"What me worry?"
The PM has this look in recent pictures.
HIS salary won't likely change (unless it goes up), and his pension is guaranteed, BUT there are millions of Canadians whose earnings have pretty well dried up.
And I doubt that the leaders at the APEC Summit enjoyed being lectured to by Canada's PM, a "new kid on the block" even if he is reputed to have a degree in economics. If he doesn't, he must have missed the series of lectures on spending money like it is water coming out of a tap.
The Mike Harris Ontario years are being re-visited on Canada.
It's not too early to write Harper's epitaph as PM.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Did he Expect All These Challenges?
Queen's new principal Tom Williams has yet two more challenges on his hands.
It is reported that two senior administrators, David Mitchell and Andrew Simpson, are leaving.
Simpson't resignation is abrupt and immediate, according to reports. Simpson is the person in charge of the extremely-over-budget Queen's Centre. And, when a group of quite prominent sports people in Kingston, named "The Group for Excellence" tried to have input into the contents of the Centre, some but few of our suggestions were entertained. Speaking to him was frustrating, but not nearly as frustrating as speaking to two other senior administrators at Queen's.
Now, eavesdroppers, resignations of senior staff and Aberdeen Street are BIG messes on his plate. Wonder if they will try to re-cycle George Hood.
Lunch on Monday with the Principal will be interesting!
It is reported that two senior administrators, David Mitchell and Andrew Simpson, are leaving.
Simpson't resignation is abrupt and immediate, according to reports. Simpson is the person in charge of the extremely-over-budget Queen's Centre. And, when a group of quite prominent sports people in Kingston, named "The Group for Excellence" tried to have input into the contents of the Centre, some but few of our suggestions were entertained. Speaking to him was frustrating, but not nearly as frustrating as speaking to two other senior administrators at Queen's.
Now, eavesdroppers, resignations of senior staff and Aberdeen Street are BIG messes on his plate. Wonder if they will try to re-cycle George Hood.
Lunch on Monday with the Principal will be interesting!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Dealing With Political Incorrectness
Queen's hires people to monitor conversations on campus
November 19, 2008
Students who make politically incorrect comments at Queen’s University can expect a lecture, whether they’re in or out of class, the Canadian Press reports.
The university has hired student facilitators to step in if they overhear students making homophobic or racial slurs, remarks bashing women or other offensive language.
The dean of student affairs at Queen’s says if students are making offensive comments loud enough for others to hear, it’s not a private conversation anymore.
Jason Laker says the facilitators use a respectful, non-confrontational approach.
But Angela Hickman, who edits a campus newspaper, says having such a program could stifle public discussion
---------------taken from The Whig website----------
This is amazing.
On the same day that the Principal "cancels" fall homecoming, the university acknowledges that there are students who are "trained" to help other students see the error of their speech.
The question is: Is this the best way to let people know that they should respect others?
How about parents teaching their children (and setting a good example) that calling people names isn't a positive way to live? When are parents going to teach their children some manners and how to behave?
Sure, people feel stressed, unimportant and lots of other things, but it's time for adults to teach their off-spring how to behave.
It's no wonder we see such dreadful behaviour in the House, and that TV viewers think it is OK to behave like this. It's NOT OK.
It's long past time when our leaders demonstrated civility. Perhaps our students would see that one can be oneself and express an opinion without using labels for people.
And, while we are on this topic, those who are in classrooms will attest to distrespectful behaviour by students. I spoke yesterday with someone recently retired from the classroom. He can recount endless stories of lack of respect and mouthy students. He said he was glad to leave. And these were young people, some of whom will end up at Queen's (and other universities). When he "called" them on this sort of behaviour, on one occasion he was reported to the principal!
I call this "doing what a teacher should be doing."
November 19, 2008
Students who make politically incorrect comments at Queen’s University can expect a lecture, whether they’re in or out of class, the Canadian Press reports.
The university has hired student facilitators to step in if they overhear students making homophobic or racial slurs, remarks bashing women or other offensive language.
The dean of student affairs at Queen’s says if students are making offensive comments loud enough for others to hear, it’s not a private conversation anymore.
Jason Laker says the facilitators use a respectful, non-confrontational approach.
But Angela Hickman, who edits a campus newspaper, says having such a program could stifle public discussion
---------------taken from The Whig website----------
This is amazing.
On the same day that the Principal "cancels" fall homecoming, the university acknowledges that there are students who are "trained" to help other students see the error of their speech.
The question is: Is this the best way to let people know that they should respect others?
