tagged w/ IOC
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"Saudi Arabia look likely to be the only nation competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games without a single female among their team.
Having discussed the issue in Quebec yesterday, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) talks resulted in them not imposing any sanctions on the Middle Easterners.
IOC President Jacques Rogge, under pressure from human rights and sports groups to force Saudi Arabia to have female athletes as part of its London delegation, refused to consider the possibility of sanctions against the Gulf state or allow Saudi women to compete under a neutral flag.
'There is absolutely no reason to consider the participation of Saudi women under an IOC flag,' he added.
Human Rights Watch's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said: 'Saudi Arabia is the last hold-out denying women and girls the ability to take part in sports.
'The Saudi government’s position should trigger serious scrutiny by the Olympic family. The dismal and unequal conditions for women and girls who seek to practice sports in Saudi Arabia need to change now.'
The London Games were set to be the first where every nation included a woman in their delegation, but the Saudis seem set to successfully resist such calls.
Earlier this year, Saudi Olympic Committee president Prince Nawaf bin Faisal refused to endorse female participation in the English capital.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia fielded all-male teams, but this year the former two have confirmed they female athletes will represent their countries.""Saudi Arabia look likely to be the only nation competing at the London 2012... more
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The Vancouver 2010 Games may be over but they're still delivering lessons to future organizing committees on what not to do. This week Vanoc has been sharing what they learned with the Sochi 2014 crewThe Vancouver 2010 Games may be over but they're still delivering lessons to... more
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The Vancouver 2010 Games may be over but they're still delivering lessons to future organizing committees on what not to do. This week Vanoc has been sharing what they learned with the Sochi 2014 crew.The Vancouver 2010 Games may be over but they're still delivering lessons to... more
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As an NYC 2012 supporter, I say, what was it going to take. What was going to be enough. I am looking forward to 2016, not so much for 2012. I will still be bitter and will probably post comparative weather for those 16 days. I do not think the IOC will be aware of just how much they changed the olympic movement once they get to 2014 & 2016. The elephant in the room is where these two votes (2012 & 2016) an anywhere but there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/20/AR2010022003241.htmlAs an NYC 2012 supporter, I say, what was it going to take. What was going to be... more
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Luger from republic of Georgia dies after serious crash
By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY
WHISTLER — Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia was killed when he crashed and flew off the track during the final day of men’s Olympic luge training Friday.The IOC confirmed that Kumaritashvili has died.
See the Full Story On this Olympic Death ... Luger Is Killed ....http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/luger-from-republic-of-georgia-dies-after-serious-crash/Luger from republic of Georgia dies after serious crash
By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY... more
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The Australian Olympic Team and the IOC engage in a battle of wills over a "fighting kangaroo" flag.The Australian Olympic Team and the IOC engage in a battle of wills over a... more
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COPENHAGEN — The Olympics were awarded to a South American city for the first time, when the International Olympic Committee voted Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Games on Friday.COPENHAGEN — The Olympics were awarded to a South American city for the first... more
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Nettle
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added this
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2 years ago
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Roughly 250 people gathered outside City Hall in downtown Chicago this evening to protest the city's bid for the 2016 Olympic games. Protesters criticized Obama for traveling to Copenhagen to back the Chicago bid, and cited Mayor Daley's recent follies - like selling the city's parking meters to a privately-owned company - as evidence of the city's inability to host the games. Partially coordinated by the non-profit organization www.nogameschicago.org , the demonstration comes just days before the IOC announces its decision as to which candidate city wins the bid.
Although the Olympics will increase tourism, revenue, and job offerings in Chicago, protestors believe the games will not benefit the average Chicago citizen - stating they will uproot low-income families from their homes to make room for stadiums, pave over public parks, and ultimately add to the city's $300 million deficit.Roughly 250 people gathered outside City Hall in downtown Chicago this evening to... more
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) ceased from the idea of torch relay for the 2012 London Olympic Games because of fear for incidents.International Olympic Committee (IOC) ceased from the idea of torch relay for the 2012... more
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The International Olympic Committee will retest all doping samples from the Beijing Games to check for traces of a new blood-boosting drug.The International Olympic Committee will retest all doping samples from the Beijing... more
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www.ArtofPeaceFoundation.org. As a show of solidarity with the Dalai Lama and Tibet, 20 artists have come together to release this historic double album on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. These recordings - some original for the project and some acoustically driven recordings of previously released songs - express our common vulnerabilities and experiences in pursuing happiness, peace and freedom. Collectively, these tracks represent a heartfelt message of support for the path of compassion and non-violence championed by the Dalai Lama. Begun in May of 2008 and completed in two months, the outpouring of support from all corners of the world was unparalleled. Funds raised from the album by the Foundation will go to support peace initiatives and Tibetan cultural preservation projects important to the Dalai Lama.
