http://species-at-risk.mb.ca/projects/pfrp/peregrinations/
Only the heartless wouldn't be moved.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Where Will the Feds Place Their (Our!) Money?
Looks as if a bit of a problem is on the horizon fro Canadian sport, and the federal government.
The Golden Horseshoe is interested in bidding for the 2017 Pam Am Games.
Canadian University Sport (CIS) is thinking of bidding for the FISU (summer games).
And the Commonwealth Games Federation (Canada) would like to have a Canadian bid for the 2015 Commonwealth Games.
Time to dust off that Federal Hosting Policy!
The Golden Horseshoe is interested in bidding for the 2017 Pam Am Games.
Canadian University Sport (CIS) is thinking of bidding for the FISU (summer games).
And the Commonwealth Games Federation (Canada) would like to have a Canadian bid for the 2015 Commonwealth Games.
Time to dust off that Federal Hosting Policy!
IOC in fear of Beijing crackdown
by Paul Kelso, the Guardian
June 7, 2008 at 1.37pm.
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games is just 62 days away, and across the Chinese capital clocks count the days. Among International Olympic Committee executives and members gathered in Athens this week they are counting the hours to a different landmark: "Everyone is counting the days to the opening ceremony," said one senior figure. "Me? I'm looking forward to reaching the closing ceremony on August 24 and getting on the plane home."
Publicly the IOC expresses complete confidence in China's preparations, but behind the optimism lie deep anxieties about the most politically-charged and culturally challenging games in Olympic history.
Many of the senior officials in Athens this week arrived direct from Beijing where they held a series of crisis talks with the authorities following the imposition of a huge security clampdown and a new level of government-led bureaucracy that threatens to disrupt the smooth running of the games.
As well as concerns over making the games work, there are genuine fears that athletes who choose to speak out against the Chinese regime, critical media and any individuals daring to protest publicly could prompt a huge backlash from the authorities and the general public.
At the heart of the IOC's concerns is the political fallout from events of the last three months. Riots in Lahsa, Tibet in March prompted a global wave of anti-Chinese protests which found a convenient focal point in the hapless Beijing Olympic torch relay. What Beijing hoped would be a triumph degenerated into a tawdry public relations fiasco that damaged both China and the IOC.
The response in Beijing has been dramatic. Shaken by events, the Chinese authorities have ordered a huge security clampdown on Olympic sites that threatened to disrupt basic games operations.
According to seasoned Sinophiles in the Olympic movement there has also been a tangible hardening of the public and official mood too. The attacks on the torch relay came as a genuine shock to many Chinese, who feel their country has been unfairly traduced. There is bemusement too at the actions of NGOs including Amnesty that have called on athletes to speak out against the Beijing government. The Chinese code of hospitality does not include insulting your host, and the reaction of the authorities and public to anyone who does criticise China is the great unknown of this Olympiad.
The collision of 20,000 journalists, 10,000 athletes and thousands of foreign spectators with the Chinese is causing acute unease within the IOC, and some influential figures fear that any backlash could be damaging to both the games and the Olympic movement.
Most sensitive is the issue of athletes speaking out. The IOC charter prohibits "propaganda and demonstrations", and the IOC has promised to apply "common sense" when assessing whether the line has been crossed by, for example, the wearing of a Free Tibet T-shirt or an inflammatory press-conference comment.
There are no such guarantees from the elaborate Chinese security apparatus, however, and the current mood in Beijing gives little cause of optimism that they will be indulgent of dissent.
There are technical fears, too. The Chinese central government has taken a tighter grip on the project in the wake of Lhasa, restricting the ability of the Beijing organising committee (Bocog), with which the IOC has worked for seven years, to take meaningful decisions.
New security arrangements have been imposed at many venues, and the IOC fear that the three-cordon procedure proposed by Beijing could prevent athletes, officials and media - the three categories prioritised by the IOC - from being able to smoothly attend venues.
Broadcasters already setting up operations in the city have also experienced difficulties, encountering restricted vehicle access to stadia and finding that permits for filming outside venues are currently taking 21 days to process. With the games lasting just 17 days, the drawbacks are obvious.
