Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times, and
Charles Pelkey from VeloNews...
(a VAST, WADAwatch “thank you” to both: putting faces to names shares the finest human quality)
... time to share our pre-final session views, banter about WADA's pending choices, and with a minimal link for Web-searching, a very much appreciated thanks again, for signalling the fact that the Council of Europe apparently had placed a last-minute candidature for the WADA presidency, to a certain Monsieur Guy Drut, Frenchman with ties to Jacques Chirac and...
Dare we introduce that Drut's record includes, à l'Americain (As Bush the Greater had pardoned Casper Weinberger), a pardon by Monsieur le president Chirac for certain financial misappropriations that may be linked to the current investigations into the former presidency?
(Jésus mio, he even looks like Casper (the Ghost) Weinberger, doncha think?)
The following news items concerning the Drut files are excerpts from...
AFP: Drut, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and also a former French Minister for Sport, had been touted by the Council of Europe as a last- minute alternative candidate to the Australian politician John Fahey.
"We had a process that called for nominations to be submitted by September 20... there is no possibility to reopen the process to add candidates," Pound told a press conference.
"There is one candidate and there are no other candidates," added the Canadian lawyer.
Drut had said earlier on Friday he would accept being the "candidate of compromise" for the WADA presidency after Pound steps down at the end of the year.
Yesterday afternoon, in a fresh twist to an already farcical tale, the disgraced French International Olympic Committee member Guy Drut declared himself as a potential candidate for the chairmanship 24 hours after European sports ministers had called for a six-month postponement to give them time to find a candidate.
Drut is banned from serving on IOC commissions for five years after being convicted of corruption in France in 2005. He withdrew from Paris's attempt to host the 2012 Olympics to avoid embarrassing the bid but was given an amnesty by President Chirac in May last year, a background that renders his candidacy as inappropriate as it was unexpected.
A French government source distanced themselves from Drut's declaration but the uncertainty and intrigue that gripped the Palacio de Congresos yesterday were entirely a result of European attempts to derail the election.
At the heart of the row is dissatisfaction among some European nations and the Council of Europe at the candidacy of Fahey.
Don't we think that a better resolution to the Lamour fiasco, after M. Lamour pulled out of his seat as Vice-President of WADA, and thus eliminating his status as candidate for the Presidency of WADA, would have been to have European Ministers bringing a conciliatory attitude to the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings, knowledgeable and appreciating that in the relative haste to promote WADA as the be-all in drug testing worldwide, certain items remained un-enunciated in the body's documentation?
All that to say 'Swallow it', CoE, and get the WADA ship straight for another election, forwardly looking to the fourth World Conference on Doping in Sport, probably to be held in 2011.
More to come, on this, as we have now on stage a read-through of the “Madrid Declaration”, one of these exercises that brings out the 'best' of diplomacy ('dop-lomacy?), a four-page document chock-full of sentence clauses commencing with: whereas, mindful, reiterating's (and of course, given the meetings we've enjoyed), “stressing”.
FLASH: we are apparently CLOSING, for the ceremony is about to begin.
THAT would indicate that a PRESIDENT may not to be named today (I'm literally typing and linking too much to keep an ear to the actual news! Thanks to WADA, am sitting on a staircase, borderline illegally in the Press zone, sigh...), which is, if true, only pure evidence of European recalcitrance creating disharmony in the World's most (cough) harmonizing organization.
UDPATE: rather than edit out the above paragraph, it came to light that the WADA Foundation Board is currently (14h30 CET) meeting to discuss the status quo, including the late entry of a convicted and pardoned former IOC member, whose previous actions have, as stated above in the Guardian article, forced him into a five-year 'exile' (there's a familiar ring to that word, here in WADAworld-Madrid).
That includes the election of either John Fahey, Guy Drut, or no one.
At TrustbutVerify, they have found quite a French-ist, neutral and pride-showing article announcing the unprecedented candidature of Monsieur Drut, while ignoring the sordid details that one hopes are simply accurate, if printed as they were.
(The rest of this post precedes the above revision, posted here in brown-font color)
Where now, John Fahey?
Where now WADA!
THAT also indicates that the CODE is not to be adopted by acclamation prior to the closing...
Wherever WADA itself is going, its first session post-inauguration of the WADA CODE, ends in the ambiguity that it brought to Madrid.
On stage now, is Adolph Ogi, one of WADAwatch's own personal heros of the Athletic and Political world, a former President of Switzerland:
"...Doping, racism, violence: all this is destroying sport. Let's make it clear, ... sponsors are not interested in paying..." said Herr Ogi.
WADAwatch has been honoured by several compliments from various sources, including Michael and Charles, and thanks other bloggers, especially TrustbutVerify, for their links and excerpts. Due to our 'in Exile' status, we were not able to have a concrete Web link (which was personally requested for assistance, and that assistance was not forthcoming, but we're satisfied with the level of coverage we've been able to provide our audience).
WADAwatch conclusions about the Third World Conference on Doping in Sport will be filed on Monday, as this author has always been a data-sifting, evidence-weighing, not-hasty (not really) sort of analytical personality, but there are one or two consistent considerations that can already be expressed...
WADAwatch is not favorable to a FRENCH WADA President:
- The basis of the Lamour candidature, his explosive reactions to the Fahey candidacy, the petulant responses from the Council of Europe and others, would disqualify ANY official (Especially one convicted for crimes?!!) from a country such as France;
- The long history of 'untrustworthy' laboratory results from the French lab, who illegally participated in a lynching of Lance Armstrong, who instigated and have so far won the Floyd Landis case on questionable data, deplorable work competencies, and barely-adequate information retention (IT) actions, whose work has been overturned in the Landaluce case, and whose decision to 'Go on Strike'
A well-deserved WADAwatch break to enjoy the closing ceremonies, is about to begin... and another heartfelt thanks to TrustbutVerify for having shared my photocartoon with a 'slightly' (smile) larger audience... muchas gracias, mi hermano! More to come in the afternoon.
Thanks for... as always...
..........@..........WADAwatch
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