Tag: Olympics

ICE For The Winter Olympics

We are less than a month away from the winter Olympics in Italy and as usual Donny has a plan to try and fuck up the gathering….

Trump fielded calls on Sunday from Republicans including Sen. Lindsey Graham warning him that the White House’s immigration agenda was at risk because of the grim TV images, and that Trump needed to make moves quickly, reports the Wall Street Journal. Getting rid of Bovino was an easy first step, per Axios. “He’s a cowboy, and it was a mess,” a source familiar with the president’s thinking tells the outlet. “It was only escalation, and no one was going to back down. Homan going in is a good thing. Someone needed to step in.”

Trump also adopted a much friendlier tone toward Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after the two spoke by phone on Monday. The Journal reports on part of a deal they struck: Trump would pull some federal agents out of the city if Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey provided more cooperation to the remaining agents who are trying to arrest people in the US illegally. The first agents are expected to leave on Tuesday. House Democrats, meanwhile, plan to open an investigation into Noem next week as part of a push to impeach her, reports the Washington Post.

(apnews.com)

What part of the Olympics should be a concern for ICE?

What is Donny lame ass game?

With this stupid announcement Italy has responded to Donny’s plan….

Milan’s leader says ICE agents aren’t welcome in the city following reports that they’ll have a role in US security at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicking off next week. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the reports Tuesday, per CNN, saying ICE would have a “security role” but would not conduct immigration enforcement operations. ICE said its Homeland Security Investigations division would support the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and the “host nation” to consider risks from “transnational” criminal groups, while conceding that “all security operations remain under Italian authority,” per CBS News.

HSI has helped with security at various international events, including Olympic Games, per the AP. But there’s intense backlash to the plan this year given the international uproar over ICE operations and the killings of US citizens, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala on Tuesday blasted the alleged plan, calling ICE “a militia that kills” in an interview with Italian media. He accused the agency of entering homes on its own authority and said there was no guarantee of adherence to Italy’s “democratic security management methods.” “It’s clear that they’re not welcome in Milan,” he said. “We can take care of their security ourselves.”

Veteran Italian lawmaker Carlo Calenda warned the “out-of-control militia … must not set foot in Italy,” per CNN, while former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged officials to stop “bowing” to the US. Despite his criticism, Sala acknowledged the diplomatic realities of challenging Washington, asking rhetorically, “Could we ever say no to Trump?” But the answer may be yes. According to the BBC, Italy’s interior ministry insisted Monday that “ICE will certainly not operate on Italian national territory.” The backlash, including several public petitions, intensified after Italian state TV aired footage from Minneapolis that showed ICE agents threatening to smash the windows of a vehicle carrying its crew.

It is sad that Donny creates the chaos on our cities now he wants to do the same internationally.

WTF?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Paris–2024 Summer Olympics

It is a Summer Sunday and the Summer Olympics are in full swing….let’s talk about that?

But first I would like to ask….who the Hell is on the selection committee for an inclusion?

To me it looks like a 15 year old….we have trampoline gymnastic, skateboarding and wind surfing….and now break dancing…..an yet a sport played in 90+ countries that has been around since the dinosaur (if you believe we co-existed), lacrosse, is not in the Olympics…..at this rate it is only a matter of time before adult wiffel ball, kick ball and Frisbee tossing will be a recognized sport for the Olympics.

Sorry had to rant a bit.

I admit it I like the Summer Olympics because I can watch international handball and rugby sevens….after those two it is so much noise in the background.

One question….why is break dancing an Olympic sport?  (sorry to be redundant)

I thought I would take a look at the sports over the years that have been eliminated from the Olympics for whatever reason…..that’s right….a little history….

We look at sports like chariot racing, balloon racing, dueling, etc….

When the first modern Olympics kicked off in Athens in 1896, it wasn’t clear they’d last. After a so-so debut, the Olympic Games continued in 1900 and 1904, but not as a main attraction. Both were part of the world’s fairs in Paris and St. Louis, respectively.

“This is difficult for us to sort of conceive in the modern age,” says Craig Greenham, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Windsor in Ontario, but the 1900 and 1904 Olympics were “second fiddle to the world’s fairs.”

In fact, some people who attended the world’s fairs ended up signing up for and competing in the Olympic Games while they were there, Greenham says.

The Olympic Games in the early 20th century were still trying to find their footing, and some of their events might seem a bit unusual to today’s sports fans.

