Mike Ashenden weighs in for Paul Kimmage !

Mike Ashenden resigned from " UCI " because they tried to " muzzle " him ! The odious creatures that control the " UCI " are since 1991 doing ALL they can to turn Professional Cycling into their version of " HELL ON EARTH " for the Racers ! Though the Racers in the top echelons are paid well , though in the lower ranks struggle through their first years to survive as they seek recognition .

Paul Kimmage used to be employed by " The Times " but it seems that he was laid off through Staffing Cuts . At least that is their story . Having written a well researched article for " The Times " and " L'Equipe " , Paul now faces a court in Switzerland in December , since two Employees of a Swiss Corporation are suing him . It matters not , that he has reported the truth ! What will matter to the Swiss Court is that he has " defamed/libelled " people working in Switzerland !  Guess what the verdict will be since the court and the Organisation are both in the same Canton ? YOU GOT IT !  GUILTY !

Mike Ashenden hearing of Paul's predicament wrote the following letter :

Dear Paul,
I was shocked to read today that you have received a subpoena related to defamation proceedings brought against you by Pat McQuaid, Hein Verbruggen and the UCI itself.

It is not clear to me what the basis for the proceeding is; to the best of my knowledge it has not been publicly disclosed. Regardless, I find it deeply disturbing that, amidst the current turmoil surrounding cycling, you have been singled out.

I do not believe that court is the appropriate remedy in the current circumstances. For example, I don’t expect that WADA will sue him after Pat McQuaid claimed that WADA had launched a ‘15-year long political campaign against cycling’. Although his comments certainly do not reflect well on WADA’s integrity, to their credit WADA have shown admirable restraint.

I sincerely hope that after a period of reflection the UCI will adopt a similar attitude regarding your comments too.

Nonetheless, today I have had a change of heart. Earlier this year one of the UCI’s Passport cases that I had worked on as a member of their expert panel had to be dropped after we had received the rider’s explanation and us group of three experts could not reach a consensus decision. At the time, I chose not to invoice the UCI for the hours and hours which I had spent working on that case since October 2011.

However, your subpoena gave me pause to reflect, and I have decided to invoice the UCI a token amount of 260 Euro (two hours at our expert rate) for my contributions on that case. I have simultaneously deposited that amount into your defense fund.

I sincerely hope you are not required to pay a fine. However in case you are, I hope it is some solace that to some degree you would be merely handing the UCI’s own money back to them.

Please keep up your good work – The Times They Are a-Changin’.

Best wishes,
Mike Ashenden

Currently trying to get the " Chip in link " onto my blogs as i did for the " Charles Pelkey " matter last year !

Sunday Times has done this and the link is here :

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/sport/

The " chip in " item is near the bottom of this page in Sunday Times Sport !

This items below ALSO came to my attention and Paul's book is on my list of " Christmas Presents "!

Buying Rough ride on iTunes or Amazon will get money to Paul also but I'm not sure how quickly. It's a great read!

