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The Associated Press reported (23rd March 2022) that a doping probe in French horse racing led to 26 arrests, as follows:
“BORDEAUX, France (AP) — Twenty-six people were arrested in relation to a suspected doping ring in horse racing, prosecutors in France said Wednesday.
The Bordeaux prosecutor’s office said those arrested on Tuesday were racehorse trainers and owners, doctors and pharmacists.
Of those arrested, 25 were in France and another person was in another country in the European Union that couldn’t be disclosed, the prosecutor’s office said.
They were being questioned Wednesday and Thursday, after which a judge will decide the next step to take in the investigation.
French horse racing authorities Le Trot and France Galop said they were paying the “greatest attention to the ongoing investigations” into suspicions of doping and were willing to provide any assistance required.”
“Disgusting hypocrisy”. That it is, mickeyjp…
What has had happened in regards to Chelsea should have had happened in regards to Manchester City back in 2014! ManCity is majority-owned by Sh. Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family. Abu Dhabi forms a part of United Arab Emirates which is a key member of a Saudi-led coalition that’s been bombing and indiscriminately killing civilians since 2014. More recently, the same principal should also apply to the Saudis (i.e. Saudi Public Investment Fund), the owners of Newcastle United. But, instead of sanctions against the owners there were scenes of jubilation at St. James’ Park…
“There’s a special place reserved in Hell for Putin when he passes.”
“Go to Heaven for the climate,
Hell for the company.”
– Mark Twain“…not because they’ve got a branch in Moscow but because their meals taste like ****.”
LOL! That’s priceless!!!, RR77.
GT: “Stop all oil and gas imports from Russia – even if it harms the West / Europe.”
This idea is now gaining momentum, where some predict that it could happen as early as this week. But, unfortunately, Germany is said to be opting out. Any loss of revenue due lower volumes will be partially offset by higher prices. In addition, China and India are rumored to take up the slack. So, at the end of the day, who will lose the most? My guess is that it will be the European consumer who will face higher heating gas prices and petrol and other energy related products.
What is really upsetting is that companies such as McDonald’s and Pepsi and other Western-based companies that have a large presence in Russia are still operating there. It’s time for us mere mortals to do our part and start boycotting them. Trust me, you will not miss a beat! For reasons that are beyond the scope of my note, I stopped going to McDonalds’s in July 1991 and I’m still here!….
Drone:
I’m not sure whether you’re aware, but that report by AP about the mayor’s comments, specifically the use of “encircled” to describe Kyiv’s situation, was later retracted by the mayor who said on his Telegram channel:
“In the evening, Russian internet publications spread information with reference to me that Kyiv is allegedly surrounded and evacuation of people is impossible. … Do not believe lies! Trust information only from official sources.”During times like these, the propaganda machine is firing on all cylinders….on all sides!
Why is FIFA, allowing the Russian football team to play in the upcoming Euro World Cup playoffs, against strong protests from many nations? Good on you Poland and Sweden for your refusal to play if Russia participates!
For interest, the following is a general summary from “BBC News” on sanctions imposed by Western allies against Russia.
Please note particular details of sanctions against Russian banks (“selected”) and their exclusion from the SWIFT financial payment system. Please also note EU “only” sanctioned 70% of banks. (What about the remaining 30% ?) But, most all, pay close attention to the very last paragraph which is most telling…“Ukraine: What sanctions are being imposed on Russia?” Published 1 hour ago
Western nations have imposed severe sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The measures are designed to cripple Russia’s economy and punish its government for taking military action.What is a sanction?
A sanction is a penalty imposed by one country on another, often in order to stop it acting aggressively or breaking international law.
Sanctions are often designed to hurt a country’s economy, or the finances of individual citizens such as leading politicians. They can include travel bans and arms embargoes.They are among the toughest measures nations can use, short of going to war.
What sanctions are Western nations imposing?