The IOC's task in trying to resolve some of these issues has been made harder by the introduction of a new level of bureaucracy, only revealed today. A two-tier command structure has been imposed, with central government officials leading the top tier and Bocog officials and the mayor dealing with day-to-day operations. With decisions usually having to be taken swiftly, the structure poses a major challenge to the smooth running of the games.
Hein Verbruggen, the chairman of the IOC coordination commission that has steered the Beijing games since 2001, acknowledges the challenge. "The biggest challenge that we face is bureaucracy," he said this week. "The Chinese way is to plan everything to the finest detail so there are a lot of procedures in place. But the hospitality and friendliness of the people will be spectacular, and I am absolutely certain the games will leave an incredible legacy for the country."
IOC president Jacques Rogge also expressed confidence that the games would proceed smoothly, and that security arrangements would not ultimately prove overbearing. "We have asked the Chinese to try and find the right balance between security and operations, and I have confidence that they will do so," he said today.
For all the outward confidence, it would be no surprise if Rogge was among those breathing a sigh of relief on August 25.
Doha rejection exposes weakness of the Olympics
When Rogge and his executive board gathered in Athens this week, they knew the agenda was likely to be dominated by the race to host the 2016 games.
What they may not have expected was that a contest likely to be dominated by marquee cities Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid would be swamped in controversy surrounding the ejection of a small Gulf state with more money than genuine prospects of success.
That is what happened however after Doha, the Qatari capital and the first middle-eastern city to bid to host the games, was thrown out of the race on Wednesday evening.
The decision may ultimately have proved correct - there are many reasons why you might consider the tiny desert state an inappropriate venue for the games, starting with the role of women and the treatment of migrant workers - but the cack-handed execution and the subsequent row reveals some deep-seated insecurities in the Olympic movement.
Officially Doha was junked from the race because its request to stage the games in October 2016, thus avoiding the searing summer temperatures of the IOC's preferred window between July 15 and August 31, was rejected.According to bid insiders, Doha had been assured that the dates were no barrier to inclusion in the race, and proceeded with a bid that on technical merits was ranked above Rio and level with Chicago.
Rogge denies that the IOC misled the city, claiming that the decision was made with the interests of athletes in mind. Doha's expulsion still represented a wholesale rejection of the recommendations of the IOC's technical committee, setting a precedent the movement may come to regret.
In the wake of the Salt Lake City scandal that exposed corruption in the bidding process, Rogge oversaw a change in procedure that placed technical merit above the political and personal whims of IOC members. In Doha's case that approach appears to have been set aside, ironically to help prevent a return to the culture of graft that characterised old-school bidding.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Rogge and the executive committee blocked Doha because they did not trust the full IOC membership to make the correct decision in an open vote. The IOC membership is capricious and unpredictable, and had Doha made it on to the short list the full weight of its petro-dollar fortune would have been unleashed on the membership. For an organisation desperate to remove the perception that its members' votes might be for sale, that could have been disastrous.
Perhaps more seriously for the long-term health of the games, the decision exposes the relative weakness of Olympic sport in the international market. An Olympics in October would pitch the games directly against the European football leagues and the NFL and major league baseball in the US. The IOC leadership know that with track-and-field at its lowest ebb, discredited by drug scandals and pushed to the margins as a consequence, the games would be crushed by a humiliating lack of interest.
Simply, the Olympic movement's only chance of sustaining interest and, crucially, broadcast revenue is to sit in a summer window that avoids competition. With the all-important TV negotiations for 2016 that will secure the IOC's medium-term future yet to begin, Rogge was not prepared to allow even the remotest prospect that broadcasters would be asked to pay billions for an autumn games in the desert.
June 7, 2008 at 1.37pm.
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games is just 62 days away, and across the Chinese capital clocks count the days. Among International Olympic Committee executives and members gathered in Athens this week they are counting the hours to a different landmark: "Everyone is counting the days to the opening ceremony," said one senior figure. "Me? I'm looking forward to reaching the closing ceremony on August 24 and getting on the plane home."
