findlay (Bici Vida) 0:01:16
4 Marc Ryan (Colourplus) 0:01:34
5 Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) 0:02:45
6 Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) 0:03:48
7 Jeremy Vennell (Bissell Pro Cycling) 0:06:34
8 Ben King (Calder Stewart) 0:06:38
9 Michael Vink (The Southland Times) 0:11:45
10 Romain Fondard (Share The Road) 0:12:53

17 Floyd Landis (Cyclingnzshop.com - Bio Sport) 0:16:00

Lance Armstrong VS Cadel Evans

2009-11-07T21:37:00.002-08:00

Cadel Evans leaves Team Silence-Lotto to join BMC Cycling Team and will be racing with George Hincapie against Lance Armstrong (RadioShack Cycling Team) in Adelaide, Australia next year in the Tour Down Under, which will run from the 17 to 24 of January.

This is great news and proves that the 2010 professional cycling season is going to be exhilarating. Just for starters, we will have Cadel Evans VS Lance Armstrong, then, several cycling races, then the Giro and so on. Can't wait for 2010!

About Lance Armstrong:

Lance's participation in the 2009 Tour Down Under brought thousands of visitors from all over the world to this important cycling event injecting about 32 million USD in this part of Australia, helping its economy in great way.

"I'm delighted to announce that Lance Armstrong will be back in Adelaide to race in next year's Tour Down Under," Rann said in a statement. "This will be the first time Lance's new team will compete anywhere in the world. "I've been in regular contact with Lance and his management since he made his world cycling comeback in Adelaide at the 2009 Tour Down Under. He really enjoyed his time here and has told me how much he appreciated the massive support he received from the thousands of cycling fans during the race and from the communities supporting the launch of his global cancer campaign."

About Cadel Evans

"Cadel brings a wealth of experience in the Grand Tours to the team." BMC Racing Team co-owner Jim Ochowicz commented. Ochowicz added "As I have said earlier, our team will have multiple chances to measure ourselves against the greatest teams in the world. We are pleased that we will have the opportunities to send out our most successful riders, now including Cadel Evans, to tackle these challenges."

Who will win this fantastic 2010 Tour Down Under, Lance Armstrong, Cadel Evans...or someone else?

Soup Lines VS Food Stamps

2009-11-06T09:36:00.002-08:00

The number of Americans relying on food stamps to feed their families has increased tremendously. The country that has lead the world financially for decades has about 36,492 million citizens collecting food stamps. That means that about one in eight Americans are currently receiving this benefit.

This is how I see the current Greatest Depression expressing itself in today's social programs (there were not food stamps back in 1929)

Great Depression 1929= SOUP LINES

Greatest Depression 2009 - ? = FOOD STAMPS

Another data that came out today and contradicts the "recovery" the talking heads of the mainstream media are talking about is the unemployment number, which has been seasonally adjusted to 10.2%. That means that there about 7.3 million jobs have been lost in the financial recession...officially, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The REAL unemployment numbers are way higher if we take in consideration other factors that the Bureau -under the Labor Department- cannot count for different reasons, like the "disgruntled" or "not in labor force"

United States Dying From Hate

2009-11-05T16:27:00.001-08:00

I know that I have many readers that reside in the United States of America, and I want make clear that it is not my intention to put down in any way the values, morals and greatness that have characterized this country for many many years. I want to make sure that what I am going to say is not offensive, only sincere, not insulting, only honest, not an attack, just my most humble opinion.

Throughout the last years, 8 to 9 more or less, I have noticed a very worrisome increment of hate in the hearts of the American people. They seem to thrive on hate and feed on vengeance, and this I find to be a very scary trend, and worst of all, it seems that this hate is spreading to all sectors of the American society, the low, middle and upper class, the poor, the median income and the rich seem to be infected with hate.

We cannot deny that the American ego has escalated to uncontrollable levels now, and that is the reason why their military bases are practically all over the world. They want control, manipulate the masses, without having any regard for the freedom of the people of their own country nor the people of the world. They just send their troopers to what ever country they think has the most petroleum, the most resources, or they just send them "in the name of FREEDOM".

The most recent US military base set up is the Colombian one. Thank goodness they didn't come to Mexico! But my point is, how far is their warfare power going to extend? Probably not much anymore since the United States of America is basically and financially broke.

So, the US citizens have learned to hate other human beings that are not exactly like them, that don't have the same culture, the same language, the same religion, they hate the ones that have no religion at all, the "MEXICANS" (like it's an insult to be Mexican), etc.
Too much hate in United States, like a terminal disease for which there is no cure. How long will it last? Will it take United States to an inevitable collapse of all kinds, financial, economic, social, political, even moral? I hope not but it seems that that is the way the country is heading to, inevitalbly.

