Monthly Archives: October 2012

[Click to enlarge]

The top finishers in the Tour De France in the past 15 years tainted by doping.

Since 1998, more than a third of the top finishers of the Tour de France have admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in their careers or have been officially linked to doping. The grid (above) shows the original top-10 placements in each of the past 15 years. Riders pictured have either tested positive, admitted to doping or been sanctioned by an official cycling or anti-doping agency.

 

Details of Doping Scheme Paint Armstrong as Leader (New York Times)

(NYT)

Yikes.

The acting chairman intervened. “For the record, he was on the cover of Time magazine,” quivered Paudie Coffey, looking green around the gills.

“Sorry” snapped Mattie. “What magazine did I say? Oooh sorry. Sorry, sorry. I’ll correct that. I meant to say [looking] like a playboy on Time magazine . . .”

…The damage was done. The image planted. We couldn’t eat a thing for the rest of the day.

 

Mattie Confuses Cute blondes . . .And ‘Playboy’ Of Western World (Miriam Lord, Irish Times

Cover by James M Chimney

 

TRADE UNIONS are set to oppose the latest effort by the Government to eliminate a wide range of public service allowances.

Following last month’s climbdown on reforming allowances, the Government has reopened the issue and is seeking to eliminate more than 80 allowances currently paid to serving staff across the public service.

The move comes after only one allowance for serving staff out of more than 1,000 was removed last month following a major review overseen by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin.

Previously: Public Sector Win

Coalition targets over 80 public service allowances (Martin Wall, Irish Times)

(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

Same stuff.

Different continent.

In a “scathing” submission [to a government inquiry into the church’s handling of clerical child abuse] Victoria’s police commissioner today listed the number of ways the criminal justice process was being hindered by the Catholic Church.

It says the church dissuaded victims of sexual crimes from reporting them to police,  and alerted suspects of allegations against them ”which may have resulted in loss of evidence”.

And, of course, it is accused of moving – from parish to parish –  known or suspected sexual offenders

The submission also includes this scene:

“Father [George] Pell was in the room when the victim told another priest what happened. Both times the victim tried to tell his story he was badly beaten, though not by the now Archbishop of Sydney, the submission says.”

 

Father Pell, now Cardinal Pell, is the most senior Catholic in Australia.

Police Slam Catholic Church (The Age)

Thanks Mark Geary