Here are some of the quirkier discontinued Olympic competitions, as well as a couple of ancient games that never crossed over to the modern Olympics.

https://www.history.com/news/olympic-events-discontinued

 I think the likes of dressage and horse jumping should have been eliminating after the birth of the auto…..but I guess we must let the wealthy have their day and not feel left out.

Then news from the Olympics.

A bit of a scandal in 2024 that you probably have not heard much about….a child rapist competes….

From our Orange friends from the Low Lands…..

Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde will compete in the Paris Olympics, but he won’t be staying in the athletes village, and he won’t be talking to reporters, as per the Dutch Olympic Committee. That’s because the 29-year-old competitor from the Netherlands served time in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl in 2014, reports the Athletic.

  • The crime: In 2016, van de Velde confessed to flying to the UK to meet and rape the child he’d been talking to online for several months. He was busted after he told the girl to get the morning-after pill and the clinic she tried to acquire it from notified authorities due to her age. Van de Velde was sentenced to four years; he served 13 months after being transferred back to the Netherlands. He’s registered as a sex offender in the UK.
  • Aftermath: A year after his release, van de Velde said in an interview that he’d still been “figuring things out” when the assault took place (he was 19 at the time). “I was sort of lost and now I have so much more life experience,” he said. He went on to continue playing volleyball internationally, and married in 2022. He and his wife, German volleyball player Kim van de Velde, have a 2-year-old son.
  • Van de Velde now: “I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life,” he said last month, per the AP.
  • Dutch Olympic Committee: The group says that van de Velde has gone through an “extensive rehabilitation program” and that it’s confident he won’t be a repeat offender, per the Athletic. “He is proving to be an exemplary professional and human being and there has been no reason to doubt him since his return,” says Michel Everaert, general director of the Dutch Volleyball Federation.
  • IOC probe? The Guardian reports that the group is now facing calls for an investigation, with the head of Rape Crisis England & Wales calling van de Velde’s inclusion “irresponsible.” “If you can rape a child and still compete in the Olympics, despite all athletes signing a declaration promising to be a role model, that is just shocking,” says Ciara Bergman. A petition with more than 80,000 signatures is circulating, calling on the IOC to not allow sex offenders to compete.

My problem is the term ‘rehabilitation’….sorry but I do not believe that at all….that perverted desire does not just go away…..

Any thoughts?

A small update….the LA28 Olympics will have new sports for competition….cricket (seriously?), squash (does anyone still play?), flag football (why?) and finally lacrosse (about damn time).

Enjoy whatever activity you pursue on this Sunday…..and as usual…..Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–23Feb22

Just days ago the Winter Olympics ended with Norway running away with the meddle count….the US could not manage many medals……..

I use to cross country ski so those events are to my liking……

A whole new meaning to the term ‘blue balls’…..

A cross-country skier froze in a very sensitive spot following the men’s 50km mass start skiiing race at the Beijing Olympics Saturday. After finishing 28th, Remi Lindholm of Finland applied a heat pack to his genital area, the Guardian reports. “You can guess which body part was a little bit frozen when I finished,” he told reporters. “When the body parts started to warm up after the finish, the pain was unbearable.”

Organizers had been concerned about competitors because of Saturday’s freezing winds, Reuters reports. They ultimately shortened the race by 20km, making it just 30km long, but Lindholm still told reporters it was “one of the worst competitions I’ve been in.” He was on the course an hour and 16 minutes, the New York Post reports. Skiers wear only thin suits and under-layers along with plasters covering their faces and ears.

Alexander Bolshunov took gold, followed by his teammate Ivan Yakimushkin. Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krueger took bronze in his only Olympic event due to a lengthy isolation period following a positive COVID test. “Just to get to the race today is a small victory in itself and the rest is really a bonus. I think I got absolutely everything out of my body today and I didn’t have a chance to do any better,” he said. Bolshunov is now the only man to have won five cross-country medals at one Olympics; in addition to his three golds, he took home a silver and a bronze, having medaled in every event in which he competed.

Broken bones….strained muscles…..but frozen genitals is not something one would expect as a hazard for the Olympic sports.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Gentlemen–Start Your Engines

The weekend and I am in search of something different for posts….continuing my attempts at FYI.

The Olympics is approaching and there is a try to get a certain “sport” that is pressuring the committees to include it…..the sport is “pole dancing”……not just for strip clubs anymore….at least that is their belief……

Normally associated with seedy night clubs, pole dance is desperate to distance itself from of an undesirable image, and supporters believe the gymnastic and acrobatic elements of ‘Pole Sport’ warrants Olympic Games recognition.

In 2016, The International Pole Sport Federation (IPSF) submitted a request to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Pole Sport to be officially acknowledged as a sport.