The EU, UK, US and their allies increased sanctions against Russia on Saturday. Measures include:
Removing selected Russian banks from the Swift messaging system. The aim is to cut them off from the international financial system and “harm their ability to operate globally”
Freezing the assets of Russia’s central bank, to limit Russia’s ability to access its overseas reserves
Limiting the sale of citizenship via “golden passports”, which allow wealthy Russians to become citizens
Launching a transatlantic task force to identify and freeze the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies
Targeting more “officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families”
Taking action against disinformation
A series of other sanctions had already been announced.
Both the UK and the EU said they planned to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The UK also announced:
all major Russian banks to have their assets frozen and be excluded from the UK financial system
laws to stop major Russian companies and the state raising finance or borrowing money on UK marketsRussia’s Aeroflot airline will be banned from the UK
export licences suspended for dual-use items which can be used for military purposes
a stop to exports of high-tech items and oil refinery equipment
a limit on deposits Russians can make to UK bank accounts
EU nations sanctions also include:
targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state owned firms, including defence firms
targeting the energy sector with an export ban on materials Russia uses for oil refineries
banning the sale of aircraft and equipment to Russian airlines
limiting Russia’s access to high-tech, such as semiconductors and software
US President Joe Biden announced measures against a series of banks and individuals. He said the US and allies would cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports to stop it developing its military capabilities
Germany has put on hold permission for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany to open.
Australia has imposed sanctions on wealthy Russians and over 300 members of the Russian parliament who voted to authorise sending Russian troops into Ukraine.
Japan is sanctioning Russian financial institutions and individuals and halting exports of goods such as semiconductors.
The UK, US and Australia are also imposing financial sanctions on Belarus for its role in the assault on Ukraine.
How will these sanctions affect Russia?
A ban from Swift will delay the payments Russia gets for exports of oil and gas.
When Swift banned Iran in 2012 – under pressure from the US – that country lost almost half of its oil export revenues and 30% of foreign trade.
However, Russia could get paid through other systems – for example, China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System.What is Swift and why is banning Russia so significant?
Freezing the assets of Russia’s central bank will limit its ability to access its overseas reserves.
The measures taken against Russian financial institutions are intended to cause a big fall in the country’s currency, the rouble, and a financial crisis.Its government might have to bail out the banking system, at great expense. However, it has built up reserves of over $630bn (£464bn) to deal with economic shocks.
The UK government has also threatened further action against Russian money in London financial institutions and banks. It has promised to push through long-delayed measures requiring people to say where their cash comes from.
Banning exports of high-tech goods to Russia – such as semiconductor microchips – could affect Russia’s defence and aerospace sectors and industries such as car production.
What other sanctions could Russia face?
Western nations could also look at the option of blocking Russian oil and gas exports – which make up a fifth of Russia’s economy and half of its earnings from exports.
As such, refusing to buy its oil and gas would be a very tough sanction.
However, it would also be damaging to Western nations that rely on it.Russia supplies 26% of the EU’s crude oil and 38% of its gas. Even a brief cut in gas supply would raise energy prices.
Good question, HDLG. Scorched earth policy? Well, in Ukraine’s case their pipeline infrastructure is the lifeblood of their economy as collect large fees from `Russia. It’s no secret that Ukraine was against the Nord pipeline from the beginning since it would compete with their own and hence less transfer fees. Notice one thing though, during this invasion are there any reports of extensive damage by the Russian’s to Ukraine’s pipeline facilities? It would be in Russia’s interest, a priority, to cripple Ukraine’s economy early on, don’t you think?
BigG:
“…Unfortunately that was always going to be the way of it. They have too many things they
don’t want disrupted, and as I said many pages back, they don’t want
to get their feet dirty getting involved. That was always going to be
the way of it.”Good thinking.
I would argue that “this way of it” could have been avoided had NATO invited Ukraine to join in 1997 similar to Czech Republic, Hungry, and Poland which they acceded to NATO in 1999. Why didn’t NATO take that opportunity? Did Ukraine not meet their interests? It’s very unlikely that Russia would have done anything to prevent this from happing given its own internal social, political and economic turmoil at that time. Their economy was sinking, they defaulted on their debt, no real political leadership, the oligarchs were grabbing former state-owned enterprises and becoming billionaires overnight, rampant corruption, and Russian people could not yet adjust to democratic/capitalist way of life as Soviet Russia was still being seen very clearly in the rearview mirror. That was not the time to be concerned about NATO’s ambitions.
