FOOT in MOUTH disease !

WADA chief John Fahey was the Premier of New South Wales with the Largest Population of the Australia not so many years ago ! The saying that " A day is a long time in Politics  " could not be more true of his recent statement to those practicing " Sports Fraud " !  Politicians have  the habit , of saying , what they believe that the populace want to hear !  Certainly those wishing to see Great Sports Action at the London 2012 Olympics will want an incident free experience !

Can you remember where you were when you heard of Ben Johnson's disgrace in 1988 ? John Fahey may well have used the same escalators in Grace Bros of Broadway , opposite Sydney University , that i was riding , when i saw the news flash on the TV's in the sales area there . Must ask my partner of that time if she recalls that event . Most older Aussies will recall where they were when Alan Bond achieved the " impossible " and won the America's Cup !

Fact is John your warning to those Athletes planning to defraud us is redundant rhetoric ! This warning was no doubt a repeat of earlier warnings which the cheats chose to ignore . Now that they have been selected for their National Teams , there is no escape , even if they lose their nerve ! What do you suppose people will think if they suddenly decide to not appear in London ? Yes , right first time , THEY LOST THEIR NERVE ! They were set to try and cheat their way into the record books .

 Nearly every Olympic Games since 1936 has had some question mark that has detracted from the luster that " TRUE SPORTSMANSHIP " deserves . One wonders what the Athletes selected to take the " OLYMPIC OATH " thinks when they make that declaration ?

John Fahey as the chief of WADA and Jacques Rogge of the IOC , COULD if they wished , put an end to Sporting Fraudsters using PEDs ! All it would take would be a line drawn on the past ! Declaration of the errant ways and the associates involved , WITHOUT SANCTIONS , before the due date would cause a tidal wave of revelations ! Those choosing to ignore the opportunity would when discovered face " Life time Bans " from Sport and Employment in any Sporting Employment . Within a short time after the deadline , those associates , managers , coaches , mechanics etc , that see their proteges had not taken advantage of the " moratorium " and disclosed their misbehavior would need to " blow the whistle and own up to their participation Or they too would suffer the same sanctions of Life Time Bans !

Whilst Sporting Fraud is a crime , very few countries treat it as a punishable offence with Jail penalties being an option . Time that the Sporting bodies acted in concert to make the penalties punishable throughout the World with minimum uniform sanctions of 5 year suspensions !

Laugh of the week was the disclosure of that Cofidis Cycle Racer ! Di Gregorio claimed he acted alone , saw some pigs airborne too ! Realistically , could this guy share a room with a fellow racer whilst being supervised by the team Medic , Seigneur and Director Sportive  , all of whom are supposedly highly intelligent people ? 

Chris Prudhomme chooses not to read my mail , better things to do ,  i suppose ? Wrote him after speaking with him at the Dauphine Libere about the " Cities fit for Cycling " campaign , started by the " Times of London " newspaper . As the face of the " Le Tour " he could have chosen to involve ALL cyclists by encouraging follower of " Le Tour " to be more aware of Cyclists . Seems that ASO the owners of " Le Tour " are too busy raking in the cash to be bothered what the ordinary cyclist think of their creation ? 

Last week the media was full of the leaked story about 5 American Racers at " Le Tour " . Since this news broke , many people are of the opinion that the five are performing at a standard below their usual efforts ? Could it be to the detriment of their teams ? When there was a suspicion of misbehavior in 2006 , some Racers were requested to not appear . Where is the difference on this occasion ?

WADA must be aware of the behavior of USADA and the news reports this past week so surely they should act ? Is it not detrimental to Sport in general for what is taking place to be allowed to continue ?

John Fahey and Jacques Rogge need to seize the initiative and ACT NOW !

Addition :

We all saw Jacques Rogge at the Opening Ceremony , mention " Doping ", not really surprising that he passed over this subject briefly ?

SUNCORP PAYS FLOODING VICTIMS !