As the start of the Bejing Olympics nears, we applaud the athletes and the people of China in their accomplishment.
Unfortunately promises made by the Chinese Government to the I.O.C. have been broken over and over, including China's promise to remove the "Great Firewall of China" which blocks access to the internet and information.
Journalists who are reporting on the Olympics are still being blocked and hindered as of today.www.ArtofPeaceFoundation.org. As a show of solidarity with the Dalai Lama and Tibet,... more
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Michael Phelps' love life has been the source of many rumors over the last week — including, most notably, his connections to fellow gold medalist Amanda Beard and British model Lily Donaldson. But the question of Michael Phelps' girlfriend may have been put to rest after the swimmer was spotted making out in Beijing with Australian swimming sensation Stephanie Rice.
Michael Phelps doesn't have a girlfriend, but he celebrated his record-breaking eight gold medals in Beijing by sneaking off for a sizzling game of tonsil hockey with one of Australia's hottest Olympians.
Phelps, fresh from shattering Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record, was spotted Monday night in a hot make-out session with Down Under swimmer Stephanie Rice at a celebratory bash outside the Olympic Village.
The day after the face-sucking frolics, Phelps and Rice cheekily posed together for Speedo - laughing and playfully groping each other as a photographer snapped them in their swimsuits. "I definitely admire him for his athletic ability and everything he's achieved," gushed Rice, who won three gold medals of her own. "I'm just really glad to be in the mix with that."
Michael Phelps' love life has been the source of many rumors over the last week... more
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Was she 14 or 16? Who knows but we may find out...
excerpt...
The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete.
An IOC official told The Times that because of "discrepancies" that have come to light about the age of He Kexin, the host nation’s darling who won gold in both team and individual events, an official inquiry has been launched that could result in the gymnast being stripped of her medals. Was she 14 or 16? Who knows but we may find out...
excerpt...
The International... more
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With the parents growing indignant and the Beijing Games winding down, the International Olympic Committee wants to ``put to rest'' persistent questions about the age of China's gold medal women's gymnastics team.With the parents growing indignant and the Beijing Games winding down, the... more
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"BEIJING -- Despite persistent questions about the ages of several members of the Chinese women's gymnastics team that won the gold medal, the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is still no proof anyone cheated and believes the controversy will be "put to rest."
The IOC asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate "what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies," spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. But all of the information the Chinese gymnastics federation has presented so far supports its insistence that its athletes were old enough to compete.
"We believe the matter will be put to rest and there's no question ... on the eligibility," Davies said. "The information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation -- including birth certificates.""
Head in sand, people."BEIJING -- Despite persistent questions about the ages of several members of the... more
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Hackers have unearthed more compelling evidence that China's dual-gold medal winning gymnast He Kexin is underaged and should have been barred from competing at the Olympics.
A US-based internet security consultant and part-time hacker calling himself "Stryde Hax" has trawled through the search results on Google, Google China and the Chinese search engine Baidu, unearthing numerous examples of cached official Excel spreadsheet showing He Kexin listed as being born on January 1, 1994.
Search engines work by trawling the web and indexing search results. They usually take a snapshot of their findings at the same time in a process known as caching. So while original web pages can expire or be removed, the cached snapshot of the page can usually still be recovered.
The 1.42-metre (4'8") tall gymnast was part of the women's gymnastic team which won gold and then took an individual gold medal in the uneven bars at the Beijing Olympics. If correct, that would make her 14 instead of 16 and under the competition rules, gymnasts must be aged 16 in the year an Olympics takes place in order to qualify to compete.
The rules were put into place to avoid exploiting younger gymnasts, who have more flexible bodies.
