Things Noticeable this week

[tsunamiSD]

and gets punched in the face a lot...

Martin Shkreli is found guilty of three of eight securities fraud charges

A Brooklyn jury on Friday found Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager notorious for brazenly raising the price of a critical drug, guilty of defrauding his investors. Shkreli shook his head in apparent disbelief as the first of three guilty verdicts was read. His father, who attended every day of the more than four-week trial, put his head in hands. Shkreli, who was acquitted on five other charges, faces up to 20 years in prison, though legal experts say he is likely to be sentenced to much less.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by haroldeye

I've checked and it was Mitterand. When the trial was ongoing Chirac was President and claimed immunity by his position. Not quite the same as not being prosecuted though.

I stand corrected.

But just to be more precise, Chirac didn't claim immunity for this affair.

He claimed immunity for two other affairs that had nothing to do with the "Elf affair".
These affairs were the "Affaire des emplois fictifs de la mairie de Paris" (Case of fictitious jobs of the Paris City Hall) and the "Financement illégal du RPR" (the illegal financing of his party).

[Rogerbh]

Originally Posted by tsunamiSD

and gets punched in the face a lot...

Martin Shkreli is found guilty of three of eight securities fraud charges

I hope he gets in General Population for at least a while. He can become someone's bitch.

Too bad he will get Club Fed.

[Wendigo]

Originally Posted by Rogerbh

I hope he gets in General Population for at least a while. He can become someone's bitch.

Too bad he will get Club Fed.

With any luck the prison hospital staff will vastly increase the price of any personal medication that slithering, slime-trail laying toerag may need

[Greenman]

Being bought up in an atmosphere of Athletics I am not really surprised that we sell out stadia even it comes to Olympics/Paralympics or World/para athletics but the biggest surprise to me is why we've never gone after other stuff like that, surely after 2012 the world could see we could easily organise big events AND fill the stadiums, arenas etc. The biggest day crowds in any Olympics/Paralympics and now the Worlds. Perhaps we can start to vie for other big tournaments like World Cups etc as it would be nice to see another Football oWorld Cup in my lifetime here.

[rewbear]

Originally Posted by Greenman

Being bought up in an atmosphere of Athletics I am not really surprised that we sell out stadia even it comes to Olympics/Paralympics or World/para athletics but the biggest surprise to me is why we've never gone after other stuff like that, surely after 2012 the world could see we could easily organise big events AND fill the stadiums, arenas etc. The biggest day crowds in any Olympics/Paralympics and now the Worlds. Perhaps we can start to vie for other big tournaments like World Cups etc as it would be nice to see another Football World Cup in my lifetime here.

Following the fiasco surrounding the '22 and '26 World Cup bid process it should be patently clear why we don't get major football tournaments - we don't pay a large enough bung. Plus there was the negative publicity surrounding the ticket allocation for the 2012 Olympics (how do other nations do it that's so much fairer?)

Like the Greenman I would like to see another World Cup held in England but the cost being so prohibitive it would have to be shared amongst all the home Nations, and getting a consensus on that in the current political climate would be a major acchievement in itself. Quantitative easing aside I can't see us being able to afford it in the foreseeable future, more's the pity.

[anothercustom]

Originally Posted by rewbear

Quantitative easing aside I can't see us being able to afford it in the foreseeable future, more's the pity.

The upper-echelons of the professional game and the contolling associations are morally and financially corrupt. If the Football Association want to bid again for the World Cup then they, their "Official Partners" and the Premier League can pay for every last penny of it, including the all important "brown envelopes". Anyway, apart from the occasional classic game (Germay thrashing Brazil), I've found much of the last few world cups to be somewhat underwhelming i.e. Spain's Tiki-taka football (technically brilliant but mind-numbingly boring to watch) and too many team's now playing for the draw.

[rewbear]

Originally Posted by anothercustom

The upper-echelons of the professional game and the contolling associations are morally and financially corrupt. If the Football Association want to bid again for the World Cup then they, their "Official Partners" and the Premier League can pay for every last penny of it, including the all important "brown envelopes". Anyway, apart from the occasional classic game (Germay thrashing Brazil), I've found much of the last few world cups to be somewhat underwhelming i.e. Spain's Tiki-taka football (technically brilliant but mind-numbingly boring to watch) and too many team's now playing for the draw.

It has certainly been true of recent times that major international football tournaments, far from being the showpieces that they should be, often turn out to be merely showrooms for the more prominent players. (See what I did there?) This often results in 'no lose' football, although Spain's method, deriving as it did from Barcelona's, was merely an extension of their league. Then you get teams such as Iceland, who, notwithstanding the fact that they thrashed our asses, did at least play to their strengths, and as much as we tried against them, were successful.

IMO it needs a major shake-up in the format of the tournaments. Instead of 8 groups of four teams, where draws between the strongest teams in a group mean so much more, there should be 4 groups of 8 teams, randomly drawn, or at least only 4 teams seeded to a different group. With only 2 or 4 teams progressing from each group draws mean much less. Also, if the recently introduced system at the Rugby World Cup of bonus points for larger margins of victory were adopted (although it would need fine-tuning to something like 1 bonus point for a 3 goal victory) then more open, attacking football might be seen. What do you guys think?

[Greenman]

Have you noticed that when we get to a major sporting event it doesn't matter how good the individual has been throughout the year OR team has done in other minor events we always croak it be it football, athletics or tennis to give but three examples...are they that nervous that they cannot perform properly? Surely it can work to your favour being in front of a home crowd like the athletics, but for some it was too much like Holly Bradshaw in the Pole Vault or KJThompson in the Hepthatlon-virtually cast-iron medal chances thwarted due to nerves or sloppy performances. One day we might get it right...and one day we might take part in other field events like the javelin and triple jump where we were once very good both men & women.

I do think it is a bit odd that Justin Gatlin's agent Renaldo Nehamiah thinks it was disrespectful of Steve Cram to speak out against him and for the Britsh crowd to boo him in the 100m - there is a good reason for that two drug bans for starters and those of you who remember Nehamiah will recall that he was once caught doping too, so I would say we had every right to show our disgust at a two-time drug cheat. WADA the governing body have a lot to answer for.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Greenman

Have you noticed that when we get to a major sporting event it doesn't matter how good the individual has been throughout the year OR team has done in other minor events we always croak it be it football, athletics or tennis...

Don't be harsh on yourself. You only have about 1% of the world's population but do well in world sport