Just like last time, to signal the start of the Cold War.
And just like last time, it is the West dropping the Curtain, not Russia or the USSR.
The degree of fraud and hypocrisy in the West is always near terminal.
Let us hope, for the sake of peace and prosperity in the world,
that this time it finishes the patient off.
Olympic Games became too politicized and as such outlived their usefulness. It's now about big money.
The Olympics are being weaponized by western spooks. It is time to find something new, as the
idea of breaking world records is no longer works because of widespread use of doping.
Competition at the level that is now we see at Olympics does more harm than good, especially the
way it is rewarded. Consider this: everyone who doesn’t win a gold medal or get ranked first in his
or her sport is technically a loser. But those “losers” include a lot of superb athletes, many of
whom are separated from the gold by random hundredths of a second in some race that easily could
have gone another way. Not to mention, that in such events as gymnastics competition is subject to
the judges corruption and prejudices, doping and political blackmail that determines the key idea of
Olympics
The dynamics of Russian doping scandal looks somewhat similar to
Pussy Riot Provocation and standard "pack of
wild MSM dogs" demonization campaign
during Sochi Olympics (MSM Sochi Bashing Rampage).
The timing was so perfect that the key question here what was the level of involvement of the
three-letter Western agencies in this provocation.
Russia was skillfully chosen as a scapegoat of the universal "big sport" disease, actually the most
widespread in the USA. In other words it became more of an attack on Putin then an attack on doping
in "big sport". And probably was manufactured with the help of three letter agencies.
Rodchenkov who (who would guess ? ;-) defected to the USA to save his skin from criminal
prosecution for selling drag to Russian athletes bought drugs from the
USA to distribute to Russian athletes. That's were he probably was caught and explained what to do. His sister was caught, but somebody within Russian government
structures protected him and he preserved his job, being acquitted on health reasons (he claimed
that he suffered from schizophrenia, believe it on not) . Now the question is who is Russian
Ministry of Sport protected this schizophrenic from punishment. So there
were definitely a rot within Russian Sports Ministry on the level above Rodchenkov. But he himself
is definitely a criminal who should get jail sentence. Either in the USA or Russia. If
he walks free that everything is clear with the goal of this complain and this is just another
Pussy Riot Provocation
The questions arise: How he managed to buy them in the USA (they are prescription medicines,
being a Russian citizen) pass customs with those drugs? Who helped him? What credibility does a drug
dealer have ? Looks like a lot if he/she defected to the West.
Gold Weights
All athletes should get tested for illegal performance enhancing drugs, if results are positive
than said athlete should be banned only not the whole team. This is a witch hunt..
Tom Van Meurs 18 Jul
The whole world knows that this is a fraud of epic proportions, politically motivated. Even
those Russiaphobics know this although they have not got the moral integrity and courage to admit
it.
OrangeUmbrella·18 Jul
Between events in Turkey, Syria, the CIA false-flag murder of Nemtsov, the CIA-led coup d'etat
in Kiev, the destabilization of the EU, and now the Olympics (who is using Hybrid Warfare?) it
appears that the Xionist Overlords of the Five Eyes + Israel have reached critical mass of insanity
and are trying to get a false-flag nuclear strike on Russia.
I admit to some amusement over the suspension of the female American sprinter Sha'Carri
Richardson by WADA. Imagine if she were Russian. WADA has waged a political war against
Russian Olympians ruling against the entire national team most of whom never used performance
enhancing drugs according to independent testing. And now the expected cries of racism
against a blood test for a banned drug. Sort of ironic I suppose, but watched a clips of
several African American sports pundits and they all agreed that rules are rules and must be
followed. It has been mostly white pundits who have virtue signaled that her suspension must
be lifted due to racism.
The WADA allegations against the Russian Federation's sporting establishment ultimately
rely on the testimony of a single witness (who is also the chief culprit if the allegations
are correct), and a tampering process which the manufacturer of the tamper-proof containers
insists is impossible. The WADA investigation has been prosecuted by Canadian bureaucrats,
who have been publicly outspoken in their animus towards Russia. It appears as another
element in the informational war, moved into the sporting environment - one of the few
truly international cooperative ventures humankind currently sustains. The recommended
punishment, albeit, was halved. Most of the sporting doping these days involves "health"
supplements which enjoy official exemption.
As for the Venezuelan gold - Guaido will soon have no standing as any kind of elected
official. Will he be retained as some sort of "leader" anyway, or what is the future of the
regime-change gambit?
Russia will not be able to use its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any
world championships for the next two years after a ruling Thursday by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport.
In other words: this doping scandal never existed; but it was never about sports: it is
all - and always was - about propaganda. Russian athletes will continue to compete normally -
only without the Russian symbols.
" Russia banned from using its name, flag at next two Olympics"
"Russia will not be able to use its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at
any world championships for the next two years after a ruling Thursday by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport."
It's all about NordStream 2. Same as Skripals, Navalny, Hacking U.S. Treasury and other
agencies, Interfering in U.S.elections. If NS2 comes on line Germany will have a source of
clean energy and will receive income as a hub for pipelines to other European countries.
Gazprom will be paid in Euros, not USD inviting others to follow suit. If that happens the
U.S. is in serious trouble that is why it must stop NS2 at all costs.
For five years, the sporting world has been gripped by Russian manipulation of the
anti-doping system. Now new evidence suggests the whistleblower who went into a witness
protection program during the scandal may not have been entirely truthful.
#####
What's the bet that the beagle will win prizes for 'reporting' like this and the previous
'discovery' that Bill Browder makes pork sandwiches in a pork shop made of pork? More
importantly, wtf is up with this coming out now? Has the free, democratic and inquisitive
German press suddenly grown a pair or have the authorities told them that they could 'go
ahead.' Nothing that they have published is new and has been known about for a long time.
Again, wtfof?
Hi, Nicola! Great to see you again! It would be fairly easy to guess what the US wants
WADA to do in future – mind your business where US athletes are concerned, or at a
minimum accept American explanations for any irregularities you might find, and come down
like a ton of bricks on the Russians and the Chinese, excluding them from pro sports to the
degree that is possible.
Well, once again, it was the Germans who started it all. WADA went to German station ARD
with its suspicions – which it got from the Stepanovs, Rodchenkov was still defending
the Moscow lab and calling the WADA panel 'fools' at that point – and then WADA used
the ARD 'documentary' as an excuse to open a major investigation. At some juncture someone
probably pointed out how lucrative it could be fr Roschenkov if he rolled, and he did.
Yes, I'm sure the Germans will reap rewards from playing both ends. But who cares, as long
as it gets out? Maybe it will teach people to not be so trusting of the mess media next time
it breaks a Russia-the-Evil story. Probably not, though.
I tell people: "Russia dopes their Olympians. America rapes them." The attack on Russian
athletes is just another instance of the American and Western petty hatred of Russia. When
the athletes got independent tests certifying they are clean, they were still not allowed to
participate in many international events. As Russian hackers revealed some of the biggest
names in sports are legally allowed meds because of existing conditions. Sure.Right. Who knew
that the Norwegian team and country have the highest rates of asthma around and required
performance enhancing drugs. Russia was a way to distract away from other country's
doping.
The downplaying of Russian participation at Pyeongchang, is seemingly done to spin the image
of many Russian cheats being kept out. At the suggestion of the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) closely vetted Russians for competition at
the 2018 Winter Olympics. In actuality, the 2018 Russian Winter Olympic participation wasn't so
off the mark, when compared to past Winter Olympiads – something which (among other
things) puts a dent into the faulty notion that Russia should be especially singled out for
sports doping.
At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia had its largest ever Winter Olympic contingent of
232 , on account of the host nation being allowed a greater number of participants. The
168 Russian Winter Olympians at Pyeongchang is
9 less than the Russians who competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Going back further,
Russian Winter Olympic participation in 2006 was at
190 , with its 2002 contingent at
151 , 1998 having
122 and 1994 (Russia's first formal Winter Olympic appearance as Russia)
113 .
The aforementioned Reuters piece references a " historian ", Bill Mallon, who is keen
on using the 1992 Summer Olympic banning of Yugoslavia (then consisting of Serbia and
Montenegro) as a legitimate basis to ban Russia from the upcoming Summer Olympics.
In this instance, Alan Dershowitz's periodic reference to the " if the shoe is on the other
foot " test is quite applicable . Regarding Mallon, " historian " is put in
quotes because his historically premised advocacy is very much incomplete and overly
propagandistic.
For consistency sake and contrary to Mallon, Yugoslavia should've formally participated at
the 1992 Summer Olympics. The Olympic banning of Yugoslavia was bogus, given that the IOC and
the IOC affiliated sports federations didn't ban the US and USSR for their respective role in
wars, which caused a greater number of deaths than what happened in 1990s Bosnia. The Reuters
article at issue references a United Nations resolution for sanctions against Yugoslavia,
without any second guessing, in support of the preference (at least by some) to keep politics
out of sports as much as possible.
Mallon casually notes that Yugoslav team sports were banned from the 1992 Summer Olympics,
unlike individual Yugoslav athletes, who participated as independents. At least two of the
banned Yugoslav teams were predicted to be lead medal contenders.
Croatia was allowed to compete at the 1992 Summer Olympics, despite that nation's military
involvement in the Bosnian Civil War. During the 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics, the former
USSR participated in individual and team sports as the Unified Team (with the exception of the
three former Soviet Baltic republics, who competed under their respective nation). With all
this in mind, the ban on team sports from Yugoslavia at the 1992 Summer Olympics, under a
neutral name, appears to be hypocritical and ethically challenged.
BS aside, the reality is that geopolitical clout (in the form of might making right), is
what compels the banning of Yugoslavia, unlike superpowers engaged in behavior which isn't less
egregious. Although a major world power, contemporary Russia lacks the overall geopolitical
influence of the USSR. Historian Stephen Cohen and some others, have noted that post-Soviet
Russia doesn't get the same (for lack of a better word) respect accorded to the USSR. This
aspect underscores how becoming freer, less militaristic and more market oriented doesn't (by
default) bring added goodwill from a good number of Western establishment politicos and the
organizations which are greatly influenced by them.
On the subject of banning Russia from the Olympics, Canadian sports legal politico Dick
Pound, continues to rehash an inaccurate likening with no critical follow-up. (
An exception being yours truly .) Between
2016 and
2019 , Pound references the Olympic banning of South Africa, as a basis for excluding
Russia. South Africa was banned when it had apartheid policies, which prevented that country's
Black majority from competing in organized sports. Russia has a vast multiethnic participation
in sports and other sectors.
As previously noted , the factual premise to formally ban Russia from the Olympics remains
suspect. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to review Russia's appeal to have the
recommended WADA ban against Russia overturned, as Western mass media at large and sports
politicos like Pound continue to push for a CAS decision against Russia.
In an era of stress and anxiety, when the present seems unstable and the future unlikely, the natural response is
to retreat and withdraw from reality, taking recourse either in fantasies of the future or in modified visions of a
half-imagined past.