How about parents teaching their children (and setting a good example) that calling people names isn't a positive way to live? When are parents going to teach their children some manners and how to behave?
Sure, people feel stressed, unimportant and lots of other things, but it's time for adults to teach their off-spring how to behave.
It's no wonder we see such dreadful behaviour in the House, and that TV viewers think it is OK to behave like this. It's NOT OK.
It's long past time when our leaders demonstrated civility. Perhaps our students would see that one can be oneself and express an opinion without using labels for people.
And, while we are on this topic, those who are in classrooms will attest to distrespectful behaviour by students. I spoke yesterday with someone recently retired from the classroom. He can recount endless stories of lack of respect and mouthy students. He said he was glad to leave. And these were young people, some of whom will end up at Queen's (and other universities). When he "called" them on this sort of behaviour, on one occasion he was reported to the principal!
I call this "doing what a teacher should be doing."
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Two Events
Everyone knows that a blog is a "public diary." Open for criticism, opinionated, and timely, we hope!
Yesterday, two events rang in this part of the world.
The Commons elected Peter Milliken as Speaker, once again. While doing this, they affirmed the common opinion that MPs in the last parliament behaved poorly, almost all the public time, and intimated that this parliament should see better behaviour.
Well, the ball is in the MPs court. They have to be responsible for their own stuff, and not act like children.
Yes, the Speaker has authority over them, but the House Leaders can insist that their members don't act like badly-behaved children. In comments on one public blog, virtually everyone said that they strongly objected to MPs behaviour in Question Period, and want this changed.
Let's hope that these MPs who are up on their hind legs today, remember down the road what they said.
And, Queen's (of which I am a graduate), decided that the fall Homecoming will be put off for two years, and there will be some kind of spring alum event.
Well, yes, I did express my view to the Principal about Homecoming.
Students won't let the change of date affect their party. They will just pick a weekend (football game, of course) and have the Aberdeen Street party then.
The most galling part of all this, is that since Queen's has washed its hands of the Aberdeen event, taxpayers of Kingston will alone be on the hook for the cost of this party. In 2008, the cost of this party, police, hospitals, emergency staff, etc, was over $320,000. Queen's offered to pay the city about $150,000 toward these costs. Now, we taxpayers will pay the whole thing, and Queen's will be smiling at the bank.
Principal Williams is speaking at a lunch I'm going to on Monday, so it will be interesting to hear his rationale.
Yesterday, two events rang in this part of the world.
The Commons elected Peter Milliken as Speaker, once again. While doing this, they affirmed the common opinion that MPs in the last parliament behaved poorly, almost all the public time, and intimated that this parliament should see better behaviour.
Well, the ball is in the MPs court. They have to be responsible for their own stuff, and not act like children.
Yes, the Speaker has authority over them, but the House Leaders can insist that their members don't act like badly-behaved children. In comments on one public blog, virtually everyone said that they strongly objected to MPs behaviour in Question Period, and want this changed.
Let's hope that these MPs who are up on their hind legs today, remember down the road what they said.
And, Queen's (of which I am a graduate), decided that the fall Homecoming will be put off for two years, and there will be some kind of spring alum event.
Well, yes, I did express my view to the Principal about Homecoming.
Students won't let the change of date affect their party. They will just pick a weekend (football game, of course) and have the Aberdeen Street party then.
The most galling part of all this, is that since Queen's has washed its hands of the Aberdeen event, taxpayers of Kingston will alone be on the hook for the cost of this party. In 2008, the cost of this party, police, hospitals, emergency staff, etc, was over $320,000. Queen's offered to pay the city about $150,000 toward these costs. Now, we taxpayers will pay the whole thing, and Queen's will be smiling at the bank.
Principal Williams is speaking at a lunch I'm going to on Monday, so it will be interesting to hear his rationale.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Golden time with Wetzel
by Cory Wolfe
The StarPhoenix
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Olympic rowing gold medallist Jake Wetzel speaks Wednesday to grade 9 and 10 students at Aden Bowman Collegiate
"We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can fight our way out of hell one inch at a time." -- Canadian rowing coach Mike Spracklen
Olympic rowing champion Jake Wetzel doesn't intend to pick up an oar ever again.
But when he hears the words of his coach Mike Spracklen -- a 71-year-old Brit who "looks like a janitor" but roars like a lion -- Wetzel's competitive juices kick in.
"When I hear that stuff, it's just so hard-wired into you and you never feel like you're not an athlete," said Wetzel, whose Wednesday presentation to Aden Bowman Collegiate students included a video with a rousing speech from Spracklen.