LiveSTRONG 2010 Financial Accounts

The Mushroom Farm drew my attention to the LiveSTRONG Financial accounts for the 2010 year last night ! Of course they have kicked up a storm surrounding the delay in the release , no surprise there though , and of course THEY would have done the job BETTER , or so they say ! They donate their services to the Mushroom farm in their anonymous way so as to avoid any responsibility for their denigrating a guy who started out like you and I but through constant focus on his objectives and perhaps a modicum of luck , has achieved an enviable position in society ! Still it is so easy to criticise whilst hiding between other anonymous posters on unregistered IP’s in a forum “ where anything that you can imagine is acceptable ” ! Saint or Sinner , Lance Armstrong has turned his Cycling Achievements into the raising of a Foundation that currently boasts assets of $US100 m+ ! Along the way many more people have been helped than will be reflected in the Annual Financial Accounts ! The work the foundation does draws in a great many volunteers and these people are to be admired since they daily run the gauntlet of those who denigrate the work that they do because they wish to deny the values that led to the founding of this charity and/or Lance’s purpose in setting up this foundation . Returning to Cycle Racing after enduring serious Life threatening Cancer problems , Lance would have like ALL other Pro Racers been on a cocktail of drugs required for his Cancer Treatment ! EPO is an item used in the treatment of Cancer and if the UCI granted him and others the “ Permissions” required then there is nothing that the Mushroomers can say that will make him anything other than a “ Legal Racer ”! Chris Horner is returning to the Pro Tour this year after suffering “ Embolisms ” last season which could have cost him his life ! Do not think that he will not be using “ Drugs ” to control a repetition occurring . Whatever is required by his Doctors will be used but will have been examined by the UCI specialists to see what effects they will have on his performance . No doubt they may even have suggested alternatives if they saw that these alternatives were a satisfactory answer to his medical needs . Had my Doctors told me at the end of the six month course of Sinitron after my Emolisms that I endured , I would be better off using Aspirin daily to thin my blood after discontinuing this treatment , I would have done followed this advice . My pharmacist suggested this was a viable option when I presented the new prescription after leaving the Hospital for the second time due to the reoccurrence of this deadly ailment . No doubt the Pharmacist will speak out on his suggestion , earlier , with future candidates using Sinitron to control their Blood values . Looking forward to seeing Chris race this season for the new team that is the combination of LeOpard and Radio Shack . In the article from “ Outside ” there is reference to Charles Pelkey and you will find that he has written about what actually took place between he and the author of the “ Outside article” ! As a recent Cancer Sufferer he has his own point of view about Lance and LiveSTRONG ! Various organisations have had their say about the 2010 Financials of “ LiveSTRONG ” and they are consistent in their divergent points of view but the “ mushrooms ” are waxing eloquent in their endeavours to out do each other with the torrent of bile they regurgitate only too frequently ! Don’t worry , you lot , I have been subjected to far worse abuse than you could imagine ! One journo whose name rhymes with “ baloney ” even followed me into the toilets some years back and that sad sack of a doughboy started throwing his carcass around in an effort to intimidate me ! Crowding me into a corner he managed to land a few ineffectual tickles ! Had the last laugh there , when his colleagues ridiculed his pathetic behaviour . Tried to download a “ pie chart ” from : http://i40.tinypic.com/jp9amx.png but was unable to load and save for transfer , a copy into my computer ! Click on this link ! As I post this item I saw that the Mushrooms were debating the “ loyalty ” of “ LiveSTRONG Employees ” There are those who do not need to be paid off when they change jobs and choose to move on with their careers and there are those that are getting “ Job Satisfaction ” whilst in the continuing employ of “ LiveSTRONG ” , unlike those exercising their fingers and imagination as they concoct more bile from their anonymous IP addresses ! Wonder what their employers think of them as they waste their employers time envying a guy who has endeared himself to far more than the dozen or so that are vying to be part of the “ jury ” in their imaginary courtroom ? Once I find the Susan K. 2010 year accounts I will endeavour to post the comparisons ! On a personal note , I would like Premier Mike Rann ( now retired ) to let people know “ How much and to whom the cheques were payable ” for Lance’s appearances in the Tour Down Under . For your entertainment I include a couple of comments to some of the articles : “ All I can say is I'm glad I didn't pay to read this. My guess is that Livestrong will be around well after this publication. Do you have any real "Journalist"? ” “ I love what LiveStrong is doing through the YMCAs. But more money needs to go toward that, and restarting those grants for cancer researchers. Less flash, more meat will make this a better organization. ” “ 1) Lance trained harder than everyone else. 2) Lance was more focused than everyone else. 3) This is all a witch hunt 4) Even if he did dope, everyone else was doing it, so he is still the best 5) He was the most tested athlete of all time, and never tested positive. 6) His team mates (except Eki etc) are all liars 7) Floyd, Frankie, Betsie etc are all bitter ! Did I miss anything? ” “ OMG – if Lance farts its news on this site and many others. I read the story a couple days ago, my take was that is was a bunch of nothing. Which makes you wonder about the writer. As someone fairly new to cycling it makes me wonder about cycling in general. It seems that all that anybody can talk about is what Lance does/did/doing. What about the new guys? Quit hating and move on, especially all the people that made/make $ off of Lance !” “ Maybe he doped, you know, like almost all of his opponents in his day, Pantani, Basso, Millar, Ulrich, Vinokourov, Zulle, ... And before them, Riis, Indurain, Fignon... Hell, I just learned that even MERCKX tested positive for amphetamines in 1977. Take him down for doping, if he did, but attacking the LS cancer foundation? Pathetic. A weak hit piece. ” “ I haven't read the whole article, so may be naive to comment. But whats the problem here? who gives an ass if Lance gets famous and rich off the back of his charity. What is it with journalists slating people for not being 100% squeaky clean, 100% of the time? Jeeez, Live and let Live. Sounds like holes are being picked. As far as I've read, I think the only real issue at all is if he doped or not, which has chuff all to do with the running of his charity. Pointless article.” ONE FINAL COMMENT telling me where to get off : “ Too ignorant to read the whole article 01/10/12 10:46:AM I am here to claim that Outside magazine isn't to be trusted because it uses ads for funding. Also, this contrarian approach to investigative journalism is betraying the liberal agenda of the writer—any true conservative knows not to go "too deep" into anything. One final note, I'd like to reiterate what another commenter said, "Not sure what other rubbish is espoused in the remaining 11 pages"( yes part of my comment)—this is exactly the type of attitude I respect about comments sections! Why read more than 10% of an article when you are clearly mad enough to comment now?! Stay strong conservative america! Jesus saves those with the strongest knee-jerks and the tiniest brains. ” Sources : http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2012/charles-pelkey-responds-outside#comment-98658