Unless you were catatonic this past couple of weeks, dead drunk from Sunday to Saturday, suffered a debilitating
brain injury or were living in Bognor Regis where the internet cannot reach, you heard about the west slapping a
four-year Olympic ban on Russia. Because it could, it did. And not really for any other reason, despite the indignation
and manufactured outrage. It's a pity – now that I come to think on it – that you can't use outrage to power a vehicle,
fill a sandwich or knit into socks: because the west has a bottomless supply, and it's just about as renewable a
resource as you could envision.
As I have reiterated elsewhere and often, the United States of America is the cheatingest nation on the planet where
professional sports is concerned, because winning matters to Americans like nowhere else. Successful Olympic
medal-winners and iconic sports figures in the USA are feted like victorious battlefield generals, because the sports
arena is just another battlefield to the United States, and there's no
it's-not-whether-you-win-or-lose-it's-how-you-play-the-game in wartime. Successful American sports figures foster an
appreciation of American culture and lifestyle, and promote an image of America as a purposeful and powerful nation.
Successful sports figures anywhere, really; not so very long ago Olympic gold medalists were merely given an
appreciative parade by a grateful nation, and featured in lucrative advertising contracts if they were photogenic. More
recently, some nations have simply
paid athletes by the medal
for
winning. This
includes most nations
, with the notable exceptions of the UK, Norway and Sweden. So the pressure is on to win, win,
win, by whatever means are necessary.
Since Russia is in second place only to Germany for all-time medal rankings in the Olympics, and since Russia
eventually made it back up to Public Enemy Number One in the USA – after a brief hiatus during which it looked like a
combination of Boris Yeltsyn and teams of Harvard economists were going to make a respectful pauper of it while it
became a paradise for international investors – the USA spares no effort to beat Russia at everything. On occasions
where it is not particularly successful, as it was not in the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, it has turned to other
methods – screaming that the Russians are all dopers who benefit from a state-sponsored doping scheme, and implementing
bans to prevent as many Russian athletes as possible from competing.
And that's my principal objection. In media matters in the world of sports, just as in other political venues, the
USA relies on a combination of lying and relentless repetition to drive its points home. Thus it is that the
English-speaking world still believes Russia was convicted of having had a state-sponsored doping plan, found guilty and
justly sentenced upon the discovery of mountains of evidence, its accusers vindicated and its dissident whistleblowers
heroes to a grateful world. Huzzah!!
"Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme for four years across the
"vast majority" of summer and winter Olympic sports, claims a new report.
It was "planned and operated" from late 2011 – including the build-up to London 2012 – and continued through the
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics until August 2015."
The BBC is Britain's state-funded broadcaster, financed by the British government, and the British government is
second only to the United States in its virulent hatred of Russia and Russians. But that was back then, when the 'doping
scheme' was newly 'discovered', and all the western reporters and government figures were nearly wetting their pants
with excitement. What about now?
"It's the latest twist in a long-running saga of investigations into widespread, state-sponsored doping by the
Kremlin."
My soul, if it isn't the USA's star witness, Doctor Grigory Rodchenkov, in
AFP
;
"Doped athletes do not work alone. There are medical doctors, coaches and managers who provided substances,
advised and protected them. In Russia's state-sponsored doping scheme, there is also a state-sponsored defense of many
cheaters including state officials, witnesses and apparatchiks who are lying under oath and have falsified evidence.
These individuals are clearly criminals," he said.
More about him later; for now, suffice it to say the western media still finds him a credible and compelling witness.
"In 2016, independent investigations confirmed that Russian officials had run a
massive state‑sponsored doping system during the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, which fed illicit
performance-enhancing drugs to hundreds of athletes and took outlandish measures to pervert national drug-testing
mechanisms.
The evidence was incontrovertible."
I was going to go on, listing examples in the popular press from around the world, published since the latest ban was
announced, all claiming investigation had proved the Russians had a massive state-sponsored doping scheme in place which
let them cheat their way to the podium. But I think you get the picture, and that last lead-in was my cue; it was just
too good to pass up.
Independent investigations confirmed. The evidence was incontrovertible.
Well,
let's take a look at that. Incontrovertible evidence ought to be able to withstand a bit of prying, what?
When the evidence of something being so is both massive and incontrovertible, beyond question and the result
of proof beyond a doubt, then that thing IS. Therefore, the western press is proceeding on the assumption
that western investigations proved the Russians had a doping program in which all or most Russian athletes
took prohibited performance-enhancing drugs, at the instruction of sports-organization officials, who were
in turn directed by state officials to use such methods to permit Russian athletes to win where they would
otherwise likely not have been capable of a winning performance. And there were such allegations by western
figures and officials, together with assurances that there was so much evidence that well, frankly, it was
embarrassing. But the western media and western sports organizations and officials apparently do not
understand what 'evidence' is.
The
Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS), established in 1984 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and headquartered at Lausanne,
Switzerland, is recognized by all Olympic international organizations as the highest authority for
sports-related legal issues. An Investigative Commission consisting of Dr. Richard McLaren (Chair), Dick
Pound and Gunter Younger was appointed to look into allegations of widespread and state-supported doping of
athletes of the Russian Olympic team for the 2016 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia. The Commission's star
witness was Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, former head of the Moscow laboratory. According to what became known as
the McLaren Report,
more than 1000 Russian athletes across 30 sports
were involved in or benefited from "an institutional
conspiracy" of doping. The Investigative Commission settled on sanctioning 35 Olympic athletes with
Anti-Doping Rules Violations (ARDV), and they were banned from further international sports competitions;
those who had won medals had them confiscated. Nearly all the sanctioned athletes appealed their cases to
the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sorry to keep hopping back and forth, but I'm trying to stay with two major themes at the same time for
the moment – the accusations against the Russian Olympic athletes, which were entirely based on
the revelations of the 'doping mastermind'
, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, and Dr. Rodchenkov himself. Western
organizations and media were bowled over by the affable Rodchenkov, and eager to accept his jaw-dropping
revelations about widespread doping in Russian sport. Sites specializing in sports doping with steroids
feted him as the brilliant mind behind not only doping Russian athletes, but devising a test for common
steroids which increased their detection window from only days to in excess of months. This enabled the
retesting of previously-stored samples from international athletes which had already passed as clean. I
suspect not a lot of followers of the Russian doping scandal are aware of that, and any such results should
be viewed with the utmost suspicion in light of what a colossal fraud he turned out to be. I'd like you to
just keep that in mind as we go further. Dr. Rodchenkov also claimed to be behind the brilliant – everything
he does is brilliant – formulation of the now-notorious and, at the time of its alleged widespread use,
top-secret "Duchess Cocktail", a steroid-stacker mixed with alcohol which made the presence of the steroids
undetectable. Remember that word; undetectable, because we'll come back to it. Additionally, please keep in
mind that Dr. Rodchenkov's unique testing method was the one used to re-test stored samples from the 2008
Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics.
So, back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. 39 Russian athletes who had been accused of doping in the
McLaren Report appealed their sentences of lifetime Olympic bans and forfeiture of medals won.
Of those 39 appeals,
28 of the
appeals were completely upheld
, the judgments against the athletes reversed, and any medals forfeited
were reinstated. A further 11 appeals were partially upheld, but the lifetime bans were reduced to have
effect only for the upcoming Olympic Games at Peyongchang, Korea. That makes 39 of 39. Not a single athlete
accused was found to have participated in a state-sponsored doping program administered by Russian sports
officials acting under orders of the Russian government. The appeals of a further 3 Russian athletes were
not heard by the date of release of the statement, and were stayed until a later date.
It is important to note, and was specifically addressed in the release, that the CAS did not examine the
matter of whether there was or was not a state-sponsored or controlled doping program; that was not within
the Court's mandate. So for evidence of evidence, I guess you might say, and for an overall feel for the
credibility of the witness whose revelations underpinned the entirety of the McLaren Report, we turn to Dr.
Rodchenkov's testimony before the CAS.
As we examine his performance on that occasion, I'd like to point out that this likely represents the
first time Rodchenkov was cross-examined by and on behalf of individuals who were not necessarily delighted
to believe everything he said without questioning it further, as the McLaren Commission apparently was.
Because his story fell apart, often in ways that would have been amusing in anything other than the serious
setting which prevailed. That's Rodchenkov in the balaclava, which his handlers evidently thought necessary
to conceal his appearance. Perhaps he's had extensive cosmetic surgery, because his face was all over the
news before that – he is in the US Witness Protection Program, after all. In my opinion, it only lent to the
overall sense of unreality, but to each his own. I'll also be jumping back and forth between what Rodchenkov
or his backers confidently claimed prior to the hearing, and during testimony, when I think it is important
to highlight manifest umm inconsistencies. Ready? Let's do it.
Pre-CAS hearing:
"The latest WADA report suggests that Rodchenkov helped as many as 1,000 Russian
athletes get away with doping. Hundreds of those athletes were able to get away with the use of the "Duchess
steroid cocktail" while avoiding detection."
During testimony and under questioning by counsel for the defendants,
Rodchenkov admitted
(a) that he had never personally distributed the 'Duchess cocktail' to any Russian
athlete, (b) that he had never personally seen any Russian athlete take the mixture known as the Duchess
cocktail, (c) that he had never personally witnessed any Russian athlete being directed by a coach to take
the Duchess cocktail, or any coach being directed by any Russian state official to distribute it to his
athletes, and (d) that he had never personally seen any Russian athlete tamper with a doping sample.
Forgive me if I jump to the conclusion that the foregoing rules out a state-sponsored doping program
insofar as it was ever witnessed by the McLaren Report's star and principal witness; McLaren did not
interview any other Russian officials, he claimed he didn't have time.
But
it
gets better
. Or worse, if you are Rodchenkov, or one of those who gleefully relied on his testimony to
put those filthy Russians away forever.
Pre-CAS hearing:
"In 2016, independent investigations confirmed that Russian officials had run a
massive state‑sponsored doping system during the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, which fed
illicit performance-enhancing drugs to hundreds of athletes and took outlandish measures to pervert national
drug-testing mechanisms The evidence was incontrovertible."
When examined on his statements that he had swapped samples of positive-test athletes urine after 1:00
AM, passing them through a 'mousehole' in the laboratory wall to FSB agents outside and exchanging them for
clean samples, in light of the fact that his meticulously-maintained daily diary recorded him as being at
home in bed by midnight, he claimed he had lied in his diary. What a clever intelligence asset, to have
anticipated questioning years in advance, and added an extra layer of obfuscation! It was not specifically
addressed in testimony to my knowledge, but I would like to highlight here that Dr. Rodchenkov was allegedly
alone at the lab at these alleged times – except, of course, for the secret agents waiting outside the
mousehole – and could have driven a gurney with a squeaky wheel loaded with conspiratorial piss samples out
into the parking lot, and loaded it into the trunk of his car with nobody the wiser: why all the
John le Carré espionagery through the wall? Comes to that, why would you
contaminate a sample with salt, coffee granules and hilarious incompetence like accidentally getting male
DNA in female samples, when the doping compound only you knew was in the samples was undetectable by anyone
else, because you had specifically engineered it that way?