Pole Sport practitioners are working hard to challenge stereotypes, rid itself of preconceptions and promote a family friendly and competitive environment in order to gain recognition, which is something as diverse as breakdancing has provisionally achieved.

RT Sport hooked up with Nyashi Dance school in Moscow to find out why Pole Sport deserves Olympic recognition.

https://youtu.be/hZZdAGMmXUk

Gentlemen! I have wonderful news that I know you’re going to want to hear: As of early this month, the Global Association of International Sports Federation granted pole dancing “observer status,” meaning it’s officially recognized as a sport! Woohoo!

I’m sure pole-dancing women everywhere are overjoyed, because they know for a fact that it takes a shit ton of coordination, strength, and skill to spin around a pole with a single arm and hang upside down and still manage to look insanely hot.

https://www.maxim.com/sports/pole-dancing-olympic-sport-2017-10

Okay my thoughts…..the Olympics are for actually sports…..to me there are too many “sports” included that should be eliminated….horse dancing, sailing, circumcised (yes I know it is the wrong word) swimming…a few year back they eliminated softball but kept horse dancing….why?

What is next a “spin class” event for the Olympics….how about mountain climbing?

This could be the hot ticket if the outfits befit the idea of “pole dancing”…..talented yes…….. a sport not really.

That is my offerings for the day….I need to nurse an aching back….enjoy your Sunday and thanx for your time.

Dark Side Of The Olympics

In case my reader is unaware…..the 23rd Olympics is in full swing (the  US is not doing so well)….one of the more popular events of the Olympics is figure skating (I had rather watch Curling)…..but this sport has a darker side (not the same as the darker side of gymnastics)…..eating disorders…..

Figure skating….all the beauty and grce hides some ugly side effects…..

The figure skating competition has grabbed headlines at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

However, two competitors who made huge impact four years ago are absent from the Games.

US skater Gracie Gold, 18 at the Sochi Olympics four years ago, seemed destined for bigger things after winning team bronze, while 15-year-old Russian skater Yulia Lipnitskaya dazzled the crowds with her flexibility, grace and technique on the way to gold.

But due to eating disorders, both have quit the sport permanently.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/eating-disorders-dark-side-figure-skating-180214121827556.html

Not something they want to hype for the games for it may dampen the enthusiasm for the games.  That is the ugliness……image is more important the sport.

Doping is not the worse thing that could happen to a competitor.

Body image is a real problem apparently….I even heard an announcer comment that one of the curlers had to lose 30 lbs if he wanted to be on the team….really?  You have to have 6 pack abs to slide a stone down the ice?

Closing Thought–14Feb18

The 23rd Olympics is in full swing and I am sure that each reader is following their favorite country/sport….but since I am not your typical blogger I will give you some news that your local station has probably missed…..

  • First doping bust. Japanese short track speedskater Kei Saito has become the first athlete kicked out of Pyeongchang for a doping violation, NBC reports. Authorities say the 21-year-old voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension after he tested positive for Acetazolamide, a diuretic sometimes taken to mask the use of performance-enhancing substances. He told Japanese media he is “extremely shocked” and plans to clear his name.
  • Lady Liberty hockey masks. USA Hockey says that after discussions with the International Olympic Committee, which had requested that American goalkeepers remove Statue of Liberty logos from their masks, the logos will be allowed to stay, ESPN reports.  (I would have thought the Right wing bozos would have lost their minds over this story…..where has all the right wing patriotic pride?  we will see if any bother to read the post)
  • Going for the record. American Shaun White took top spot in qualifying for Wednesday’s halfpipe event, where he will seek a record third gold medal in snowboarding. “I knew I had it in me, I watched these young guys putting these amazing runs in and it fired me up. I just wanted to show that this is what I have been doing my entire life,” he said, per Reuters.
  • Meanwhile, in North Korea. Kim Jong Un has expressed “satisfaction” over the “very impressive” efforts made by Seoul during a visit from his sister and other high-level North Koreans, the Guardian reports. “It is important to continue making good results by further livening up the warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue created by the strong desire and common will of the North and the South with the Winter Olympics as a momentum,” the North Korean leader said, per state media.
  • Condom record. The BBC reports that Winter Olympics athletes have been handed a record 110,000 condoms, which works out to 38 each. The manufacturer says it doesn’t expect the athletes to use them all over the 16 days of the Games, though Tinder says there has definitely been an increase in matches.

Speaking of  penis…….