Hackers have unearthed more compelling evidence that China's dual-gold medal... more
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has requested the Swedish government to stop notorious file sharing site The Pirate Bay ( http://thepiratebay.org ) from distributing recordings of the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
"The rights to the opening ceremony cost big money and all forms of pirate copies are forbidden", according to Gunilla Lindberg, one of the IOC's four vice-presidents. The IOC had written a letter to the Swedish government, "requesting the government to ensure that The Pirate Bay remove the recordings."
Justice Minister Beatrice Ask (m) told TT news agency that she understood the IOC's position. "They want to know what the government can do to help them in this issue. They want to find out about their legal rights in Sweden and how we work to prevent internet piracy," she said. However, Ask pointed out that the government could not intervene in an individual case and said it was normal procedure to refer the matter to the police.
But the IOC is not just targeting Sweden. According to Gunilla Lindberg, the IOC has sent out a number of letters to other countries where similar file sharing sites have distributed recordings from the Olympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has requested the Swedish government to stop... more
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The Pirate Bay has a new logo, at least temporarily.
The world's most notorious torrent-tracking site has temporarily renamed itself The Beijing Bay after the International Olympic Committee sought the assistance of the Swedish government to stop it from tracking clips from the ongoing Olympics in Beijing.
The IOC claimed Monday there were more than 1 million downloads of footage from the Olympics -- mostly of the opening ceremony. TorrentFreak was the first English-speaking site to report the news.
The Swedish government has already charged the Pirate Bay operators, based in Sweden, with copyright infringement. No trial date has been set.
The Pirate Bay, which tracks millions of copyrighted works available to users for free, has no intention of shutting down or of shuttering its Olympic trackers.The Pirate Bay has a new logo, at least temporarily.
The world's most... more
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This week, close to two million people have downloaded the Olympics opening ceremony, which makes it the most pirated TV-show of the week - again. The International Olympic Committee is not too happy about it, and they are urging the Swedish government to take on The Pirate Bay.
top gearLast week we reported that the Opening Ceremony had been downloaded by more than a million people, and this figure has doubled over the past 7 days. However, there is less demand for the other Olympic events, as most of these get less than 20,000 downloads.
Compared to 2004, the availability of Olympic events on BitTorrent has grown significantly, both in quantity and quality. Interestingly, the demand for Olympic torrents is the greatest in China, as 65% of the people who downloaded the Openings Ceremony come from the host country.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is not pleased seeing their shows on BitTorrent sites though. Yesterday they even sent a letter (read it here) to the Swedish Minister of Justice, urging her to take on The Pirate Bay. From the letter, it looks like they have been reading last week’s article. “Our technical advisor Informs us that as many as 1 million copies of the Opening Ceremony have been illegally downloaded worldwide, with the most significant activity taking place through Pirate Bay,” they write.
The IOC claims to have contacted The Pirate Bay with a takedown request, but turned to the Minister when they got no response. The Pirate Bay denies this, and Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde writes: “The phone hasn’t rung. And I guess their e-mail probably got caught in the Chinese firewall, since TPB is blocked there.”
From the letter, it seems that the IOC is predicting that the Closing Ceremony will hit BitTorrent immediately after the fireworks. “We are also gravely concerned about the upcoming Closing Ceremony on August 24, as it is entirely predictable that illegal copies of that event will be immediately made available through the Pirate Bay.” They are right of course, and we’re afraid that the Swedish government can’t do much about it either.
Today, the Minister said in a radio interview that The Pirate Bay is not really good promotion for Sweden (although some would disagree), but that there is indeed little they can do to stop the tracker from hosting torrent files.
It is not clear why the IOC is going after the Pirate Bay, and not any of the other BitTorrent sites. Of course, they are the most outspoken, but the majority of all the Olympic torrents are downloaded from other sites. Most BitTorrent sites do take down torrents when they are asked to, so it might be a good idea to start there….
Below is this week’s chart of the most pirated TV-shows on BitTorrent, the Olympics Opening Ceremony tops the chart again. The data for the TV-torrent chart is collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.
Top Downloads August 10 - August 17
Ranking (last week) TV-show
1 (1) Olympics 2008 Opening Ceremony
2 (2) Weeds
3 (3) Eureka
4 (4) Generation Kill
5 (5) Burn Notice
6 (back) Stargate Atlantis
7 (new) Fifth Gear
8 (10) Mad Men
9 (6) Psych
10 (back) MythbustersThis week, close to two million people have downloaded the Olympics opening ceremony,... more
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