McLaren claimed in his report that he had seen a method demonstrated, which he presumed was the method
used by the FSB to open the sealed sample bottles and replace the sample inside with clean urine. He further
claimed that scratches found on the glass bottles were proof of tampering. Other analysts suggested the
scratches were probably made when the sample bottle was sealed in accordance with the instructions for its
proper use, and
the manufacturer claimed
the bottle had never successfully been opened, once sealed, without breaking
the cap, which is by design an indication of potential tampering. The alleged secret method of successfully
doing it was never demonstrated by McLaren or any of his operatives for independent verification. For
Rodchenkov's part, he claimed it had been done by 'magicians', and offered no clue as to the alleged method,
and it seems clear to me that McLaren simply proceeded with Rodchenkov's hearsay assurances that it had been
accomplished.
The controversial and pivotal claim by McLaren that Russian Minister for Sport Vitaly Mutko, "directed,
controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athlete's [
sic
] analytical results or sample swapping"
was not supported by anything other than Rodchenkov's diary. You remember – the one he admitted to having
embellished with lies so that stories he told years later would make sense. This is absolutely critical,
because the claim to have proven the existence of a state-sponsored doping program rests only on this –
Rodchenkov has admitted he never personally saw any Russian state official give orders to coaches or
athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. McLaren's bombshell allegation appears to have been extracted
from the diary of a proven and admitted liar, and is supported by no other evidence. Yet the western press
still maintains there was a Russian state-sponsored doping program, administered with the knowledge and
facilitation of the state government, and that this was proven. Rodchenkov is still accorded the respect of
a credible witness. Rodchenkov is still speaking authoritatively about the nature of cheating, and –
astoundingly – describing those who have lied under oath and falsified evidence as criminals, just as if he
had not done both himself. It is as if the CAS hearings which exonerated the majority of the accused Russian
athletes, and sharply reduced the punishments of the rest, had never happened. For all the mainstream media
coverage the event received, it might not have.
Before the CAS hearing, WADA and the IOC regularly dangled reinstatement of the Russian anti-doping
agency (RUSADA) in exchange for the Russian government openly and completely accepting the conclusions of
the McLaren Report, officially admitting to having cheated on a massive scale and with the full knowledge
and support of serving government officials. It never did. The Russian state acknowledged it has a doping
problem, and it has – some athletes were found guilty of having taken banned substances, and there are a few
every Olympic competition. But Moscow has never accepted the conclusions of the McLaren Report. And after
the CAS Appeals decision, RUSADA was reinstated anyway.
Which brings us to here; now. The entire focus of the McLaren Report and the bullying by the IOC was
directed toward making Russia admit it was guilty of organized doping, with the drive for momentum seeking a
ban on further competition. Since it never did, the alternative was to prove it without an admission, so
that no doubt existed. Exonerating the few athletes ever charged among the thousand or so said to be guilty
looks like a hell of a funny way of doing that. The McLaren Team's star and main witness fell apart on the
stand and admitted he had either lied about everything or simply made it up. There is no reason at all –
outside stubborn western prejudice – to imagine Russian athletes are doping any more than any other national
teams.
But then, hackers – Russians, of course, it goes without saying – calling themselves "Fancy Bear" and
"Cozy Bear" (hint to Russians, do not call yourself "anything Bear" – the Bear is synonymous with Russia.
Call yourself "Elon Tesla" or "Mo Money") began to publish stolen medical data revealing the scope of
western athletes who had been granted permission to use banned performance-enhancing drugs by their Olympic
Associations, for perceived medical reasons, through the TUE – the Therapeutic Use Exemption. The western
sports industry was outraged – that information was
private
, God damn it – and it was just
grotesque that the cheating Russians would have the gall to allege
western
athletes were cheaters.
But after it had time to calm down, and after some revelations proved hard to defend, the industry had to
grudgingly
admit the TUE was a problem
.
Iconic American cyclist Lance Armstrong
doped for years
, but was revered by an entire generation of American kids and sports fans as the finest
example of a stoic and selfless sportsman the human race could provide. Teammates and his sports doctor
helped him avoid tests, and in one instance he dropped out of a race after receiving a text message from a
teammate that testers were waiting for him. When he actually tested positive for corticosteroid use in the
1999 Tour de France, his doctors claimed he had received the steroid in a cream used to treat a saddle sore,
and a back-dated prescription was provided.
Retroactive TUE's sound phony right out of the gate, and consequently their use is supposed to be very
rare, since the immediate perception is that the exemption was issued to protect the athlete from the
fallout of a positive test; what could be simpler? Just issue them a prescription to take a banned
substance, because they really, really needed it.
Most of the TUE's issued to tennis world champion Serena Williams were retroactive
, in some cases going
back two weeks or more. A TUE issued during a period that an athlete has withdrawn from competition sounds
understandable, because they cannot be using it to enhance their career or win medals. A retroactive TUE
issued during competition that allows an athlete to use a stimulant which increases drive, or a painkiller
which lets them power through without the limb failing, is hard to see as anything other than a cheat issued
to protect a national sports asset.
TUE's are the vehicle of choice in professional cycling, with both British cyclists who won the Tour de
France – Scott Froome and Bradley Wiggins –
revealed to have secured TUE's
allowing them to take steroids during the competitions. They claimed to
be suffering from 'sport-induced asthma', which is apparently a documented condition when you try to make
your body process air faster or more efficiently than it is capable of handling. USADA head Travis Tygart,
who is withering in his contempt of and hatred for Russia, loses no opportunity to defend the integrity of
American athletes who are allowed to dope because they have a form that says they need to. I find it hard to
believe Russian athletes who secured a TUE allowing them to take a performance-enhancer during competition
would meet with such hearty approval from him. It's because Americans are inherently honest and are
genetically incapable of cheating, while Russians are just natural-born cheats.
American gymnastics champion Simone Biles quickly became the national face of ADHD by proactively
defending her need for a banned substance. Tygart and American Olympics officials were maudlin in her
defense, like everyone is just picking on a little girl and trying to rob her of hard-earned success. What
effect does her permitted drug have? It permits an enhanced level of concentration and focus, so that no
energy is lost to distractions such a a shouting crowd, bright colours and rapid movements, and she sees
nothing but the target of her efforts. Is that helpful? What do you think?
The
jury seems to be out
on whether corticosteroids would help Biles focus on her routines, although there
seems to be a fairly well-established body of evidence that these are not anabolic steroids, and do not
increase muscle mass – that's all her. But the zeal with which WADA went after meldonium – just because,
apparently, eastern-European athletes used it extensively, although it has never been demonstrated to
enhance performance – speaks volumes about the western bias in favour of therapeutic use of drugs by the
Good Guys. They're just looking after their health. Russians are cheating. How did WADA find out about
meldonium? I'm glad you asked – USADA received a 'confidential tip' that east-European athletes were using
it to enhance performance. Despite expert advice that there is
no evidence at all that it enhances performance
, WADA banned it. Because, you know, east-European
athletes might
think
it helps them, and if they think that, then it is.
Just like Simone Biles and her TUE. But that's not only allowed, she's a hero for being so open about her
ADHD.
In the USA,
cheating seems to be focused on Track and Field
, because that's where the USA wins a lot of its medals.
Hence the effort to minimize the Russian participation, and thus cut down the opposition.
"The United States in fact has a lengthy history of doping at the Olympic Games and other
international events, and of turning a blind eye to its own cheating. That's especially true in track and
field, the front porch of the U.S. Olympic program because of track's ability to drive American medal
supremacy.
Nike's track-and-field training program, for example, has been dogged by doping allegations since at
least the 1970s, when its top officials were allegedly aware that athletes used steroids and other
performance enhancing drugs. Since the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games,
every single U.S.
Summer Olympic team has included at least one sprinter who either had previously failed a drug test or would
later do so.
And that's to say nothing of athletes in the other disciplines.
American drug cheats include some of the country's most notable Olympians. Carl Lewis admitted in
2003 that
he had failed three drug tests
prior to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but
avoided a ban with the help
of the U.S. Olympic Committee and won two golds and a silver instead.
Justin Gatlin won the
100-meter dash at the 2004 Athens Games before later failing a drug test. Tyson Gay, the world's fastest man
entering the 2008 Beijing Games, later failed a drug test too.
Gay and Gatlin nevertheless formed
half of the American men's 4×100 relay team in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
"
American athletes routinely fail drug tests, but are waved ahead to compete anyway.
"
Eighty-four
American Olympians failed drug tests in the year prior to the 1984 Los Angeles Games but went on to compete
anyway
,
according to author Mark Johnson
. Carl Lewis claimed that "hundreds" of Americans failed tests while
remaining eligible to compete, with the assistance of the U.S. Olympic Committee, in Seoul. The USOC faced
allegations ahead the 2000 Sydney Games that it had
withheld information on 15 positive tests
from international officials; by 2003, it had been accused of
covering
up at least 114 positives
between 1988 and 2000."
Curiously, the latest Russia ban is attributed to allegations that Russia fiddled with the athletes
database it provided to WADA, covering up positive drug tests. But it appears the United States has a
well-known history of fudging and obscuring positive drug-test results, refusing to reveal them to
regulatory bodies, and pushing its doper athletes into international competition. Yet the United States has
a loudly self-awarded reputation as the Defender Of Clean Sport.
Russia's position is that the ubiquitous Grigory Rodchenkov – a proven and self-confessed liar, remember,
who claimed to have lied in his diary where he was supposedly only talking to himself –
modified the
database from abroad
, after he fled to the United States and made such a Godsend of himself in America's
drive to move up the medal rankings. He apparently retained administrator rights on the database, which was
accessible online, even after fleeing from Russia. His lawyer's defense, curiously, is that he did not and,
significantly, 'could not' access the database. To me, that sounds like he's going out a little bit on a
limb – all the Russian side needs to do is prove that he could have to discredit Rodchenkov's story. It
looks like it is headed back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the spring – the same venue which
exonerated the Russian athletes after Rodchenkov's previous epic thundering-in on full afterburner. Will it
happen again? We'll see. Until then the western press appears not to have noticed that Rodchenov lied his
charming face off last time. And still is, through his shyster lawyer –
"If WADA or any other agency
needs Grigory to testify, Grigory will uphold his promise to co-operate fully to help atone for his role,"
Walden said.
You know – the role he admitted he never played, in that he never saw any Russian athlete
take the Duchess Cocktail he claimed to have devised to make doping undetectable, never heard any Russian
sports official order his players to take it, and in fact could not remember exactly what was in it.
Stay tuned – this should be interesting. Count on the Americans to press to the end for a full and
lasting ban, probably for life.
Sir Craig Reedie signify the growing politization of sport and the arrivals on the scene of
western intelligence agencies (McCabe, Steele, etc were involved in this dirty game) to the extent that was never possible before. It stated with FBI
operation against FIFA. WARA was the second round. See also
End of term message to stakeholders from WADA President, Sir Craig Reedie World Anti-Doping
Agency
This prostitute Sir Craig Reedie is is up to ears in dirst connected with doping by the
Americans and the Europeans? This stooge of MI6 and FBI was shyly silent when Americans were
found to use illegal drag to enhance the results. Look at sisters Williams.