AUTOMATIC FLOOD COVER is part of the Suncorp policy and that message was sent out Loud & Clear at a conference today by CEO Patrick Snowball !

People retired to Queensland whilst i worked in Sydney for the relaxed way of life and weather. Lots heard of the weather extremes but rarely would it have registered to the extent that anyone refused to buy a property because of the flood contingency.

Too often Real Estate Agents knew of the possible risks but would have fudged the facts so as not to lose the sale. Those days it was rare to live in a property for more than a few years since all but the retired were upwardly mobile. Newcomers to the property market would before this year give little thought to Flooding and the possible outcomes thus reading the "House Insurance Policies" closely would have given no warning of what has now been an onerous burden to many. "Live now, pay later" is a marketing ploy many retailers use, so there are many Flood victims with possessions, part paid, but destroyed by the flooding . Receiving Government assistance welcome or not goes very little of the pay to meeting the down payments let alone replacement costs.

Patrick Snowball's speech link here: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/insurers-have-no-excuses-suncorp-boss-20110217-1axz6.html?from=smh_ft.

"Premier Mike Rann " Tweeted today about the flood water runoff from Queensland being below earlier estimates but still will affect the Murray Bridge area about the 24th feb. Those living in flood areas or campsites will no doubt have made arrangements to have their property on higher ground. His tweets can be found on www.twitter.com/premiermikerann

Would like to know how many householders are arguing the outcomes with their insurers and agents considering the extent of the disaster befell Queensland. Insurance companies were never my favourite people and when i dropped a box of Crystal Glass on the doorstep at a Bondi residence in 1980 as i prepared for a dinner party away from home i discovered the shortcomings of an "All Risks policy" ! Smashed Glass and empty promises were that result .

Whilst watching the TV coverage of the flooding i wondered about the ability of the "Adaptive/Disabled community " to cope with the additional burdens imposed on them. Certainly the Media and authorities would have covered their plight in their ongoing operations.

Having offered assistance back in December 2010 i now see that had i travelled to Queensland by air i could have triggered an even more severe case of Embolisms than i am currently enduring. Crashing the bike on Friday last in Carnoux area near Toulon shook me up and on Sunday a slight dose of the symptoms similar to those in august 2009 aroused my anxiety. Repeat appearances on Sunday evening and Monday morning caused further misgivings.

Being in South France i rode around Nice in the morning and Ventimiglia area in the afternoon.After a visit to UCMonaco HQ during the early evening i suffered a severe attack of pain and decided a fast return to Schwaz was essential. As i drove i had the heater on the feet and after a half hour of difficulty with short breathing, relief starts to kick in as i relaxed .

Piacenza is the home of Pierangelo Vignati the Paralympic Gold Medalist of Sydney 2000 and the Vivo Sport Store whose Cycle uniform i am seen wearing as i ride the route of the Pro Tour Grand Tours. Both parties received me kindly and i enjoyed their hospitality before continuing on the route through to Austria.

Stopped in Cles and Clos in the Valley Non but some of the people i should like to have seen were unavailable , Bruno the Apple Farmer being on holiday in Canada .

Schwaz Hospital at 2300hrs Tuesday was able to run blood tests and have me in residence very quickly and now after MRI scans yesterday and the Ultrasonic Examination this afternoon i am now told that i have a clear left leg but the right lower leg has several thombosi afloat. There was a long winded term for this Thromboembolism condition but i failed to register it in my dismay. Suffice to say i will be wearing compression stockings( do they only come in White?) the next several weeks as the Sinstrom works on thinning the blood. DR Wanke turns out to be a keen cyclist who spends a lot of time cycling in France also so we enjoyed reminiscing about the area.

Lack of snow through mild conditions meant cycling began earlier this year and now in good condition i have to step back whilst the body heals so that i have a reasonable chance of arriving in Torino for the Giro d'Italia .


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