The Woods Hole squid goes nuts for Cypress Hill:
The specifics of what you're seeing:
The video is a view through an 8x microscope zoomed in on the dorsal side of the caudal fin of the squid. We used a suction electrode to stimulate the fin nerve. Chromatophores are pigmeted cells that come in 3 colors: Brown, Red, and Yellow. Each chromatophore is lined with up to 16 muscles that contract to reveal their color.
Andrew Exum calls the increased attacks on US and allied forces by their Afghan counterparts "the most serious tactical challenge to the NATO coalition since the war in Afghanistan began almost 11 years ago":
Thus far, the peoples of the Western alliance have been patient when troops have fallen in combat with the Taliban. They have understandably been far less patient, however, when the very Afghans they were sent to help have opened fire. The recent French decision to withdraw from Afghanistan out of step with its allies, for example, was in part motivated by green-on-blue killings ["blue" is friendly, "red" is enemy, and "green" is the host nation] that outraged the French people and political class. Operationally and tactically, these attacks affect the way in which Western troops do their business in Afghanistan. They cannot help but be more suspicious of their Afghan counterparts — and are indeed now ordered to always be on the lookout for attacks by their putative allies.
Exum follows up:
These attacks are similar to the epidemic of military suicides in that we can discern an obvious pattern, but it remains difficult to determine what, precisely, is causing the problem. Once you dig deeply into each incident, they begin to seem sui generis — each prompted by a unique set of circumstances. That makes them arguably more difficult to address than Taliban infiltration, which is a counter-intelligence problem for which we have some precedent. If these attacks instead represent a structural erosion in the relationship between coalition and Afghan forces, that's a lot tougher to fix.
Jonathan Capehart identifies an untapped GOP voter bloc:
As you might imagine, among the gays, Obama-Biden (67 percent) trounced Romney-Ryan (23 percent). But that lock on the gay vote for the president and the Democratic Party isn’t as firm as you might think. “If Mitt Romney held the same positions on issues related to gay rights as President Obama,” respondents were asked, “what would be the impact on your attitude towards voting for Mitt Romney?” Twenty-two (22) percent of LGBT voters said they would be “more likely to vote for Romney.”
But the bigots would flee. And without the bigots, there is no Republican majority. My long ago dreams that the GOP would end up where the Tories have on gay equality are ashes now. Bitter, tragic, unnecessary ashes.
Lance Armstrong, though he maintains his innocence, has decided to cease contesting the doping charges filed against him by the US Anti-Doping Agency [NYT]:
Armstrong’s decision, according to the World Anti-Doping Code, means he will be stripped of his seven Tour titles, the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympics and all other titles, awards and money he won from August 1998 forward. It also means he will be barred for life from competing, coaching or having any official role with any Olympic sport or other sport that follows the World Anti-Doping Code. … Although it is possible that the International Cycling Union, the world’s governing body for cycling, will appeal his suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport because it had battled over jurisdiction over this case, Armstrong’s choice to accept his sanction tarnishes the athletic achievements of an athlete who inspired millions with his story of cancer survival.
Darren Rovell believes that the moral verdict on Armstrong is "more complex than any athlete we've ever had to judge":
Sure, we came to know him as the guy who nobody could beat on a bicycle, but his legacy has to be the lives he improved, the lives he saved. We often use statistics to ask ourselves if a maligned athlete, particularly one who was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs, should deserve the praise we give them. But judging Lance Armstrong by any other statistic than that he has raised almost $500 million for the fight against cancer in the past 15 years just seems small. And even that doesn't strike at the heart of what Armstrong did. While so many athletes love to show up at hospitals when the news cameras come along, Armstrong gave some pretty incredible one-on-one time to so many sick people. When he couldn't do it in person, he recorded a video and sent it in an email, even if he heard that someone had hours to live.
(Photo: Lance Armstrong of the US prepares to take part in the 51 km Cancer Council Classic cycling race, part of the 2011 Tour Down Under, in Adelaide on January 16, 2011. By Mark Gunter/AFP/Getty Images)
"I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where but the both of us were born, Ann was born at Henry Ford hospital, I was born at Harper hospital. No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised," – Mitt Romney, campaigning in Michigan. His campaign denies it was a dig at Obama. Awards glossary here.
Ta-Nehisi's deeply thoughtful article on Obama and race deserves your time. An excerpt:
The election of an African American to our highest political office was alleged to demonstrate a triumph of integration. But when President Obama addressed the tragedy of Trayvon Martin, he demonstrated integration’s great limitation—that acceptance depends not just on being twice as good but on being half as black. And even then, full acceptance is still withheld. The larger effects of this withholding constrict Obama’s presidential potential in areas affected tangentially—or seemingly not at all—by race. Meanwhile, across the country, the community in which Obama is rooted sees this fraudulent equality, and quietly seethes.
More reflections on this soon. I'm still absorbing it.
I'm beginning to get a major crush on Ryan Lochte, despite his lack of body or facial hair. He's so young and dumb and, er, inarticulate you keep wondering if he just borrowed Michael Phelps' bong. Then comes this quote on his new acting role on 90210 – vaulting Lochte into Kardashian/Snooki/Princess Diana level of dumb:
Access Hollywood: "What was the hardest part for you?"
Ryan: "Memorizing lines … and … trying to, like, say them … and still, like, do movement and all that… that was hard."
I bet it was.
We're so used to it we can forget what it says about the party as a whole:
If Obama nudges past 80 percent among minorities (which seems very possible) or the minority vote share rises (also possible, though less probable), the president could gain reelection while winning only about 38 percent of white votes. Conversely, if the white proportion of the vote increases just a single percentage point (to 75 percent), and Romney records any gains among minorities, he could shave his winning number to a more manageable 59 percent of whites.
On its face, the math is tougher for Romney. If he reaches 61 percent among whites, he would equal the best performance ever for a Republican presidential challenger with that group of voters: Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, Ronald Reagan in 1980, and George H.W. Bush in 1988 each won between 56 percent and 61 percent of white voters, according to polls at the time.
Obviously a mixed race president affects this – but not that much. John Avlon has a great primer on how this loss of diversity among Republicans has only accelerated recently, especially with draconian rhetoric on Latinos. And Romney, in stark contrast with his father, seems deeply uncomfortable around anyone but white, handsome, heterosexual males. His veep choice looks like one of his sons – hardly a sign that Romney even understands how culturally isolated he is.
More to the point, a country that has two major parties, one of which has almost no appeal to racial minorities, is not a stable or rational one. Before Nixon's consolidation of the South, both parties had admixtures of race that allowed for mutual communication. Since then, the GOP has steadily become the white Southern party, and only the Democrats are able to have a racial mix close to the country as a whole. That's something Republicans should be ashamed of. But it's not something the Democrats should be gleeful about. It's a national tragedy – another reason why this polity is in danger of coming apart at the seams.
Interlaken, Switzerland, 8 am
From the Onion:
Nation Celebrates Full Week Without Deadly Mass Shooting
UPDATE: Never Mind
The Dish 