Publicly the IOC expresses complete confidence in China's preparations, but behind the optimism lie deep anxieties about the most politically-charged and culturally challenging games in Olympic history.
Many of the senior officials in Athens this week arrived direct from Beijing where they held a series of crisis talks with the authorities following the imposition of a huge security clampdown and a new level of government-led bureaucracy that threatens to disrupt the smooth running of the games.
As well as concerns over making the games work, there are genuine fears that athletes who choose to speak out against the Chinese regime, critical media and any individuals daring to protest publicly could prompt a huge backlash from the authorities and the general public.
At the heart of the IOC's concerns is the political fallout from events of the last three months. Riots in Lahsa, Tibet in March prompted a global wave of anti-Chinese protests which found a convenient focal point in the hapless Beijing Olympic torch relay. What Beijing hoped would be a triumph degenerated into a tawdry public relations fiasco that damaged both China and the IOC.
The response in Beijing has been dramatic. Shaken by events, the Chinese authorities have ordered a huge security clampdown on Olympic sites that threatened to disrupt basic games operations.
According to seasoned Sinophiles in the Olympic movement there has also been a tangible hardening of the public and official mood too. The attacks on the torch relay came as a genuine shock to many Chinese, who feel their country has been unfairly traduced. There is bemusement too at the actions of NGOs including Amnesty that have called on athletes to speak out against the Beijing government. The Chinese code of hospitality does not include insulting your host, and the reaction of the authorities and public to anyone who does criticise China is the great unknown of this Olympiad.
The collision of 20,000 journalists, 10,000 athletes and thousands of foreign spectators with the Chinese is causing acute unease within the IOC, and some influential figures fear that any backlash could be damaging to both the games and the Olympic movement.
Most sensitive is the issue of athletes speaking out. The IOC charter prohibits "propaganda and demonstrations", and the IOC has promised to apply "common sense" when assessing whether the line has been crossed by, for example, the wearing of a Free Tibet T-shirt or an inflammatory press-conference comment.
There are no such guarantees from the elaborate Chinese security apparatus, however, and the current mood in Beijing gives little cause of optimism that they will be indulgent of dissent.
There are technical fears, too. The Chinese central government has taken a tighter grip on the project in the wake of Lhasa, restricting the ability of the Beijing organising committee (Bocog), with which the IOC has worked for seven years, to take meaningful decisions.
New security arrangements have been imposed at many venues, and the IOC fear that the three-cordon procedure proposed by Beijing could prevent athletes, officials and media - the three categories prioritised by the IOC - from being able to smoothly attend venues.
Broadcasters already setting up operations in the city have also experienced difficulties, encountering restricted vehicle access to stadia and finding that permits for filming outside venues are currently taking 21 days to process. With the games lasting just 17 days, the drawbacks are obvious.
The IOC's task in trying to resolve some of these issues has been made harder by the introduction of a new level of bureaucracy, only revealed today. A two-tier command structure has been imposed, with central government officials leading the top tier and Bocog officials and the mayor dealing with day-to-day operations. With decisions usually having to be taken swiftly, the structure poses a major challenge to the smooth running of the games.
Hein Verbruggen, the chairman of the IOC coordination commission that has steered the Beijing games since 2001, acknowledges the challenge. "The biggest challenge that we face is bureaucracy," he said this week. "The Chinese way is to plan everything to the finest detail so there are a lot of procedures in place. But the hospitality and friendliness of the people will be spectacular, and I am absolutely certain the games will leave an incredible legacy for the country."
IOC president Jacques Rogge also expressed confidence that the games would proceed smoothly, and that security arrangements would not ultimately prove overbearing. "We have asked the Chinese to try and find the right balance between security and operations, and I have confidence that they will do so," he said today.
For all the outward confidence, it would be no surprise if Rogge was among those breathing a sigh of relief on August 25.