I despise corrupt Russian bureaucrats, but no less I despite Western Pro-American lackeys
with faces spred with n shit to shuch an exptent that they neve can wash themselves
clean!
In the very early spring of this year, I gave a lecture to European military personnel interested in the Middle East. It was scarcely
a year since Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chlorine
gas against the civilian inhabitants of the
Damascus suburb of Douma on 7 April 2018, in which 43 people were said to have been killed.
Few present had much doubt that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which represents 193 member states
around the world, would soon confirm in a final report that Assad was guilty of a war crime which had been condemned by Donald Trump,
Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May.
But at the end of my talk, a young Nato officer
who specialises in chemical weapons – he was not British – sought me out for a private conversation.
"The OPCW are not going to admit all they know," he said. "They've already censored their own documents."
I could not extract any more from him. He smiled and walked away, leaving me to guess what he was talking about. If Nato had doubts
about the OPCW, this was a very serious matter.
When it published its final report in March this year, the OPCW said that testimony, environmental and biomedical samples and
toxicological and ballistic analyses provided "reasonable grounds" that "the use of a toxic chemical had taken place" in Douma which
contained "reactive chlorine".
The US, Britain and France, which launched missile attacks on Syrian military sites in retaliation for Douma – before any investigation
had taken place – thought themselves justified. The OPCW's report was splashed across headlines around the world – to the indignation
of Russia, Assad's principal military ally, which denied the validity of the publication.
Then, in mid-May 2019, came news of a confidential report by OPCW South African ballistics inspector Ian Henderson – a document
which the organisation excluded from its final report – which took issue with the organisation's conclusions. Canisters supposedly
containing chlorine gas may not have been dropped by Syrian helicopters, it suggested, and could have been placed at the site of
the attack by unknown hands.
Peter Hitchens of the Mail on Sunday reported in detail on the Henderson document. No other mainstream media followed up this
story . The BBC, for example, had reported in full on the OPCW's final report on the use of chlorine gas, but never mentioned the
subsequent Henderson story.
And here I might myself have abandoned the trail had I not received a call on my Beirut phone shortly after the Henderson paper,
from the Nato officer who had tipped me off about the OPCW's apparent censorship of its own documents. "I wasn't talking about the
Henderson report," he said abruptly. And immediately terminated our conversation. But now I understand what he must have been talking
about.
For in the past few weeks, there has emerged deeply disturbing new evidence that the OPCW went far further than merely excluding
one dissenting voice from its conclusions on the 2018 Douma attack.
The most recent information – published on WikiLeaks, in a report from Hitchens again and from Jonathan Steele, a former senior
foreign correspondent for The Guardian – suggests that
the OPCW suppressed or failed to publish, or simply preferred to ignore, the conclusions of up to 20 other members of its staff who
became so upset at what they regarded as the misleading conclusions of the final report that they officially sought to have it changed
in order to represent the truth . (The OPCW has said in a number of statements that it stands by its final report.)
At first, senior OPCW officials contented themselves by merely acknowledging the Henderson report's existence a few days after
it appeared without making any comment on its contents. When the far more damaging later reports emerged in early November, Fernando
Arias, the OPCW's director general, said that it was in "the nature of any thorough enquiry for individuals in a team to express
subjective views. While some of the views continue to circulate in some public discussion forums, I would like to reiterate that
I stand by the independent, professional conclusion [of the investigation]." The OPCW declined to respond to questions from Hitchens
or Steele.
But the new details suggest that other evidence could have been left unpublished by the OPCW. These were not just from leaked
emails, but given by an OPCW inspector – a colleague of Henderson – who was one of a team of eight to visit Douma and who appeared
at a briefing in Brussels last month to explain his original findings to a group of disarmament, legal, medical and intelligence
personnel.
As Steele reported afterwards, in a piece published by Counterpunch in mid-November 2019, the inspector – who gave his name to
his audience, but asked to be called "Alex" – said he did not want to undermine the OPCW but stated that "most of the Douma team"
felt the two reports on the incident (the OPCW had also published an interim report in 2018) were "scientifically impoverished, procedurally
irregular and possibly fraudulent". Alex said he sought, in vain, to have a subsequent OPCW conference to address these concerns
and "demonstrate transparency, impartiality and independence".
For example, Alex cited the OPCW report's claim that "various chlorinated organic chemicals (COCs) were found" in Douma, but said
that there were "huge internal arguments" in the OPCW even before its 2018 interim report was published . Findings comparing chlorine
gas normally present in the atmosphere with evidence from the Douma site were, according to Alex, kept by the head of the Douma mission
and not passed to the inspector who was drafting the interim report. Alex said that he subsequently discovered that the COCs in Douma
were "no higher than you would expect in any household environment", a point which he says was omitted from both OPCW reports. Alex
told his Brussels audience that these omissions were "deliberate and irregular".
Alex also said that a British diplomat who was OPCW's chef de cabinet invited several members of the drafting team to his office,
where they found three US officials who told them that the Syrian regime had conducted a gas attack and that two cylinders found
in one building contained 170 kilograms of chlorine. The inspectors, Alex remarked, regarded this as unacceptable pressure and a
violation of the OPCW's principles of "independence and impartiality".
Regarding the comments from Alex, the OPCW has pointed to the statement by Arias that the organisation stands by its final report.
Further emails continue to emerge from these discussions. This weekend, for example, WikiLeaks sent to The Independent an apparent
account of a meeting held by OPCW toxicologists and pharmacists "all specialists in CW (Chemical Warfare)", according to the document.
The meeting is dated 6 June 2018 and says that "the experts were conclusive in their statements that there is no correlation between
symptoms [of the victims] and chlorine exposure."
In particular, they stated that "the onset of excessive frothing, as a result of pulmonary edema observed in photos and reported
by witnesses would not occur in the short time period between the reported occurrence of the alleged incident and the time the videos
were recorded". When I asked for a response to this document, a spokesman for the OPCW headquarters in Holland said that my request
would be "considered". That was on Monday 23 December.
Any international organisation, of course, has a right to select the most quotable parts of its documentation on any investigation,
or to set aside an individual's dissenting report – although, in ordinary legal enquiries, dissenting voices are quite often acknowledged.
Chemical warfare is not an exact science – chlorine gas does not carry a maker's name or computer number in the same way that fragments
of tank shells or bombs often do.
But the degree of unease within the OPCW's staff surely cannot be concealed much longer. To the delight of the Russians and the
despair of its supporters, an organisation whose prestige alone should frighten any potential war criminals is scarcely bothering
to confront its own detractors. Military commanders may conceal their tactics from an enemy in time of war, but this provides no
excuse for an important international organisation dedicated to the prohibition of chemical weapons to allow its antagonists to claim
that it has "cooked the books" by permitting political pressure to take precedence over the facts. And that is what is happening
today.
The deep concerns among some of the OPCW staff and the deletion of their evidence does not mean that gas has not been used in
Syria by the government or even by the Russians or by Isis and its fellow Islamists. All stand guilty of war crimes in the Syrian
conflict. The OPCW's response to the evidence should not let war criminals off the hook. But it certainly helps them.
And what could be portrayed as acts of deceit by a supposedly authoritative body of international scientists can lead some to
only one conclusion: that they must resort to those whom the west regards as "traitors" to security – WikiLeaks and others – if they
wish to find out the story behind official reports . So far, the Russians and the Syrian regime have been the winners in the propaganda
war. Such organisations as the OPCW need to work to make sure the truth can be revealed to everyone. Tags
Politics
"... It is no coincidence that the doping scandals have started around Russian sportsmen. After all, professional athletes from other countries also use steroids. The West needs to strike at Russia's image since sanctions didn't bring about the planned affect and Moscow is not giving in to political and economic pressure. ..."
"... As in politics, sports is filled with a variety of scandals which have taken place quite often in the history of the Olympic Games and other major events. However, in the case of violations by athletes, things should be handled fairly and objective. Otherwise, having achieved their goal (and all Western law is based on precedent), certain lobbies will begin to repeat the practice of discrediting athletes from other countries, thus not serving the interests of sports at all. ..."
International sporting events have a clear political nature: nation-states enter the stadium under
their national anthem, represent their countries, and, in the case of victory, their rank increases.
In other words, sports is an instrument of "soft power" if we use Joseph Nye's term. Moreover, the
country hosting a sporting event can improve its image, as was the case with the Sochi Winter Olympic
Games.
Thus, athletes, just like politicians, are paid careful attention by their "partners" and
detractors. It is no coincidence that the doping scandals have started around Russian sportsmen.
After all, professional athletes from other countries also use steroids. The West needs to strike
at Russia's image since sanctions didn't bring about the planned affect and Moscow is not giving
in to political and economic pressure.
We should recall that the first article about such was published in the New York Times in May.
The media has statutes for tribute for ordered articles, so it is very easy to identify the initiators.
Russia has the right to maintain sovereign positions on many other issues, but it is also necessary
to reach consensus through skillful diplomatic work in international organizations. This is not always
effective (for example, in recent years the United Nations has supported sodomites in Russia at the
expense of traditional family values), but it is individual persons who often have the last word.
The doping scandal was put to an end by the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas
Bach, who is in office since 2013. The Russian Olympic team will not be banned from the competition
in Rio de Janeiro. The federation will pass decisions on individual athletes. Bach called this approach
distinguishing between "clean" and doping athletes who have the chance to prove their case.
Although the number of Russian athletes will in fact still be smaller, there still exists the
space for a political message: the anthem, the flag, and the possibility to win in different sports.
Perhaps some can see a pro-Russian position in Bach's activities, since he is against the US'
political order on this occasion. He is in fact trying to protect the traditions and mechanisms of
big sports.
As in politics, sports is filled with a variety of scandals which have taken place quite often
in the history of the Olympic Games and other major events. However, in the case of violations by
athletes, things should be handled fairly and objective. Otherwise, having achieved their goal (and
all Western law is based on precedent), certain lobbies will begin to repeat the practice of discrediting
athletes from other countries, thus not serving the interests of sports at all.
"... Putin is a monster to feed the imagination of the masses, systematically depicted as a psychopathic
tyrant, responsible for massacres, cynical weaver of imperialistic plots. ..."
"... Things are changing. The resolute intervention of Russia against the Daesh terrorists unmasked
ambiguities in Turkish and Saudi Arabian policy The West as a whole was stunned. Russophobic propaganda
went into panic mode Slowly and steadily another truth is coming out and being glimpsed. The winners
of the Cold War were already convinced that Russia was defeated and colonized. ..."
By now it is clear: the crisis in which the West is struggling does not resemble anything known.
It is a crisis of values, democracy, economic, financial, environmental, an unprecedented political
crisis. All paradigms are collapsing, the US leadership is no longer invincible: clearly it is in
serious danger. And when power feels weak, it looks for an enemy to target: somebody to blame, somebody
to frighten people with. All is grist for the mill. Instead of an admission of the truth, namely
that the crisis is inside the west, is a by-product of the West, instead of an admission that resources
are running out and the system is marching toward collapse, Russia is made the enemy. So it was in
the past, so it is today. The obsession returns in updated form. Russia with its strongman Vladimir
Putin is the new "enemy number one". Reviving Cold War slogans, they (the West, the USA), are reproducing
the idea of the Evil Empire, and Putin is a monster to feed the imagination of the masses, systematically
depicted as a psychopathic tyrant, responsible for massacres, cynical weaver of imperialistic plots.
