Two new articles appeared nearly simultaneously with our publishing of the three part series Nettoyage Ethique / Ethic Cleansing
The first is more amusing than 'damning', and written by a true master of French journalism, Claude Drousset. Former writer for l'Equipe, editor of Vélo Magazine (French monthly cycling mag), Drousset amused his audience by reminding his French readers (and Francophiles worldwide) of the location, during the week in which the AFLD 'bombarded' the UCI through Le Monde articles (as noted above), of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy was on official state visit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, and 'home' of the Swiss–licensed, Kazakh–sponsored team Astana, in the 'collimator' via the AFLD 'UCI Report'.
Follow the link above to read these translated gems from the keyboard of a master:
“I imagine this little fictional scene. Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, day before yesterday. [Ww: implying Tuesday, 6 October] The Grand Auditorium of the Presidential Palace. Nicolas Sarkozy at the side of his homologue Nursultan Nazarbaïev. Before them, a group of Ministers, elected representatives, directors of multinationals and grands medias all together. Object: the signature of an engagement of some four billion Euro in contracs, beween Kazakhstan and the largest French entreprises. Until now, this writing is true. The fictional touch? Nazarbaïev, at the point of signing the accord, who lifts his pen and turns toward Sarkozy:
“One second, Mister President, what is this story, in your country, of the favourable treatment of which our racers benefited from the last Tour de France?”
Astana is also a conglomerate of entreprises, sponsor of the team of Contador and Armstrong. This team is targeted in a report of the AFLD, which was leaked Monday. The eve of the Astana Summit. One can imagine the light agony of our hyper-cool President.
[.....]
The ears of Pierre Bordry, AFLD patron, must have been burning since Monday and the publication by www.lemonde.fr of the contents [of the 'UCI Report']. Not only because of the responses from Pat McQuaid, UCI president, furious to be placed one more time (by the French) before its ambiguities in the face of doping. Not only because of the embarrassment of Roselyne Bachelot and Rama Yade, Minister and Secretary of State (de tutelle (?)), called upon to make comments but who also remembered personally that Nicolas Sarkozy had publicly qualified Lance Armstrong in July as a “formidable example”. Four billions of contracts and the admiration of a President of the Republic, facing ten pages of report and some medical waste.
How will this end? We await details, facts and responses from concerned parties, especially the UCI?
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Also an insightful article was published October 21, comes from the South; South African site IOL.co.za has an AP feed article with 'all the details' regarding what was found by the 'French police' in the medical waste from the 2009 Tour. The title:
Armstrong doping suspicions are suspicious
A company named Cosmolys is said to have been contracted by many Tour teams to dispose of their 'medical trash', which one can understand means legitimate used bandaging (for 'road rash' accidents) and other such items (in an age where AIDS is a legitimate concern, responsible authorities have altered the concept of 'trash disposal, and should be applauded). French police seized 15 'containers', stated an anonymous 'French judicial official'.
Apparently 14 boxes were 'what one would expect', but curiously, the Astana box was claimed to be stuffed with 'large quantities' of syringes and intravenous infusion apparati. We are reminded that, under the WADC, IV drips are banned without Therepeutic Use Exemption (TUE). the IOL article from AP tells us that a different company has been engaged to examine this 'evidence', for 'evidence' of its origin, through DNA analysis. The company is TOXLAB, which was part of the '... investigation into Princess Diana's death.' (TOXLAB does not appear to have a website; one of its staff maintains an email through a 'French web-email-service (similar to GMail or Hotmail))
SIDEBAR: The actual investigation is being run by the vice-Procureur Dominique Pérard (Ww leaves his title in French, it is the equivalent of 'Vice Prosecutor' (meaning 'second', not 'addictions'). The agency investigating this 'sordid story' is the OCLAESP: l'Office central de lutte contre les atteints à l'environnement et à la santé publique (roughly the Central Office for the Fight against the Offences to the Environment and Public Health)
The article gets to a point we had discussed at WADAwatch the same day, how unusual it seems that the French police searched and found this group of items:
Did they have legitimate reasons or are they being manipulated by people seeking to embarrass Armstrong and the UCI?
[.....]
Would they have gone to such lengths with other sports?
[.....]
What is clear is that the probe was kept quiet for three months until last week, when word leaked to French media just before Armstrong flew to Paris for the unveiling of next year's Tour route.
An important fact that was 'conveniently ignored' by Stéphane Mandard, the agente–provacateur for this year's Tour scandal, is mentioned by the AP and IOL. Doctors from other Tour teams stated that the Cosmolys' system for medical waste disposal is not sealed, thus access by third parties is conceivable.
SIDEBAR: This makes a legitimate question arise: should Cosmolys, whose contract calls for the safe disposal of medical waste for Teams on the Tour which, themselves, and thanks to information derived from mostly French sporting news journalists, are targeted in a high–visibility and unsecured sport [Ww: No stadiums, or permanent facilities] reasonably foresee that a third–party could acquire access to its meds-waste facility, and thereby compromise the integrity of a team or teams? IOW: Are we assured that sufficient cautions were taken by this contractor to the Tour?
One could think of a word: 'negligence', and a question: 'why isn't legitimate medical waste collected and analyzed through the global 'anti–doping' family for ALL sports? Ponder that...
The AP – IOL article has this to say in conclusion:
“... if Astana is exonerated, will the same people who put Armstrong and cycling in the spotlight by leaking word on the probe say sorry? Don't count on it.”
Well, mes amis, AFLD seems to have much in common with Oliver, whose words defined a classic American film. LOVE STORY: “... means never having to say you're sorry'"
We remind readers that the French judicial system is slogging through the worldwide-crisis presented by 'a 2006 hacking' case, which is purported to be involving a certain Tour winner who was stripped of his title, and a Doctor that was or is his trainer' and that that case is now three years old. WADAwatch wrote an extensive history, which leaves a perplexed reader wondering how a Doctor in California could have employed the 'authorized' French government Hackers (who were also responsible in cases brought by Greenpeace FR, and an independent attorney who represented 'small-investor-class' shareholders, against two of France's biggest State-owned (or majority minority shareholders) corporations.
This story is growing folks: is it unravelling against the French Agency AFLD? Stand by for a weekend wrap up of other news from the CW II... and the Lord of the Leaks...
..........@.........WADAwatch
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