"People can say they're retired and all of that stuff, but (the competitiveness) is still in your head."
The 31-year-old Saskatonian retired from rowing in September after helping the men's eight win gold at the Beijing Olympics.
He's now working toward his doctorate in finance at the University of British Columbia. Wetzel has one year of studies under his belt and another three or four to go.
"When you've been so focused on one goal for so long, you don't think past it," said Wetzel, an Aden Bowman grad. "You use up so much mental energy on what you've been focusing on, so to shift gears and refocus is a real challenge.
"When you're the best in the word at something and then you go into something where you're at the bottom, it's hard on the ego."
In his youth, Wetzel excelled at multiple sports, including fencing, cross-country skiing and cycling. His parents, Kurt and Eva, were both professors who lectured at the University of Saskatchewan, but Wetzel told students Wednesday education wasn't at the top of his priority list during high school.
His interest in education blossomed while he was attending the University of California, Berkeley, on a rowing scholarship. But even now that he's returned to academia, he admits to feeling a little like a rower out of water.
"On the academic side, there's not as much measuring. You don't know where you're at every day -- you don't know if you're winning or losing," said Wetzel.
"When you leave rowing, you lose all of your structure. You have different goals and now I have to figure out for myself how to get there. Before, I had a coach and there was a very clear path laid out. You could tell, on a daily basis, whether you were getting closer or further away."
Wetzel is one of several Saskatchewan Olympians who'll be recognized today during a ceremony at the legislature in Regina. In addition to sharing his experiences with students, Wetzel is also using his profile to lobby for Canadian Athletes Now (CAN).
"It's a great organization that has raised over $6 million to fund athletes directly," he said. "It comes from ordinary Canadians and bypasses the whole sports system to give athletes help when they need it."
To support the CAN Fund, a nationwide telethon is scheduled to be broadcast on Shaw TV this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saskatchewan time. Hundreds of items are up for auction -- including Wetzel's unisuit, autographed memorabilia from the likes of Henri Richard and a Canadian team jacket from the closing ceremonies in Turin.
Shaw has committed to matching every dollar pledged up to $500,000.
"I think all but two of the (Canadian) athletes that were in Beijing received grants from the fund," said Wetzel. "It's something that's really worth supporting and it really makes a difference, so I hope people will have a look."
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
-------------------------
Comment: Jake Wetzel grew up on the prairies and became a rowing Olympian.
As Brian Price said last week: set your goals, and go for them.
Among the legacies of the 1989 Jeux Canada Games is a boathouse and a 2000m rowing/canoeing course on the South Saskatchewan River through Saskatoon. Wetzel is a product of that legacy.
The StarPhoenix
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Olympic rowing gold medallist Jake Wetzel speaks Wednesday to grade 9 and 10 students at Aden Bowman Collegiate
"We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can fight our way out of hell one inch at a time." -- Canadian rowing coach Mike Spracklen
Olympic rowing champion Jake Wetzel doesn't intend to pick up an oar ever again.
But when he hears the words of his coach Mike Spracklen -- a 71-year-old Brit who "looks like a janitor" but roars like a lion -- Wetzel's competitive juices kick in.
"When I hear that stuff, it's just so hard-wired into you and you never feel like you're not an athlete," said Wetzel, whose Wednesday presentation to Aden Bowman Collegiate students included a video with a rousing speech from Spracklen.
"People can say they're retired and all of that stuff, but (the competitiveness) is still in your head."
The 31-year-old Saskatonian retired from rowing in September after helping the men's eight win gold at the Beijing Olympics.
He's now working toward his doctorate in finance at the University of British Columbia. Wetzel has one year of studies under his belt and another three or four to go.
"When you've been so focused on one goal for so long, you don't think past it," said Wetzel, an Aden Bowman grad. "You use up so much mental energy on what you've been focusing on, so to shift gears and refocus is a real challenge.
"When you're the best in the word at something and then you go into something where you're at the bottom, it's hard on the ego."
In his youth, Wetzel excelled at multiple sports, including fencing, cross-country skiing and cycling. His parents, Kurt and Eva, were both professors who lectured at the University of Saskatchewan, but Wetzel told students Wednesday education wasn't at the top of his priority list during high school.
His interest in education blossomed while he was attending the University of California, Berkeley, on a rowing scholarship. But even now that he's returned to academia, he admits to feeling a little like a rower out of water.
"On the academic side, there's not as much measuring. You don't know where you're at every day -- you don't know if you're winning or losing," said Wetzel.