Doha rejection exposes weakness of the Olympics
When Rogge and his executive board gathered in Athens this week, they knew the agenda was likely to be dominated by the race to host the 2016 games.
What they may not have expected was that a contest likely to be dominated by marquee cities Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid would be swamped in controversy surrounding the ejection of a small Gulf state with more money than genuine prospects of success.
That is what happened however after Doha, the Qatari capital and the first middle-eastern city to bid to host the games, was thrown out of the race on Wednesday evening.
The decision may ultimately have proved correct - there are many reasons why you might consider the tiny desert state an inappropriate venue for the games, starting with the role of women and the treatment of migrant workers - but the cack-handed execution and the subsequent row reveals some deep-seated insecurities in the Olympic movement.
Officially Doha was junked from the race because its request to stage the games in October 2016, thus avoiding the searing summer temperatures of the IOC's preferred window between July 15 and August 31, was rejected.According to bid insiders, Doha had been assured that the dates were no barrier to inclusion in the race, and proceeded with a bid that on technical merits was ranked above Rio and level with Chicago.
Rogge denies that the IOC misled the city, claiming that the decision was made with the interests of athletes in mind. Doha's expulsion still represented a wholesale rejection of the recommendations of the IOC's technical committee, setting a precedent the movement may come to regret.
In the wake of the Salt Lake City scandal that exposed corruption in the bidding process, Rogge oversaw a change in procedure that placed technical merit above the political and personal whims of IOC members. In Doha's case that approach appears to have been set aside, ironically to help prevent a return to the culture of graft that characterised old-school bidding.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Rogge and the executive committee blocked Doha because they did not trust the full IOC membership to make the correct decision in an open vote. The IOC membership is capricious and unpredictable, and had Doha made it on to the short list the full weight of its petro-dollar fortune would have been unleashed on the membership. For an organisation desperate to remove the perception that its members' votes might be for sale, that could have been disastrous.
Perhaps more seriously for the long-term health of the games, the decision exposes the relative weakness of Olympic sport in the international market. An Olympics in October would pitch the games directly against the European football leagues and the NFL and major league baseball in the US. The IOC leadership know that with track-and-field at its lowest ebb, discredited by drug scandals and pushed to the margins as a consequence, the games would be crushed by a humiliating lack of interest.
Simply, the Olympic movement's only chance of sustaining interest and, crucially, broadcast revenue is to sit in a summer window that avoids competition. With the all-important TV negotiations for 2016 that will secure the IOC's medium-term future yet to begin, Rogge was not prepared to allow even the remotest prospect that broadcasters would be asked to pay billions for an autumn games in the desert.
2015 Pan Am Games Possibility in Ontario
Jun 07, 2008 04:30 AM
by Rob Ferguson Queen's Park Bureau, Toronto Star
The Ontario government is backing a $1.77 billion local bid to host the PanAm Games in 2015, seeing it as an audition for the Olympics, the Toronto Star has learned.
Now it's up to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government to decide whether to get on board with Ontario, Toronto and about a dozen municipalities in the Golden Horseshoe in pushing for the summer games.
"We like what we've seen," a senior provincial government source said yesterday after officials finished poring over the business plan for the bid, which will now be sent to Ottawa for review.
The bid envisions "four to six" new Olympic-sized pools for the games that would be held in cities stretching from Niagara, around Lake Ontario to Durham and north to the Barrie area.
"That's just the tip of the iceberg," added the source. "There are all sorts of facilities that would have to be built or refurbished."
They could include Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium, home to the Tiger-Cats of the CFL.
One government official put the number of venues required to host the games at 70 or more, such as Rogers Centre, BMO Field on the CNE grounds and dozens of others for sports ranging from track and field to swimming to basketball.
"It will be a benefit to the economy of the Golden Horseshoe and it could leave a lasting legacy of recreational sports facilities," the provincial source said, estimating the financial impact during the games alone at $45 million from an estimated 10,000 athletes and 250,000 visitors from 42 countries.
The PanAm Games, open to countries in the Americas, are held every four years.
The last was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 and the next will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.