The war in Ukraine, the economic sanctions, even the denial of the Russian role in the defeat
of Nazism: everything is pushing in that direction. But is it really so, or is the "Putinophobia"
that is being touted by the bulk of the media just a big mirror in which the West sees its own shortcomings
and troubles reflected?
Things are changing. The resolute intervention of Russia against the Daesh terrorists unmasked
ambiguities in Turkish and Saudi Arabian policy The West as a whole was stunned. Russophobic propaganda
went into panic mode Slowly and steadily another truth is coming out and being glimpsed. The winners
of the Cold War were already convinced that Russia was defeated and colonized.
They were looking to China as the next enemy to be destroyed or reduced to submission. They have
been taken by surprise. Putin's Russia, the phoenix reborn from its ashes, is the only superpower
that can derail the train that is hurtling towards catastrophe. But it may be also the last hope
for the West too. If, obviously, the West can bring itself to understand that it is not, in any case,
going to be able to rule over seven billion people.
"... Yulia Stepanova's husband is Vitaly Stepanov a former staffer at RUSADA. He had lived and studied in the US since he was 15, but later decided to return to Russia. In 2008, Vitaly Stepanov began working for RUSADA as a doping-control officer. Vitaly met Yulia Rusanova in 2009 at the Russian national championships in Cheboksary. Stepanov now claims that he sent a letter to WADA detailing his revelations back in 2010, but never received an answer. ..."
"... One fact that deserves attention is that Vitaly has confessed that he was fully aware that his wife was taking banned substances, both while he worked for RUSADA as well as after he left that organization. ..."
"... In early June he admitted that WADA had not only helped his family move to America, but had also provided them with $30,000 in financial assistance. ..."
"... Threatened with prosecution, Gregory Rodchenkov began to behave oddly and was repeatedly hospitalized and "subjected to a forensic psychiatric examination." A finding was later submitted to the court, claiming that Rodchenkov suffered from "schizotypal personality disorder," exacerbated by stress. As a result, all the charges against Rodchenkov were dropped. But the most surprising thing was that someone with a "schizotypal personality disorder" and a sister convicted of trafficking in performance-enhancing drugs continued as the director of Russia's only WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratory ..."
"... All the evidence to be used by the prosecution is subject to challenge, and if some fact included in those charges can be interpreted to the defendant's advantage, then the court is obliged to exclude that fact from the materials at the disposal of the prosecution. ..."
"... As a lawyer, McLaren understands all this very well. Hundreds of lawsuits filed by Russian athletes resulting in an unambiguous outcome would not only destroy his reputation and ruin him professionally – they could form the basis of a criminal investigation with obvious grounds for accusing him of intentionally distorting a few facts, which in his eyes can be summarized as follows. ..."
The 6thFundamental
Principle of Olympism (non-discrimination of any kind, including nationality and political opinion)
seems to be forgotten long ago. In ancient Greece the competition of best athletes was able
to halt a war and serve as a bridge of understanding between two recent foes. But in the twentieth
century the Olympics have become a political weapon. Back in 1980 the US and its allies boycotted
the games in Moscow as a protest against the Soviet troops that entered Afghanistan at the request
of that country's legitimate government (in contrast, the
1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany were
held as usual, to the applause of the "civilized" world).
On May 8, 2016 the CBS program 60 Minutes aired a
broadcast about doping in Russia. The interviews featured recorded conversations between
a former staffer with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), Vitaly Stepanov, and the ex-director
of Russia's anti-doping laboratory in Moscow, Grigory Rodchenkov. That program was just the
fourth installment in a lengthy
series about the alleged existence of a system to support doping in Russian sports.
A few days later the New York Times
published an interview with Rodchenkov. There that former official claims that a state-supported
doping program was active at the Sochi Olympics, and that the orders for that program had come almost
directly from the Russian president.
One important fact that escaped most international observers was that a media campaign, which
had begun shortly after the 2014 deep freeze in Russian-Western relations, was constructed around
the "testimonies" of three Russian citizens who were all interconnected and complicit in a string
of doping scandals, and who later left Russia and are trying to make new lives in the West.
A 29-year-old middle-distance runner, Yulia Stepanova, can be seen as the instigator of this scandal.
This young athlete's personal best in global competition was a bronze medal at the European Athletics
Indoor Championship in 2011. At the World Championships that same year she placed eighth.
Stepanova's career went off the rails in 2013, when the Russian Athletic Federation's Anti-Doping
Commission disqualified her for two years based on "blood fluctuations in her Athlete Biological
Passport." Such fluctuations are considered evidence of doping. All of Stepanova's results
since 2011 have been invalidated. In addition, she had to return the prize money she had won
running in professional races in 2011-2012. Stepanova, who had been suspended for doping, acted
as the primary informant for ARD journalist
Hajo Seppelt, who had begun filming a documentary about misconduct in Russian sports. After
the release of ARD's first documentary in December 2014, Stepanova left Russia along with her husband
and son. In 2015 she requested political asylum in Canada. Even after her suspension
ended in 2015, Stepanova told the WADA Commission (p.142 of the
Nov. 2015 WADA Report) that she had tested positive for doping during the Russian Track and Field
Championships in Saransk in July 2010 and paid 30,000 rubles (approximately $1,000 USD at that time)
to the director of the Russian anti-doping laboratory in Moscow, Gregory Rodchenkov, in exchange
for concealing those test results.
Yulia Stepanova's husband is Vitaly Stepanov a former staffer at RUSADA. He had lived
and studied in the US since he was 15, but later decided to return to Russia. In 2008, Vitaly
Stepanov began working for RUSADA as a doping-control officer. Vitaly met Yulia Rusanova in
2009 at the Russian national championships in Cheboksary. Stepanov now claims that he sent
a letter to WADA detailing his revelations back in 2010, but never received an answer.
In 2011 Stepanov left RUSADA. One fact that deserves attention is that Vitaly has confessed
that he was fully aware that his wife was taking banned substances, both while he worked for RUSADA
as well as after he left that organization. Take note that Stepanova's blood tests went positive
starting in 2011 – i.e., from the time that her husband, an anti-doping officer, left RUSADA. With
a clear conscience, the Stepanovs, now married, accepted prize money from professional races until
Yulia was disqualified. Then they no longer had a source of income and the prize money suddenly
had to be returned, at which point Vitaly Stepanov sought recourse in foreign journalists, offering
to tell them the "truth about Russian sports." In early June he
admitted that WADA had not only helped his family move to America, but had also provided them
with $30,000 in financial assistance.
And finally, the third figure in the campaign to expose doping in Russian sports – the former
head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory in Moscow,Gregory Rodchenkov. According to Vitaly
Stepanov, he was the man who sold performance-enhancing drugs while helping to hide their traces,
and had also come up with the idea of "doped
Chivas mouth swishing" (pg. 50), a technique that transforms men into Olympic champions.
This 57-year-old native of Moscow is acknowledged to be the best at what he does. He graduated
from Moscow State University with a Ph.D. in chemistry and began working at the Moscow anti-doping
lab as early as 1985. He later worked in Canada and for Russian petrochemical companies, and
in 2005 he became the director of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory in Moscow. In 2013
Marina Rodchenkova – Gregory Rodchenkov's sister – was found guilty and received a sentence for selling
anabolic steroids to athletes. Her brother was also the subject of a criminal investigation
into charges that he supplied banned drugs.
Threatened with prosecution, Gregory Rodchenkov began to behave oddly and was repeatedly hospitalized
and "subjected to a forensic psychiatric examination." A finding was later submitted to the
court, claiming that Rodchenkov suffered from "schizotypal personality disorder," exacerbated by
stress. As a result, all the charges against Rodchenkov were dropped. But the most surprising
thing was that someone with a "schizotypal personality disorder" and a sister convicted of trafficking
in performance-enhancing drugs continued as the director of Russia's only WADA-accredited anti-doping
laboratory.
In fact, he held this job during the 2014 Olympics. Rodchenkov was not dismissed until the
fall of 2015, after the eruption of the scandal that had been instigated by the broadcaster ARD and
the Stepanovs. In September 2015 the WADA Commission accused Rodchenkov of intentionally destroying
over a thousand samples in order to conceal doping by Russian athletes. He personally denied
all the charges, but then resigned and left for the US where he was warmly embraced by filmmaker
Bryan Fogel, who was shooting yet anothermade-to-order
documentary about doping in Russia.
As this article is being written, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is studying a
report
from an "Independent Person," the Canadian professor Richard H. McLaren, who has accused the entire
Russian Federation, not just individual athletes, of complicity in the use of performance-enhancing
drugs. McLaren was quickly summoned to speak with WADA shortly after
the
NYT published interview with Rodchenkov. The goal was clear: to concoct a "scientific report"
by mid-July that would provide the IOC with grounds to ban the Russian team from the Rio Olympics.
At a press conference on July 18 McLaren himself
acknowledged that with a timeline of only
57 days he was unable "to identify any athlete that might have benefited from such manipulation to
conceal positive doping tests." WADA's logic here is clear – they need to avoid any accusations
of bias, unprofessionalism, embellishment of facts, or political partisanship. No matter what
duplicity and lies are found in the report – it was drafted by an "independent person," period.
However, he does not try to hide that the entire report is based on the testimony of a single person
– Rodchenkov himself, who is repeatedly presented as a "credible and truthful" source. Of course
that man is accused by WADA itself of destroying 1,417 doping tests and faces deportation to Russia
for doping-linked crimes, but he saw an opportunity become a "valuable witness" and "prisoner of
conscience" who is being persecuted by the "totalitarian regime" in Russia.
The advantage enjoyed by this "independent commission" – on the basis of whose report the IOC
is deciding the fate of Russia's Olympic hopefuls – is that its accusations will not be examined
in court, nor can the body of evidence be challenged by the lawyers for the accused. Nor is
the customary legal presumption of innocence anywhere in evidence.
It appears from Professor McLaren's statement that no charges will be brought against any specific
Russian athletes. Moreover, they can all compete if they refuse to represent Russia at the
Olympics. There are obvious reasons for this selectivity. A law professor and longstanding
member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Professor McClaren knows very well that any charges
against specific individuals that are made publicly and result in "legally significant acts" (such
as a ban on Olympic participation) can and will be challenged in court, in accordance with international
law and on the basis of the presumption of innocence. All the evidence to be used by the
prosecution is subject to challenge, and if some fact included in those charges can be interpreted
to the defendant's advantage, then the court is obliged to exclude that fact from the materials at
the disposal of the prosecution.
As a lawyer, McLaren understands all this very well. Hundreds of lawsuits filed by Russian
athletes resulting in an unambiguous outcome would not only destroy his reputation and ruin him professionally
– they could form the basis of a criminal investigation with obvious grounds for accusing him of
intentionally distorting a few facts, which in his eyes can be summarized as follows.