Fast forward 5 years to 2004. Putin is in Power. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Accede to NATO. Again, Ukraine was left out. Why? But, something is odd here. Putin didn’t invade either of these countries before they joined NATO. Why? After all, they’re right next door to Russia just like Ukraine is. What is going on here? The mainstream media is feeding us this “NATO story” every minute of the day. But, it’s not about NATO. It’s more to do with pure economics than any NATO issue. There could be other issues in the background, but Ukraine joining NATO is not one of them. Putin doesn’t care. I believe what he really cares about is ensuring that his oil and gas flows uninterrupted to Western Europe. This is what Angela Merkel wanted most: security of supply. You may recall that following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent conflicts in Eastern Ukraine that Ukraine, on several occasions, threatened to cut-off Russian gas from passing through their pipeline system even though they receive a hefty fee for this service. Putin didn’t like. But, Angela Merkel and Germany were extremely concerned. Hence, the dispatching of Gerhard Schroder (the former German chancellor) to Rosneft to serve as its chairman (of course with Putin approval). I don’t believe Schroder was sent there because of his business acumen. That’s my take. It’s not about NATO. If it was, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania would have had never become members. Zero chance!
CAS:
“I think we need to realise that when the most powerful country in Europe closes down all its nuclear power stations because its Green voters do not like them and as a consequence becomes overwhelmingly reliant on Russian gas, it is not exactly going to go out of its way to anger the country that keeps it functioning.”
THIS!
I understand you point, GT.
However, this from the “North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Fact Sheet, July 2016”
Process of Accession
European countries that wish to join NATO are initially invited to begin an Intensified Dialogue with the
Alliance about their aspirations and related reforms. Aspirants may then be invited to join the Membership
Action Plan, a programme which helps nations prepare for possible future membership. Participation does not
guarantee membership, but is a key preparation mechanism.
To join the Alliance, nations are expected to respect the values of the North Atlantic Treaty, and to meet certain
political, economic and military criteria, set out in the Alliance’s 1995 Study on Enlargement. These criteria
include a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy; fair treatment of minority
populations; a commitment to resolve conflicts peacefully; an ability and willingness to make a military
contribution to NATO operations; and a commitment to democratic civil-military relations and institutions.Questions:
1. Is there any evidence that Ukraine was “initially invited to begin an Intensified Dialogue with the Alliance…”?
2. Is there any evidence that Ukraine (the “Aspirant”) was invited to join the “Membership Action Plan….”?
Yes? No?
If they had a “right” join, they would have exercised their right loooooong time ago!
GT: Further to my post above, I think what you’re trying to say is that Ukraine has a right to “seek”, or apply” for, membership in NATO. Am I correct?
GT wrote:
“As I said on page 11 of this thread, BigG…
“Ukraine has the right to become a member of NATO.”….
What right does Ukraine have to become a member? Where is it explicitly written in the NATO charter or UN charter that Ukraine has such a right? Then why doesn’t Ukraine exercise its right to membership in NATO?If such logic is correct, then Russia or any other country on the plant has the same right, true?
I have have a right to free speech, a right to vote, a right to assembly, which are given to me by my country’s constitution. I exercise my rights every day. Why can’t Ukraine?
BTW GT: the volume of trading was huge over the last couple of days. And this is not from retail investors but large institutions, “smart money”. This tells me that something’s up…otherwise, why would the markets tank day-after-day prior to the invasion, but once invasion happened there was a large bounce.
Clive,
Markets a more forward-looking than you think. Yes, things happen over the short-term but with a long-term view!
GT: A “small bounce back”? For instance, Moscow’s stock exchange first tanked 50% and the recovered to over +30%; that’s about a 90% move in absolute terms. How often do you seesuch moves? Significant turnarounds happened at major exchanges worldwide. Again, this suggests that hostilities may not move beyond Ukraine, as the media like to scare monger?