"When you leave rowing, you lose all of your structure. You have different goals and now I have to figure out for myself how to get there. Before, I had a coach and there was a very clear path laid out. You could tell, on a daily basis, whether you were getting closer or further away."
Wetzel is one of several Saskatchewan Olympians who'll be recognized today during a ceremony at the legislature in Regina. In addition to sharing his experiences with students, Wetzel is also using his profile to lobby for Canadian Athletes Now (CAN).
"It's a great organization that has raised over $6 million to fund athletes directly," he said. "It comes from ordinary Canadians and bypasses the whole sports system to give athletes help when they need it."
To support the CAN Fund, a nationwide telethon is scheduled to be broadcast on Shaw TV this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saskatchewan time. Hundreds of items are up for auction -- including Wetzel's unisuit, autographed memorabilia from the likes of Henri Richard and a Canadian team jacket from the closing ceremonies in Turin.
Shaw has committed to matching every dollar pledged up to $500,000.
"I think all but two of the (Canadian) athletes that were in Beijing received grants from the fund," said Wetzel. "It's something that's really worth supporting and it really makes a difference, so I hope people will have a look."
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
-------------------------
Comment: Jake Wetzel grew up on the prairies and became a rowing Olympian.
As Brian Price said last week: set your goals, and go for them.
Among the legacies of the 1989 Jeux Canada Games is a boathouse and a 2000m rowing/canoeing course on the South Saskatchewan River through Saskatoon. Wetzel is a product of that legacy.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Now There's a Joke
Mr Harper is going to Washington to meet with other world leaders.
He is saying that he will promote open and global action for the financial crisis.
Now, the question: when did Stephen Harper EVER do anything in an open fashion???
He is saying that he will promote open and global action for the financial crisis.
Now, the question: when did Stephen Harper EVER do anything in an open fashion???
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Brian Price at Loyalist
While the Advisory Committee to the Sport Journalism program (on which I serve) was meeting, the Co-ordinator of the program had teed-up an Olympian to speak to students at Loyalist. Well, actually, apparently it was coincidental, as November 10th was the only day that 2004 and 2008 rowing OLYMPIAN BRIAN PRICE was able to give a talk at the college.
I'd never heard Brian speak, so was very interested to hear his perspective on the Olympic Games, as well as many other facets of his life, his involvement in sport, and his role as the cox for the Mens 8s . Having been involved in the Olympic Movement for almost 15 years, I am interested in the athletes, for whom the Games are intended. The road to an Olympics is a long expensive road; it takes years to get there, and few actually make it.
As I sat there with my notebook, I was surprised that there were so few students present to hear him speak. No, he's not one of the "big name" Olympians, and his physical stature (essential for his position!) would never make him stand out in a crowd.
Students from the BJ program as well as Sports Journalism programs had been told that he would be on campus to speak. One would think that every breathing, interested student in BOTH those programs would have gone to hear him speak. But no, there were few students in Alumni Hall when he started to speak, and fewer when he finished. Perhaps 25 people were there when he was introduced.
Price spoke about his role as a cox, the team's approach to the Olympic village, their routine in the months leading up to the Games, distractions, the future. Toward the end of his talk, a few questions were asked from the audience, particularly about his future as an elite rower. He is 32, he said, and London is 4 years away. That is a long time, he has a child, and he would have to live in Victoria where the rowing team is centralized.
I loved his "It's fun to beat people" comment. So true. It's more fun to win than lose. Somehow, we can't get this idea in balance in this country, but that's another story.
There was a planned "media scrum" after the talk, so that students in the two programs could participate in one of the most common aspects of journalism. But, by my count, there were 4 scholars in the scrum: two had tape recorders, one female seemed to be with radio, and one seemed to be with print. But it was hard to really tell from my location. The point is that as a media "scrum' it sure was a bomb. Four questionners? Ridiculous, considering that Price would have appealed to two Loyalist programs, having 45 students or more???
In retrospect, it would have been interesting to participate in it. One of the things that would have been interesting to hear his views on, is "Money for Medals" that media so often spoke of when in November 2007, the COC rolled out its plan to give money to Canadian medallists.
Giving money to medallists is the most significant turn-on-position that the COC has done since it introduced its unpopular (but executed) Team Selection Criteria of 'top 16' in the early 1990s. Debate on money for medals inside the COC was heated, but in the end, those who acknowledged the time and finances that it takes to get to the Olympics, and then to be in the top three in the world, prevailed. Finally, Canadian athletes would be rewarded as Spanish and American Olympians would be.