Even the bright red lighthouse in the tiny South Korean port of Sinnam is shaped like a penis.

The port is home to Haesindang Park, better known as “Penis Park”, a monument to fertility, born from a legend about a virgin and fish. A normally obscure attraction, it is drawing curious crowds of visitors from the nearby Winter Olympics.

There are penis totem poles, penis benches and penis wind chimes. There is even a penis-shaped cannon, with a warning to tourists that it should not be mounted.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-fertility/south-koreas-penis-park-draws-an-olympic-crowd-idUSKBN1FX127

All the Olympic news you cannot possibly use……back tomorrow with more stuff….chuq

Closing Thought-09Feb18

Let the games begin!

Today is the day the Olympics begin in South Korea….the Winter Games that is….

Most civilized people realize that FOX News is the biggest outlet for bullshit news in the US…..well they have stooped to a new low.

I thought that when FOX anchors attacked the 6 year old grandson of Pelosi was tacky but the next day they out did themselves…..they attacked the American Olympic Team….

Fox News executive editor John Moody has a lot to say about Team USA athletes — but none of it is about their athletic accomplishments.

In an editorial published just ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony, Moody expressed his concern that the “darker, gayer” athletes representing the United States at the 2018 Olympic Games would cost the team medals, and asserted — without any evidence — that some athletes may have been given a spot on Team USA because of their skin color or sexual orientation, rather than their performance.

“Unless it’s changed overnight, the motto of the Olympics, since 1894, has been ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger,’” Moody wrote on FoxNews.com. “It appears the U.S. Olympic Committee would like to change that to ‘Darker, Gayer, Different.’ If your goal is to win medals, that won’t work.”

Moody went on to complain about a recent Washington Post article in which a USOC official expressed pride in the diversity of the 2018 U.S. Olympic delegation, bemoaning what he called an “embarrassing laundry list of how many African-Americans, Asians and openly gay athletes are on this year’s U.S. team.”

Shameful and tacky…but that is expected, right?

This person is what some people, like me, call a douche bag.

The spread of hate and lies and yet there are some Americans that turn to them for news….not really news….they turn to FOX to feed their hatred…..

Time to be off….enjoy your weekend my friends….chuq

The Sochi Games Are Being Held on the Land of Genocide | The Nation

Is it just me or is the news these days just damn boring?  Christie has gotten a break with the stand your ground trial in Florida…yep that place again and then there is all the hoopla over the legalization of weed………

Then there are the Olympics…..the US is winning medals but not from the people we thought we would win them for us…..the big news is there seems to be less interest in the Sochi games than those in Vancouver in 2010…viewership down 12%.

I was gonna write something clever about the Sochi Olympics but I could not think of anything clever to write and then I found this article while I was reading…..a fascinating piece…….

The Sochi Games Are Being Held on the Land of Genocide | The Nation.

2014 Olympics At Sochi, Russia

In honor of the games….I thought I would do a post on the sports and the medals…..okay not really I am just gonna pass on a piece read the other day……

Though the opening ceremonies aren’t until tomorrow, the 2014 Olympics officially kick off today in Sochi—and the Wall Street Journal is ready with its extremely complex medal prediction system, which proved to be accurate to within just a few medals at the last two Olympics. So who’s likely to be the big winner this time around? The Journal predicts Norway will walk away with the most overall medals at 33, followed by the US at 32, Canada at 30, and Germany and Russia at 27 each. As for gold medals, Norway and the US are predicted to tie for the top spot with 13 each. Germany and Canada are also in the top four there, predicted to walk away with 10 and nine gold medals, respectively.

What are the factors at play? Well, consider that Norway has already racked up the most Winter Olympics medals of all time and the most gold medals from the Winter Games. Their athletes are focused on Nordic sports like cross-country and ski jumping: “We concentrate where we can do well,” explains an International Olympic Committee member who organized the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Meanwhile, the US gets a boost from three newly-added competitions in sports at which it excels: snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and women’s ski jumping. But one big problem for the US? Many important athletes are struggling with injuries.

  • A very different model—one that focuses on statistics like a country’s GDP and exports rather than the athletes themselves—predicts the US will win out with 29 medals total, while Norway will only grab 16, Smithsonian reports.
  • And if you’d rather look at betting odds for your prediction, the most recent story on SB Nation says the odds basically agree with the Journal: Norway is favored to be the top gold medal-winner, followed closely by the US, while the US is favored to bring home the most overall medals, followed by Norway.

Regardless who wins or loses……enjoy the sports and the much needed relief from the tacky spectacle that has become modern politics….