Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Wednesday Roundup

News
AFP via Velonews has Lab admitting some "typing error" in Landis LDP. Slightly different AFP version here, also CyclingPost. The original Le Monde story is here, (machine english here) and emailer Marc provides this translation:

The national doping detection laboratory (LNDD) at Châtenay-Malabry (Hauts-de-Seine department, which was the target of a data piracy attack aiming at discrediting it (Le Monde 15 nov.--[note: le Monde is an evening paper published with the next day's date on it, so the Nov. 15 le Monde was yesterday's]), indeed did commit an error during the processing of Tour de France winner Floyd Landis' positive test for testosterone. According to our sources, the rider's B sample--whose analysis confirmed the presence of exogenous testosterone--was mistakenly logged with the wrong number in the official summary of the second analysis.

Floyd Landis' ID number was 995 474, while the lab's summary had it written as 994 474. This purely administrative error does not mean that the positive B sample was not the American's. But it was used by his lawyers today--who also are promising to present "new elements of the defense" Friday Nov. 17 in Tucson AZ--to challenge the positive doping test.

Also of interest, in paragraph 4, a police source states:
As of today, no one has been identified as the presumed author of this attack. We're only in the evidence-gathering phase. We're like the detectives who turn up at the scene of a crime.

Interesting stuff about organizational changes and Bordry too.

Le Figaro has a new article, translated by machine

Similar report from AP, with outgoing fire from Jacobs. IHT gets its own story from Sam Abt, after talking with Henson. Headlined: Landis camp denies it hacked computers at French laboratory. German Press agency story; Bloomberg too.

AP via Velonews
has Mr. Pound talking about it all. Lets the typo off the hook, says monitoring everything, Landis will get his hearing, confidence in Lab. Want support for revision of the WADA code; also Reuters. Carlton of Bikebiz posts audio of the interview.

Eurosport reports Austrian libel suit by ski coach against Mr. Pound going forward.

Mail to Velonews thinks hacking lab shows shoddy practice, implications against Landis are smears.

20minutes.fr, translated, reviews hacking and forecasts slide show 2.0.
CyclingNews anticipates new slide show, and touches on hacking incident.

Blogs
Spinopsys says it's starting to look like "Spy vs Spy" ( can Alfred E Newman be far behind?)
All this over what appears to be a pretty amateurish attempt by some disgruntled or fame seeking idiot attempting to get their jollies from the media attention and sturm und drang generated on both sides of this case - in this instance I’m thinking one fifteen year old, an all-nighter, Google translate and sixteen cans of Jolt.

TdfBlog notes coincidental timing of breaking this apparently ongoing hacker story two days after the TV interview.

French Blog, translated, thinks it's cheat, deny, deny, attack lab, hack.

Michael Wentz takes the "typing error" admission and runs.
VeloGal does zee zame zing. As does AMcGLtd.
TdfBlog picks up too, translated.
SayOw changes his mind.
PJ weighs in, ditto dmotion.

Red State Rampage
starts a political screed observing Landis seems to have been screwed.

Calendar
Landis on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel next Tuesday.

Forums
At comp.os.linux.advocacy, there's always a Microsoft angle.

At rec.bicycles.racing, one post offers a QoD candidate:
When did l'Equipe retract a story? I certainly don't remember it, in fact they stand over what they wrote..

While another wonders

What I surmised happened is that the Lamer tried to get into the system, failed, and then forged the lab reports - they are apparently forged - then dummied up the emails with the spoofed 'sender' fields. It's easy to do, and Davey has actually been doing it the last week or so since he got a net connection again until he can get all the configs etc. updated and DNS changed over

. . .

But if the perpetrator is liked to Landis, it could be another nail in his coffin

And to wrap up, our lesson in Hax0r speak:
4£0¥Ð £4nÐ1$ 1$ l33T!

(Microsoft's decoder ring for parents; teh Wikipedia version)

You are truly a net nerd if this cartoon has you ROFL.

[end]



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

AFP goes after "American cycling sites" over LNDD affair.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20061114/CPACTUALITES/611141330/5026/CPDMINUTE

Burt Friggin' Hoovis said...

ENGLISH PLEASE....!!!!

daniel m (a/k/a Rant) said...

Interesting story, not related to Floyd, but to one of his vocal accusers -- Dick Pound. Turns out he's being sued for libel in Austria. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

- Rant

DBrower said...

Marc adds in email, "By the way, I wonder if Le Monde has also got it wrong. They write that the lab mistakenly wrote 994 474 instead of Floyd's 995 474. In p. 3 of the original Ferret documents, though (= p. 008 of the full set of released documents), there's a similar, but different error: the sample ID number is given as 995 475 when Floyd's number is 995 474. Is this a different error from the one le Monde is reporting? or have they just scrambled their numbers a little?"

TBV

Anonymous said...

Finally the lab is willing to admit that the tiny little labeling error is indeed true. How very nice of them. They might as well admit it, anyone watching this with any intelligence already knows this lab is a joke at the very best, and criminal at the very worst. Now we are to believe that someone with the knowledge to hack into the computer system is not smart enough to write in "proper" french. Yet they managed to pull off the rest of the caper. So what is next? I know, lets call in Inspector Clouseau, perhaps he can clear this up for us...

Anonymous said...

Sorry TBV, forgot to tag it. that last post was from me.
Mike Green MTN.
Ephrata, PA.

daniel m (a/k/a Rant) said...

Don't look here if you haven't figured out the Haxor speech yet...

If I'm correct, it says,

"Floyd Landis is (the) one to beat."

- Rant

Anonymous said...

The Hacker speak says:

"Floyd Landis is leet". Although "leet" is actually 1337 if you're a true haxor.

I'm sad Dave didn't work in "teh", which is my favorite net word.

daniel m (a/k/a Rant) said...

As Yoda might say:

"Corrected I am."

- Rant

Anonymous said...

Too late Dan. I'm already spreading rumors about you. But it's okay. It's a rumor only a US cycling fan would get.

Anonymous said...

Rawk! Dave is now 1337! He is so teh haxor.

Mr. Brower, have you been contacted by the French police by any chance?

daniel m (a/k/a Rant) said...

Oh well. Guess I'm not so leet. I'll admit, that's what I thought the last word was, at first, but then I had this other "insight." Better to go with first impressions, eh? ;-)

On a separate note:

Happy 50th to TBV! You don't look a day over 21 ... wait, in that picture you are 21. Hope you're having a good birthday.

- Rant

pelotonjim said...

Happy Birthday!

Jim