During the Sochi Olympics, an FSB officer named Evgeny Blokhin switched the doping tests taken
from Russian athletes, exchanging them for "clean" urine samples. This agent is said to have
possessed a plumbing contractor's security clearance, allowing him to enter the laboratory.
In addition, there are reports that Evgeny Kurdyatsev, – the head of the Registration and Biological
Sample Accounting Department – switched the doping tests at night, through a "mouse hole" in the
wall (!). Awaiting them in the adjascent building was the man who is now providing "credible
evidence" – Gregory Rodchenkov – and some other unnamed individuals, who passed Blokhin the athletes'
clean doping tests to be used to replace the original samples. If the specific gravity of the
clean urine did not match the original profile, it was "adapted" using table salt or distilled water.
But of course the DNA was incompatible. And all of this was going on in the only official,
WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratory in Russia!
How would something like that sound in any court? We have witnesses, but the defense team
cannot subject them to cross-examination. We cannot prove that Blokhin is an FSB agent, but
we believe it. We do not possess any of the original documents – not a single photograph or
affidavit from the official examination – but we have sufficient evidence from a single criminal
who has already confessed to his crime. We did not submit the emails provided by Rodchenkov
to any experts to be examined, but we assert that the emails are genuine, that all the facts they
contain are accurate, and that the names of the senders are correct. We cannot accuse the athletes,
so we will accuse and punish the state!
To be honest, we still do not believe that the Olympic movement has sunk so low as to deprive
billions of people of the pleasure of watching the competitions, forgetting about politics and politicians.
That would mean waving goodbye to the reputations of the WADA and the IOC and to the global system
of sports as a whole. Perhaps a solution to the colossal problem of doping is long overdue,
but is that answer to be found within the boundaries of only one country, even a great country like
Russia? Should we take a moment here and now to dwell upon the
multi-volume history of
doping scandals in every single country in the world? And in view of these facts that have
come to light, is not WADA itself the cornerstone of the existing and far-reaching system to support
and cover up athletic doping all over the world?
In conclusion, we cite below the complete translation of the Russian Olympic Committee'sstatement
in response to the WADA report:
"The accusations against Russian sports found in the report by Richard McLaren are so serious
that a full investigation is needed, with input from all parties. The Russian Olympic Committee
has a policy of zero tolerance and supports the fight against doping. It is ready to provide
its full assistance and work together, as needed, with any international organization.
We wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. McLaren's view that the possible banning of hundreds of
clean Russian athletes from competition in the Olympic Games is an acceptable 'unpleasant consequence'
of the charges contained in his report.
The charges being made are primarily based on statements by Grigory Rodchenkov. This
is solely based on testimony from someone who is at the epicenter of this criminal scheme, which
is a blow not only to the careers and fates of a great many clean athletes, but also to the integrity
of the entire international Olympic movement.
Russia has fought against doping and will continue to fight at the state level, steadily stiffening
the penalties for any illegal activity of this type and enforcing a precept of inevitable punishment.
The Russian Olympic Committee fully supports the harshest possible penalties against anyone
who either uses banned drugs or encourages their use.
At the same time, the ROC – acting in full compliance with the Olympic Charter – will always
protect the rights of clean athletes. Those who throughout their careers – thanks to relentless
training, talent, and willpower – strive to realize their Olympic dreams should not have their
futures determined by the unfounded, unsubstantiated accusations and criminal acts of certain
individuals. For us this is a matter of principle."
"... From the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Washington has been playing a dangerous game of intrigue and deception with regard to steering these organizations in a pro-American direction. The Obama administration has decided that the halls, offices, and conference rooms of international organizations are acceptable battlefields to wage propaganda and sanctions wars. ..."
From the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA) to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Washington has been playing a dangerous game of intrigue and
deception with regard to steering these organizations in a pro-American direction. The Obama
administration has decided that the halls, offices, and conference rooms of international
organizations are acceptable battlefields to wage propaganda and sanctions wars.
The first American target of note was the international football association, FIFA. Not content
with trying to sully the reputation of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics with issues of gay rights
and doping of athletes, the US disinformation boiler rooms began a full-scale attack on FIFA. The
major reason is Russia's hosting of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The US Justice Department, in a
major move toward the internationalization of domestic US law, began unsealing indictment after
indictment of FIFA officials for financial crimes. The actual target of these indictments was
Russia.
... ... ...
Resisting pressure from Washington, IOC president Thomas Bach wisely decided to avoid a
blanket ban of Russian athletes. Bach called such a unilateral ban on Russia participating in the
Rio games as a "nuclear option". He also said that such a "nuclear option" would have resulted in
"collateral damage" among innocent athletes. Bach's use of two geopolitical military terms was no
mistake and it bore the mark of someone responding to familiar American "shock and awe" pressure.
The United States used its compliant stooges, Germany and Canada, as well as the dubious World
Anti-Doping Agency, run by a Scottish lawyer, to call for a total ban on Russian athletes in Rio.
Fish rots from the head: doping is the most rampant in the USA...
Notable quotes:
"... Federal officials said earlier Tuesday that Bosch would agree to plead guilty to a charge of distributing steroids in a conspiracy that stretched from big league club houses to South Florida high schools and youth baseball leagues to sandlots in the Caribbean. ..."
"... "These defendants were motivated by one thing: money," United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Wifredo Ferrer, said. "They did this by lining their pockets, by exploiting the pressures of athletes and others to be bigger, to be stronger and to play better." ..."
"... Bosch told investigators that he provided the illegal substances to at least 18 minors, Ferrer said. ..."
"... Bosch and his associates distributed the drugs to minors who attended a number of public and private high schools in South Florida. He would charge the teenagers and their parents between $250 and $600 a month, promising that the concoctions -- which included black market steroids -- would improve their game. ..."
Tony Bosch, the founder of the now-defunct Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in Miami, is not a
licensed doctor, but portrayed himself as one, federal officials said Tuesday.
Officials said he dispensed
performance-enhancing drugs to professional baseball players such as suspended New York
Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and to impressionable high school athletes in South Florida and
teenagers in the Dominican Republic.
Bosch, 50, surrendered to the Drug Enforcement Administration in Florida on Tuesday. At a court
appearance, he pleaded not guilty and a judge set bail at $100,000.
Federal officials said
earlier Tuesday that Bosch would agree to plead guilty to a charge of distributing steroids in a
conspiracy that stretched from big league club houses to South Florida high schools and youth
baseball leagues to sandlots in the Caribbean.
One of his attorneys, Susy Ribero-Ayala, said there is a plea agreement in place and Bosch will
change his plea later.
"Mr. Bosch has never had and does not have a DEA registration," said Mark Trouville, special
agent in charge of the DEA Miami. "He is not a licensed medical professional. He is not a doctor.
He is a drug dealer."
Also charged in the scandal were Yuri Sucart, a cousin of Rodriguez, and Juan Carlos Nunez, who
was named in a scheme to clear All-Star Melky Cabrera after a positive 2012 testosterone test,
authorities said.
Other defendants include Carlos Acevedo, a longtime associate of Bosch's, former University of
Miami coach Lazaro "Lazer" Collazo, Jorge Velasquez, and Christopher Engroba.
Acevedo and three other men, including CarlosLuis Ruiz, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, also
were charged in a separate conspiracy involving the sale of the drug MDMA, or molly.
Eight of
the 10 men charged appeared in court. Acevedo and Engroba also entered not guilty pleas. The
other men didn't enter a plea.
Lengthy investigation
The drug conspiracy charges against the men stemmed from
from a 21-month DEA investigation.
"These defendants were motivated by one thing: money," United States Attorney for the Southern
District of Florida, Wifredo Ferrer, said. "They did this by lining their pockets, by exploiting
the pressures of athletes and others to be bigger, to be stronger and to play better."
Bosch
could face a 10-year prison term in the case.
Bosch told investigators that he provided the illegal substances to at least 18 minors, Ferrer
said.
Bosch and his associates distributed the drugs to minors who attended a number of public and
private high schools in South Florida. He would charge the teenagers and their parents between
$250 and $600 a month, promising that the concoctions -- which included black market steroids --
would improve their game.
In addition, investigators said, Bosch and
the others operated in the Dominican Republic, where boys as young as 12 were given new baseball
equipment and treated with testosterone-loaded syringes in an effort to get them signed with big
league teams. Talents scouts working with the children would keep as much as 50 % of their
signing bonuses.
"These defendants provided easy access to dangerous concoctions of steroids and human growth
hormones to impressionable high school kids," Ferrer said. "Simply put: Doping children is
unacceptable. It is wrong. It is illegal and it is dangerous and Bosch and his reckless
recruiters and his black market suppliers ignored the serious health risks posed to their so
called patients, all to make a profit."
Using lollipops
The drugs were administered in a number of ways, through injections, pills, creams and even
lollipops, according to a source with direct knowledge of the investigation.
Masking agents
were used to hide the drugs. "It was so good. The key was being able to fool testers with the
league (Major League Baseball), the source said. "The masking agents in the creams would hide the
actual drug, and (Bosch) would know the timing involved. He knew if the athlete took the drug
right before a game, they'd be tested 12 hours later and the drug would no longer be detectable."
Earlier this year, Major League Baseball dropped its lawsuit against Bosch and the company the
league claims provided performance-enhancing drugs to a number of players, including
Rodriguez. The league had agreed to drop the suit if Bosch cooperated in the investigation,
according to published reports.
In a statement Tuesday, Rodriguez's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said:
"This obviously is the beginning of the end of this sordid chapter in baseball."
Authorities said professional athletes recruited by the clinic paid between $2,000 and $12,000
per month for the drugs.
The investigation led to the suspension of 14 players for violating the league's drug policy.
Besides Rodriguez, suspended players included
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, who served part of his
suspension last season.
Bosch's Biogenesis clinic became part of the story in late January 2013, when the Miami New Times
reported that more than a dozen professional baseball players and other athletes had been named
in records kept over several years by the clinic.
Two months later, MLB filed its lawsuit
against the clinic in Florida's Miami-Dade County.
Its 14-page complaint named Biogenesis, its predecessor company and six individuals -- among them
program director Bosch, others at the company, someone who worked at a sports agency, a former
University of Miami baseball player and a "self-proclaimed chemist" who supplied substances.
"... "Rodchenkov used his authority despite the legal interests of the aforementioned organization and with the purpose of gaining personal advantages and benefits, thus having abused rights and legal interests," ..."
"... "Thus, the Anti-Doping Center lost the right for work. Rodchenkov's activities also have affected the interests of state, damaging its reputation, discrediting the country's anti-doping policies, and caused revoking of the international license from the laboratory, which had been established at expense of the federal budget." ..."
Of particular note is Rodchenkov's decision to deliberately destroy evidence after being asked
by WADA to preserve and freeze blood samples in December 2014.
The Investigative Committee's spokesman, Vladimir Markin, explained the case by chronicling the
events that eventually led to the suspension of the Moscow lab, as well as creating massive suspicion
and mistrust of Russian athletes.