While no money needs to be put on the table yet, Ontario government sources said a cost-sharing plan would see the province and the federal government each put up 35 per cent, or $619.5 million.
Toronto and the other municipalities hoping to host some of the 300 sporting events would pay 30 per cent or $531 million, likely with help from the private sector.
The bid budget covers both capital costs to repair and replace worn-out sports venues as well as operating costs for running the games, which last came to Canada in 1999 when Winnipeg was the host city.
Cost will undoubtedly be a delicate point as the economy slows and government revenues are squeezed. City Hall sources warned earlier this spring that Toronto is willing to sign on as a main bidder providing Queen's Park picks up most of the tab.
But a spokesperson for Mayor David Miller said yesterday that winning federal approval for the games is the immediate goal.
"At this point talking about the funding is premature," said Don Wanagas.
"We're waiting to hear a response from the federal government. Once we see the business case that everybody's ready to get together on this we can talk about financing."
Federal officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The provincial source warned municipalities would have to make "firm commitments for the projects that they want."
At $1.77 billion, the bid value is well within the $1.5 to $2 billion originally estimated by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), which will only support the bid if all levels of government are behind it, the provincial source said.
COC chief executive Chris Rudge told the Star in March that the Golden Horseshoe is its preferred site for the PanAm Games because southern Ontario has one-third of Canada's population but is "dramatically underserviced as far as sports facilities and infrastructure."
Winning the PanAm Games would be a psychological boost for the area given Toronto's two previous failed Olympic bids and Hamilton's failure to win the Commonwealth Games.
The last major, international multi-sport event held in the area was the 1930 British Empire (now Commonwealth) Games, staged in Hamilton, a provincial source said.
Other cities believed to bidding for the 2015 PanAm Games are Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; and Caracas, Venezuela.
by Rob Ferguson Queen's Park Bureau, Toronto Star
The Ontario government is backing a $1.77 billion local bid to host the PanAm Games in 2015, seeing it as an audition for the Olympics, the Toronto Star has learned.
Now it's up to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government to decide whether to get on board with Ontario, Toronto and about a dozen municipalities in the Golden Horseshoe in pushing for the summer games.
"We like what we've seen," a senior provincial government source said yesterday after officials finished poring over the business plan for the bid, which will now be sent to Ottawa for review.
The bid envisions "four to six" new Olympic-sized pools for the games that would be held in cities stretching from Niagara, around Lake Ontario to Durham and north to the Barrie area.
"That's just the tip of the iceberg," added the source. "There are all sorts of facilities that would have to be built or refurbished."
They could include Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium, home to the Tiger-Cats of the CFL.
One government official put the number of venues required to host the games at 70 or more, such as Rogers Centre, BMO Field on the CNE grounds and dozens of others for sports ranging from track and field to swimming to basketball.
"It will be a benefit to the economy of the Golden Horseshoe and it could leave a lasting legacy of recreational sports facilities," the provincial source said, estimating the financial impact during the games alone at $45 million from an estimated 10,000 athletes and 250,000 visitors from 42 countries.
The PanAm Games, open to countries in the Americas, are held every four years.
The last was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 and the next will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.
While no money needs to be put on the table yet, Ontario government sources said a cost-sharing plan would see the province and the federal government each put up 35 per cent, or $619.5 million.
Toronto and the other municipalities hoping to host some of the 300 sporting events would pay 30 per cent or $531 million, likely with help from the private sector.
The bid budget covers both capital costs to repair and replace worn-out sports venues as well as operating costs for running the games, which last came to Canada in 1999 when Winnipeg was the host city.
Cost will undoubtedly be a delicate point as the economy slows and government revenues are squeezed. City Hall sources warned earlier this spring that Toronto is willing to sign on as a main bidder providing Queen's Park picks up most of the tab.
But a spokesperson for Mayor David Miller said yesterday that winning federal approval for the games is the immediate goal.
"At this point talking about the funding is premature," said Don Wanagas.
"We're waiting to hear a response from the federal government. Once we see the business case that everybody's ready to get together on this we can talk about financing."