Please, do not think that I am generalizing. I am sure that there are millions of Americans who still have high regard for human values, real human values, like compassion, kindness, manners, respect for other ethnicity backgrounds, religious groups, non-religion groups, women, children, elderly, disable people, "Mexicans", etc. But unfortunately, there are also many many Americans who are showing lack of all the real values I mentioned above, and that is what is dragging the country down, and maybe in 10 years from now, United States won't be anymore the first economy nor the first power of the world, unless they leave the hate behind, once and for all.

Opposing Obamacare Socialized Health Plan

2009-11-04T22:06:00.004-08:00

I am pleased to know that there are some people around the country who are very active trying to do the right thing: oppose the Obamacare by rejecting Obama's socialized medicine health plan.

For Immediate Release November 4, 2009

Glenn Gallas (501) 545-1933

John Wilson (870) 814-7528

info@c4aa.com

Arkansas Tea Party Leaders to Residents: "March on Washington!"

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Local residents are responding to a call by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) for taxpayers to make a "house call" at noon Thursday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to urge Congress to oppose the Obama Administration's attempted takeover of America's healthcare system.

Arkansas Tea Party leaders are encouraging local residents to either travel to Washington, or, if they can't afford making that trip to "knock at the front door, we ask that they knock on the back door by swamping their congressman's office with faxes," said Tea Party chairman Glenn Gallas with Citizens for the American Agenda.

"We're asking folks who can't go to D.C. to send a fax at exactly 12:00 noon eastern time demanding that their member of Congress oppose socialized medicine," Gallas said.

"We want to bombard Congressman Mike Ross and every other member of Congress at the same time on one day, and hopefully deal a final death blow to the horrific health care 'reform' bill before the House of Representatives," said John Wilson of the Conservative Action Project in El Dorado. "America is on the brink of losing the very things which have made us the envy of the world, of abandoning the path which has brought America to greatness, our freedom."

"There are those in Washington who would sell this great nation into the bondage of socialism. We cannot allow this," said Wilson. "Congressman Ross was elected to serve and protect this nation and to represent the interests of the people of this state. The health care bill before Congress would have the federal government seize fully one-sixth of our nation's economy and place it under federal control. This ill-conceived piece of legislation does NOT serve us well."

Gallas and Wilson agree that Arkansas taxpayers are opposed to the proposed legislation's taxpayer-funding of abortion, the medical neglect of seniors through rationing, increased taxes, and not allowing portability of insurance across state lines.

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is committed to bring this up for a vote this Friday. We plan to hold Congressman Ross accountable next November for how he votes on Friday. We encourage him to do the right thing by voting against Obama's socialized medicine scheme," said Wilson.

RadioShack Cycling Team Riders

2009-11-03T17:52:00.003-08:00

If you are exciting about the 2010 cycling season and you happen to like the way Lance Armstrong bikes, then you have to visit the Team Radio Shack social network.
They have a pretty good Website and forum that you can join and discuss cycling topics. The site is in BETA and its developers are still adding features to it, so be patient and have fun creating your profile.
Take in consideration that the RadioShack Cycling Team is brand new and it is being created as we speak. It is so new that not even the roster has been published yet in its entirety. I did a research and put together a list of the riders that so far have joined the cycling team.

RadioSchack Cycling Team Roster
(not official yet, but confirmed by several cycling websites)

Lance Armstrong (USA)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Chris Horner (USA)
Andreas Klöden (Germany)
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine)
Gregory Rast (Switzerland)
Ben Hermans (Belgium)
Geert Steegmans (Belgium)
Sergio Paulinho (Portugal)
Tiago Machado (Portugal)
Gregory Rast (Switzerland)
Tomas Vaitkus (Lithuania)
Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia)
Nikolas Maes (Belgium)
Daryl Impey (South Africa)
Sebastien Rosseler (Belgium)
Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia)
Dirk Demol (Belgium)
Haimar Zubeldia (Spain)
Johan Bruyneel (Belgium)
José Luis Rubiera (Spain)
Sergio Paulinho (Portugal)
Nikolas Maes (Belgium)
Markel Irizar (Spain)
Sam Bewley (New Zealand)

Unfortunately, George Hincapie declined the invitation to participate with RadioShack and joined, instead, the BMC racing cycling team as he left Team Columbia-HTC.
And I said "unfortunately" becasue I would have liked to see George bike and race with Lance again, but, George decided to move on and more power to him. I personally admire him too, very much. What a great rider he is.