On December 9, 2014, WADA sent a letter to Rodchenkov, then-director of the Anti-Doping Center,
asking that all blood samples that had been taken in the previous three months (as well as those
taken in the future) were to be frozen and stored until further instructions from WADA.
On December 10, Rodchenkov confirmed by e-mail receipt of the letter and assured that the samples
would be properly stored.
On December 12, in violation of the Anti-Doping lab's regulations, Rodchenkov issued a verbal
order to his staff to discard 1,437 samples. His staff complied the same day.
"Rodchenkov used his authority despite the legal interests of the aforementioned organization
and with the purpose of gaining personal advantages and benefits, thus having abused rights and legal
interests," Markin said.
"Thus, the Anti-Doping Center lost the right for work. Rodchenkov's activities also have affected
the interests of state, damaging its reputation, discrediting the country's anti-doping policies,
and caused revoking of the international license from the laboratory, which had been established
at expense of the federal budget."
[Aug 07, 2016] Does WADA has facts to prove allegations ? If they are lying or cannot furnish any real evidence, the case is in serious trouble
Professional sport is now almost pure politics and not only athletes destroy their health by taking
drugs, the corrupt politicians play their dirty games with impunity. As perforce enhancing drags are
not a real menace, singling out Russia as the most egregious abuser based on testimony of the corrupt
turncoat (who destroyed the evidence and is under criminal investigation in Russia) looks like a dirty
game.
Notable quotes:
"... That is a slippery slope in which WADA is putting all its eggs in the Rodchenkov/Stepanov basket. If they are lying or cannot furnish any real evidence, the case is in serious trouble, and it looks like it is only going to heat up after Rio rather than dying down. ..."
"... If I remember correctly, Dick Pound is not part of WADA any more, or any Olympic organization – he's retired, just (allegedly) 'well-respected' and a former WADA official. He's a co-founder of WADA and a former president, and he had several jobs in both the Canadian and international Olympic committees. but now he's just an international busybody without portfolio, and obviously possessed of the belief that the Russians are what is wrong with clean sport and everything they ever won, they cheated to get. conversely, North America represents everything that's right with clean sport, and has an international obligation to squeeze out those Russian state-sponsored dopers and everyone else who shames their nation. The United States is happy to use him and McLaren because they like to internationalize their Russophobia. ..."
"... I'm sure there are good reasons for Russia to just bow its head and accept it for now, and probably that's the best thing in the long run, especially if WADA ends up discredited. And hopefully Russia will press it hard once the Olympics is over. But I would be hurt and angry if I were in charge, and I would withdraw from the Olympics, do everything I could to damage it as an institution and it would never see another dime out of me. ..."
"... I would be exactly the kind of reactionary leader Washington wishes was in charge in Russia. Because the USA would be delighted to see Russia as isolated as it is trying to make it. Here's a very interesting Canadian policy document on the drive for medals in international sport, and how much it means politically. It specifically cites how much Russia spends on sport, and I am sure I'm not speaking out of turn when I say screwing Russia out of medals is a western objective, and one that would not be necessary if they could be easily beaten just by superior athletes. ..."
"... "International sporting success has many outcomes, which I would argue are beneficial and far reaching. Governments seem to agree with what appears to be a continuing and increasing "arms race" with the hopes of further medals . As but one example on October 11, 2014, Russia announced a new federal funding program worth RUB70 billion ($1.8 billion) to further develop physical education and sports. Understanding how to best invest these funds in any country is difficult, however, as creating world champions is a complicated algorithm. In part, it was this recognition that led to the creation of the Canadian Sport for Life Long-Term Athlete Development (CS4L–LTAD) pathway. ..."
"... Another way to help answer the question of how to best invest in sport is SPLISS (Sport Policies Leading to International Sporting Success), a theoretical model for understanding (as the name suggests) what policies administrators can influence that will lead to medals in Summer Olympic Games ..."
"... Forget that 'just do your best; you can do no more' shit. It's about international prestige and winning lots of gold medals gives you a bigger dick to swing around on the world stage. And that's what it's all about. ..."
"... We've spoken before about the limitations of the human body set against the expectations that new world records will be set at every Olympics. The body can only do so much, and there are thresholds for human performance. These are young people in the prime of health who train every day, and it is not unrealistic to imagine at some point a person is going to lift the greatest weight of which a human is capable of lifting without taking some sort of drug to boost his strength or dull the pain that warns him he is destroying something. ..."
"... the IOC smackdown is a double kick in the sack. ..."
"... For all the slurry WADA, the US and its allies have spread in the direction of Russia, two thirds of (now angry) Russian athletes are going to the Olympics. ..."
"... I'm not for keeping Russian athletes at home. This is about history. It will be another chapter in a series of attempts by the West to pawn Putin that he handles with his usual Judo throw/chess move, at his timing and choice. ..."
"... I think WADA is going to end up getting its peepee slapped. I certainly hope so, anyway, and I hope Reedie comes through on naming athletes fingered by WADA's 'whistleblowers' because that will leave both the 'whistleblowers' and WADA open to lawsuits. ..."
"... Let's hope Russia goes after WADA and McClaren once the Games are over – let's see how well his 'evidence' stands up in an actual court rather than the fictious one he seems to have created in his mind. ..."
"... He looks to be sweating in the picture. I'd say he should get used to that. He just admitted to convicting an entire country on secret evidence that he has shared with nobody else. ..."
"... Did he actually go to Russia to obtain the samples he alludes to having? If not, I hope he has a chain of custody for them, because they could have come from anywhere and he probably got every bit of it from Rodchenkov. ..."
Moscow knows very well that McLaren has no real evidence, and is pinning everything on Rodchenkov's
and the Stepanovs' testimony – he has said as much. Will their wild tales hold up? We'll see.
But the public rift between the IOC and WADA, and increasing talk about reform at the latter does
not spell confidence in WADA's allegations to me. It would be pretty sweet if their whole case
fell through and Russia took WADA to court. They've been strutting around throwing bans and cutting
a wide swath as Washington uses them as yet one more of its political tools, but just maybe they
have overstepped this time.
I notice WADA was
not able to reward its star nightingale , Yulia Stepanova, with an Olympic slot. The IOC put
paid to that proposition, as their quarrel gets more public.
Speaking of WADA, Russia appears to have goaded its president, Craig Reedie, into announcing
that WADA was ready to reveal the names
of the Russian athletes who allegedly took performance-enhancing drugs during the Sochi Olympics.
That is a slippery slope in which WADA is putting all its eggs in the Rodchenkov/Stepanov
basket. If they are lying or cannot furnish any real evidence, the case is in serious trouble,
and it looks like it is only going to heat up after Rio rather than dying down.
I think the legal route will be pretty well inevitable unless WADA rows back. It doesn't actually
have to go to court, as you have pointed out their rather whimiscal 'evidence', that I highly
doubt would pass the legal smell test to even get beyond a hearing. I would expect that WADA &
the IOC may simply be happy to drop the ban with little or no fanfare and 'no comment', after
Rio if possible.
Those re-tested samples would need to be tested even again…
I suppose the question is what happens to those officials in WADA who backed & demanded the
ban. I don't see how anyone could have further confidence in WADA if they remain in place. They
may pretend not to be responsible or take any blame but I don't see how they could stay (apart
from their government's insistence) without all credibility being lost.
If I remember correctly, Dick Pound is not part of WADA any more, or any Olympic organization
– he's retired, just (allegedly) 'well-respected' and a former WADA official. He's a co-founder
of WADA and a former president, and he had several jobs in both the Canadian and international
Olympic committees. but now he's just an international busybody without portfolio, and obviously
possessed of the belief that the Russians are what is wrong with clean sport and everything they
ever won, they cheated to get. conversely, North America represents everything that's right with
clean sport, and has an international obligation to squeeze out those Russian state-sponsored
dopers and everyone else who shames their nation. The United States is happy to use him and McLaren
because they like to internationalize their Russophobia.
I'm sure there are good reasons for Russia to just bow its head and accept it for now,
and probably that's the best thing in the long run, especially if WADA ends up discredited. And
hopefully Russia will press it hard once the Olympics is over. But I would be hurt and angry if
I were in charge, and I would withdraw from the Olympics, do everything I could to damage it as
an institution and it would never see another dime out of me.
I would be exactly the kind of reactionary leader Washington wishes was in charge in Russia.
Because the USA would be delighted to see Russia as isolated as it is trying to make it. Here's
a very interesting Canadian
policy document on the drive for medals in international sport, and how much it means politically.
It specifically cites how much Russia spends on sport, and I am sure I'm not speaking out of turn
when I say screwing Russia out of medals is a western objective, and one that would not be necessary
if they could be easily beaten just by superior athletes.
Here's a teaser:
"International sporting success has many outcomes, which I would argue are beneficial
and far reaching. Governments seem to agree with what appears to be a continuing and
increasing "arms race" with the hopes of further medals . As but one example on October
11, 2014, Russia announced a new federal funding program worth RUB70 billion ($1.8 billion)
to further develop physical education and sports. Understanding how to best invest these funds
in any country is difficult, however, as creating world champions is a complicated algorithm.
In part, it was this recognition that led to the creation of the Canadian Sport for Life Long-Term
Athlete Development (CS4L–LTAD) pathway.
Another way to help answer the question of how to best invest in sport is SPLISS (Sport
Policies Leading to International Sporting Success), a theoretical model for understanding
(as the name suggests) what policies administrators can influence that will lead to medals
in Summer Olympic Games . This model has evolved following rigorous study that began in
the early 2000s. At that time, researchers from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
recognized that other models were too anecdotal or descriptive in their attempts to understand
how to better invest for medal success ."
Forget that 'just do your best; you can do no more' shit. It's about international prestige
and winning lots of gold medals gives you a bigger dick to swing around on the world stage. And
that's what it's all about.
We've spoken before about the limitations of the human body set against the expectations
that new world records will be set at every Olympics. The body can only do so much, and there
are thresholds for human performance. These are young people in the prime of health who train
every day, and it is not unrealistic to imagine at some point a person is going to lift the greatest
weight of which a human is capable of lifting without taking some sort of drug to boost his strength
or dull the pain that warns him he is destroying something. At the next Olympics, somebody
will still win a gold medal in that event, but they will not be able to break the record, and
that will be disappointing because it will force everyone to acknowledge that humans have limits.
Interestingly, Craig Reedie is not only President of WADA, but Vice-President of the IOC. He
is British, unsurprisingly – he had to be either that or an American because nobody hates the
Russians like the British and the Americans do. So the IOC smackdown is a double kick in the
sack. I guess we know who the "1" was in the 84-1 vote, or whatever it was.
I think you've just failed your job interview with Vladimir Putin! Never mind.
Let's look at this dispassionately. For all the slurry WADA, the US and its allies have
spread in the direction of Russia, two thirds of (now angry) Russian athletes are going to the
Olympics. By not winning a ban, they have already lost. It was the best they could do and
there was no way for them to square the circle short of declaring that Russia does not exist and
thus cannot be present a the Olympics.