Federal officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The provincial source warned municipalities would have to make "firm commitments for the projects that they want."
At $1.77 billion, the bid value is well within the $1.5 to $2 billion originally estimated by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), which will only support the bid if all levels of government are behind it, the provincial source said.
COC chief executive Chris Rudge told the Star in March that the Golden Horseshoe is its preferred site for the PanAm Games because southern Ontario has one-third of Canada's population but is "dramatically underserviced as far as sports facilities and infrastructure."
Winning the PanAm Games would be a psychological boost for the area given Toronto's two previous failed Olympic bids and Hamilton's failure to win the Commonwealth Games.
The last major, international multi-sport event held in the area was the 1930 British Empire (now Commonwealth) Games, staged in Hamilton, a provincial source said.
Other cities believed to bidding for the 2015 PanAm Games are Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; and Caracas, Venezuela.
Winnipeg Peregrine Falcons Die
The 3 newly-hatched Peregrine Falcons that were in a nest at the Radisson Hotel in Winnipeg, died June 6th as a result of too much rain pouring into their nest, really extreme cold and water.
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/falcon/
A very sad story.
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/falcon/
A very sad story.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
And Besides.....
The new KINGSTON AQUATICS CENTRE would have many amenities:
One of the amenities would be 2, 25m swimming pools.
Another amenity would be a warm, gradual depth pool that is perfect for children to play in.
Another amenity would be diving boards.
Another amenity would be a nice outdoor patio where visiting families can get a cool drink while their children are playing in the pools.
Another amenity would be lots of light and windows.
What other amenities would YOU like in YOUR new AQUATICS CENTRE? It's YOURs. Have a say!!
One of the amenities would be 2, 25m swimming pools.
Another amenity would be a warm, gradual depth pool that is perfect for children to play in.
Another amenity would be diving boards.
Another amenity would be a nice outdoor patio where visiting families can get a cool drink while their children are playing in the pools.
Another amenity would be lots of light and windows.
What other amenities would YOU like in YOUR new AQUATICS CENTRE? It's YOURs. Have a say!!
Kingston Aquatic Centre
As Kingstonians become more active with spring's arrival, and the prospect of summer, it is discouraging to read and hear incorrect "facts" circulating about efforts to develop an all-season AQUATIC CENTRE in Kingston.
Even the Mayor, who should know better, talks about a 50m pool that only a few will use and want.
This is abslutely untrue.
Everyone who has said they think that we need more pool facilities has also read about or visited fantastic AQUATIC CENTRES that they've seen all over this country, the USA, and Europe. These are "people places" used extensively by rich and poor, swimmers and non-swimmers: people who enjoy life and the fun and relaxation that comes with a facility designed for many activities.
It is time that the Mayor and those who write to The Whig become more educated about AQUATIC CENBTRES/COMPLEXES and stop being so ignorant about what is being discussed. There is plenty of information about a Kingston AQUATIC CENTRE online, available free for everyone. Visit
http://ktownaquaticcentre.ca/
and become informed.
It is not unusual for those who suppoort one position, to spread incorrect info about the "opposition." However, most Canadians intensely dislike dishonest politicians, and are telling them that.
Even the Mayor, who should know better, talks about a 50m pool that only a few will use and want.
This is abslutely untrue.
Everyone who has said they think that we need more pool facilities has also read about or visited fantastic AQUATIC CENTRES that they've seen all over this country, the USA, and Europe. These are "people places" used extensively by rich and poor, swimmers and non-swimmers: people who enjoy life and the fun and relaxation that comes with a facility designed for many activities.
It is time that the Mayor and those who write to The Whig become more educated about AQUATIC CENBTRES/COMPLEXES and stop being so ignorant about what is being discussed. There is plenty of information about a Kingston AQUATIC CENTRE online, available free for everyone. Visit
http://ktownaquaticcentre.ca/
and become informed.
It is not unusual for those who suppoort one position, to spread incorrect info about the "opposition." However, most Canadians intensely dislike dishonest politicians, and are telling them that.
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