Then there's the longburn that we've all discussed and heavily speculated upon. Who knows how
it is going to shake out, but what we do know is that Putler takes his time and likes to serve
his revenge cold, and usually indirectly with little fanfare. It may not garner headlines, but
it will be an obvious slap in the face with a large fish a la Asterix to Russia's opponents.
I'm not for keeping Russian athletes at home. This is about history. It will be another
chapter in a series of attempts by the West to pawn Putin that he handles with his usual Judo
throw/chess move, at his timing and choice. This will be stuff taught to new cadres of diplomats
as textbook 'handling dat shit and then some'. No one is perfect and certainly not Putin (disbanding
the firewarning/volunteer service for example), but it is a master class of playing whatever cards
you've got their best advantage.
…"For me was that after this decision you have to be able to look into the eyes of all the
athletes and during my many visits to the village here in Rio I have been looking into eyes of
many athletes."
McLaren has accused the IOC of misrepresenting his findings, with several Russian athletes
challenging bans based on their inclusion within the report. But Bach defended the process, which
left those Russian athletes who did travel in limbo until the eve of the Olympics.
"I think this is a very thorough, strict and clear procedure and you will see the results of
the individual analyses and on the application of justice in order to ensure a level playing field
here at the Olympic Games," he said.
As he has since the beginning of the saga, he said that while the presumption of innocence
had been reversed, "natural justice does not allow us to deprive human beings of the right to
prove their innocence".
Bach pointed to the near unanimous support he received from members at the IOC decision,
with only Britain's Adam Pengilly voting against. ..
Still a lot of mouth from the western press against the IOC, and although I think Bach's position
is secure, you can bet that an effort to muscle him out and a compliant toady into his position
will depend on how further investigations into the McLaren report go after the Olympics are over.
For the moment McLaren seems pretty cocky, saying the IOC misrepresented his findings, but he
got all of his testimonial evidence from WADA and its president is vice-president of the IOC!
What's the chances of that being true, do you think?
I think WADA is going to end up getting its peepee slapped. I certainly hope so, anyway,
and I hope Reedie comes through on naming athletes fingered by WADA's 'whistleblowers' because
that will leave both the 'whistleblowers' and WADA open to lawsuits.
Looks like the wheels are coming off the WADA wagon and McClaren is getting a tad worried hence
the somewhat hysterical tone of this:
"I have the evidence, I have it secured. I have the evidence backed up by forensic analysis
of databases, sample bottles, I have laboratory evidence of some of those samples. It's true
I haven't revealed," he said.
"But if you conduct a proper investigation, you don't put the evidence out there to create
misinformation. I was at the stage where I could say what I knew beyond reasonable doubt. I
wouldn't put anything in the report that I didn't have evidence of and wouldn't meet the criminal
standard in any court around the world," he added.
I don't know what standard of jurisprudence he's used to but it's a mighty odd one. How can
he really have established the provenance of any samples his 'whistleblower' presented him with?
Other than the word of his informant, what actual evidence has he got of the involvement of the
Russian state? Why did McClaren make no effort to discuss his 'evidence' with Russian officials?
Let's hope Russia goes after WADA and McClaren once the Games are over – let's see how
well his 'evidence' stands up in an actual court rather than the fictious one he seems to have
created in his mind.
He looks to be sweating in the picture. I'd say he should get used to that. He just admitted
to convicting an entire country on secret evidence that he has shared with nobody else.
Yeah, but he said that it appeared that way to him beyond reasonable doubt .
If that's good enough for this one-man judge-jury-executioner, then it should be good enough for
the rest of us.
He said he had secret evidence that nobody had seen but him, and that the purpose of his report
was never to establish individual guilt, but to demonstrate that there was a state-sponsored doping
program. He admitted publicly before he commenced his research that he had no such evidence, so
he must have obtained it between the time he announced he had none and the time his report was
released. Did he actually go to Russia to obtain the samples he alludes to having? If not,
I hope he has a chain of custody for them, because they could have come from anywhere and he probably
got every bit of it from Rodchenkov.
He's just saying nobody else has seen it to avoid saying where he got it, and a conviction
in which the accused was not permitted to challenge the veracity of the evidence would not stand
up anywhere else in the world except for America, where they are just so exceptional that they
can do things that any other country would be condemned for doing. And rightly so.
"... This is how these fucks build their cases, it's just like the massive disinformation about everything Ukraine. If you pick it apart and study each case of a "fake" or whatever, most (if not all) of it suddenly seems less insidious and more sensible, in the light of medias being medias, people being people, bad translations being bad translations and what not. Heck, a lot of the "fakes" are actually fakes by the alleged fake-spottters. Anyway, that's why the tsunami approach is being used, just a torrent of stuff that nobody will bother picking apart as you have no choice but to submit to the sheer volume of it. ..."
"... Or take the Sochi Olympics. Total tsunami there as well, by the time false assertion #1 had been debunked by some brave soul there were 300 other assertions stacked on top. Or anything Russia in general, it doesn't matter, it's the same crap all over. ..."
"... Oh, and one last observation. The Russia disinformation tsunami approach reminds me of something very similar, namely tin foil hats peddling alien conspiracies and so on. They typically set out with their minds made up and then present "evidence" A, B, C. Once these have been debunked, they go "fine, but what about D, E, F" all the way to Z. Once that's been exhausted they jump all the way back to A, B, C as if nothing's happened at all, though this way around they typically attempt to overwhelm by referencing D-Z from the get go. Good god, it's depressing. ..."
I've been finding a lot of these things being forwarded on Twitter etc:
I find it rather amazing, actually. Russian media is being accused of "fakes" and "lies" when
the reality is that they're almost always quoting Western media in verbatim on all these things.
In this particular case, Swedish media reported a "powerful explosion, possibly several",
and "a man holding a gun-like object" and "police has been called to the scene" and so on. Yep, that
they did. Since it was in the central parts of the capital and all these things gave the impression
something big could be brewing, international media quickly went nuts with it as well:
The Russians followed suit, naturally. Now, soon thereafter it turned out to be a case of overblown
hysteria and the story quickly died out following that, with all media issuing retractions, including
Russian dito.
But, quelle surprise – it's obviously yet another "Russia fake".
This is how these fucks build their cases, it's just like the massive disinformation about everything
Ukraine. If you pick it apart and study each case of a "fake" or whatever, most (if not all) of it
suddenly seems less insidious and more sensible, in the light of medias being medias, people being
people, bad translations being bad translations and what not. Heck, a lot of the "fakes" are actually
fakes by the alleged fake-spottters. Anyway, that's why the tsunami approach is being used,
just a torrent of stuff that nobody will bother picking apart as you have no choice but to submit
to the sheer volume of it.
Or take the Sochi Olympics. Total tsunami there as well, by the time false assertion #1 had been
debunked by some brave soul there were 300 other assertions stacked on top. Or anything Russia
in general, it doesn't matter, it's the same crap all over.
Also, regarding the above "Russia fake" – just to further prove what bullshit this is, this is
what Sweden's most-read news site wrote at the time it had just occurred: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article21715154.ab
" A powerful detonation was heard on Södermalm in Stockholm at lunch time.
Police arrived on site with several patrols and the street was cordoned off.
– We don't know what has happened , says Albin Näverberg of the Stockholm police.
The blast, that witnesses describe as being powerful , was heard at 11:40 AM near
Brännkyrkagatan on Södermalm. The street was cordoned off. A large police force was called to
the site. Rescue services were there as well."
"Rescue services" meaning firefighters and/or paramedics. Clearly everybody thought some shit
had gone down and there were multiple emergency vehicles, cordons and so on.
Oh, and one last observation. The Russia disinformation tsunami approach reminds me of something
very similar, namely tin foil hats peddling alien conspiracies and so on. They typically set out
with their minds made up and then present "evidence" A, B, C. Once these have been debunked, they
go "fine, but what about D, E, F" all the way to Z. Once that's been exhausted they jump all the
way back to A, B, C as if nothing's happened at all, though this way around they typically attempt
to overwhelm by referencing D-Z from the get go. Good god, it's depressing.
Probably one of the best pieces I have read on the doping scandal…..it does highlight what
a nonsensical approach it is to punish summer Olympic athletes for Winter Olympic "offences" (which
the author knocks down comprehensively).
This is now both Browder and Rodchenkov, …2 guys punished for offences in Russia, both flee
to the USA, both have undetermined locations of residence, both have their bollocks supported
in massive PR campaigns by the American state, both can make criminal allegations… but both are
unindictable…….and both are allowed to cause harm to the Russian state.
Unless it is fully disclosed what Rodchenkov is doing in the United States, who is paying him
…and that some of his "evidence" is made public….then the IOC should discard this entire WADA
and Mclaren report
That is a good piece, and it very effectively makes an important point. He's right that
this is an angle on it that nobody has covered. It will be interesting to see what comes of the
Speigel report on new discoveries relating to doping at Beijing and in the UK. But of course they
would never ban any entire country but Russia.
This is bringing the real haters out of their holes, the ones who reacted with jubilation to
the Russian ban. I can't protest the decision by ignoring the Olympics, because I don't pay any
attention to them anyway, only checking the medals standings once in awhile online. Now I won't
be interested enough even to do that. But I think there is going to be a significant decline in
interest in the Games this time around; that's unfortunate for Brazil, because Washington is agitating
for the Games to be a failure to discredit Brazil, as well. But in the end I think the effect
will be positive – Brazil will learn a valuable lesson, and hopefully the blame for spoiling the
Olympics as a sports venue will be laid at America's door where it belongs. If America cannot
own something totally and brag about how thoroughly it is under its control, it must piss all
over it to ruin it for everyone else.
This guy nails it, regarding the alleged Russian doping. Like I said a week ago or so, all
of this was a way for Rodchenkov and the Stepanovs to secure some sort of future career after
having been disgraced in Russia. That's all there is too it. I wonder if the IOC noticed this
in their decision NOT to ban Russia from Rio, or if something else was at play.
Yes, most of it is a reprint of the Oriental Review piece. I'm so confused now that I don't know
what is what. Is Russia banned from the Summer Olympics, or just its Track Team, or anyone or
everyone? There's so much conflicting testimony. I think that Russia should not attend, as a protest
to the way it has been treated, but as I mentioned before, it will be the last chance for some
of them to set a new world record. That's balanced against Washington's probable heckling from
the gallery and the probability that American officials will conspire to rig samples. Washington
simply cannot be trusted, and this latest example of its perfidy was a grievous overstep which
is building international sympathy for Russia. That will be imperiled if Russia participates.
But of course it is up to the athletes.
"As a result of the negligent actions of an employee of the cleaning company, the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has lost all samples of American athletes who played for team USA since
1990", reports the BBC.
"As a result of the negligent actions of an employee of the cleaning company,…"
I think that was my brother-in-law, he's a real screw-up.
Always blame the cleaning crew.
The Last but not LeastTechnology is dominated by
two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt.
Ph.D
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January 11, 2020 © Photo: Government.ru There've
been ongoing propaganda pieces that skirt over some inconvenient realities, for those seeking
to unfairly admonish Russia in the Olympic movement. One case in point is the January 2 Reuters
article " 