No one should think that $20,000 to a gold medallist will cover the cost of living and training and competing in this day and age.
The COC reportedly handed out $515.000 in Toronto on October 11, 2008. Some medallists were present to receive their cheques; of the 34 athletes who were to get cheques, just over 20 were there.
Only the Toronto Sun reported on the smiling faces of our Bejing medalists. It also reported on the pending visit of Canada Revenue Agency (formerly Revenue Canada).
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/alison_korn/2008/10/10/7037681-sun.html
(As an aside, the reporter who ran with this story, including the tax aspect, is herself an Olympian, 1996 & 2000)
So it would have been interesting to har Price's perspective on his "windfall." With a family, training expenses, competition (including travel) expenses, and no job Price's viewpoint would have been pretty typical of a Canadian Olympian.
Let's hope that the few students who took advantage of the opportunity to meet and interview an Olympian, appreciated that what they had won't be repeated often in their lives. Even if they think it will.
If there IS a next time, they will have to create it, and given their apparent attitude on Monday, don't bet your house on it.
I'd never heard Brian speak, so was very interested to hear his perspective on the Olympic Games, as well as many other facets of his life, his involvement in sport, and his role as the cox for the Mens 8s . Having been involved in the Olympic Movement for almost 15 years, I am interested in the athletes, for whom the Games are intended. The road to an Olympics is a long expensive road; it takes years to get there, and few actually make it.
As I sat there with my notebook, I was surprised that there were so few students present to hear him speak. No, he's not one of the "big name" Olympians, and his physical stature (essential for his position!) would never make him stand out in a crowd.
Students from the BJ program as well as Sports Journalism programs had been told that he would be on campus to speak. One would think that every breathing, interested student in BOTH those programs would have gone to hear him speak. But no, there were few students in Alumni Hall when he started to speak, and fewer when he finished. Perhaps 25 people were there when he was introduced.
Price spoke about his role as a cox, the team's approach to the Olympic village, their routine in the months leading up to the Games, distractions, the future. Toward the end of his talk, a few questions were asked from the audience, particularly about his future as an elite rower. He is 32, he said, and London is 4 years away. That is a long time, he has a child, and he would have to live in Victoria where the rowing team is centralized.
I loved his "It's fun to beat people" comment. So true. It's more fun to win than lose. Somehow, we can't get this idea in balance in this country, but that's another story.
There was a planned "media scrum" after the talk, so that students in the two programs could participate in one of the most common aspects of journalism. But, by my count, there were 4 scholars in the scrum: two had tape recorders, one female seemed to be with radio, and one seemed to be with print. But it was hard to really tell from my location. The point is that as a media "scrum' it sure was a bomb. Four questionners? Ridiculous, considering that Price would have appealed to two Loyalist programs, having 45 students or more???
In retrospect, it would have been interesting to participate in it. One of the things that would have been interesting to hear his views on, is "Money for Medals" that media so often spoke of when in November 2007, the COC rolled out its plan to give money to Canadian medallists.
Giving money to medallists is the most significant turn-on-position that the COC has done since it introduced its unpopular (but executed) Team Selection Criteria of 'top 16' in the early 1990s. Debate on money for medals inside the COC was heated, but in the end, those who acknowledged the time and finances that it takes to get to the Olympics, and then to be in the top three in the world, prevailed. Finally, Canadian athletes would be rewarded as Spanish and American Olympians would be.
No one should think that $20,000 to a gold medallist will cover the cost of living and training and competing in this day and age.
The COC reportedly handed out $515.000 in Toronto on October 11, 2008. Some medallists were present to receive their cheques; of the 34 athletes who were to get cheques, just over 20 were there.
Only the Toronto Sun reported on the smiling faces of our Bejing medalists. It also reported on the pending visit of Canada Revenue Agency (formerly Revenue Canada).
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/alison_korn/2008/10/10/7037681-sun.html
(As an aside, the reporter who ran with this story, including the tax aspect, is herself an Olympian, 1996 & 2000)
So it would have been interesting to har Price's perspective on his "windfall." With a family, training expenses, competition (including travel) expenses, and no job Price's viewpoint would have been pretty typical of a Canadian Olympian.
Let's hope that the few students who took advantage of the opportunity to meet and interview an Olympian, appreciated that what they had won't be repeated often in their lives. Even if they think it will.
If there IS a next time, they will have to create it, and given their apparent attitude on Monday, don't bet your house on it.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Loyalist College, Belleville: Sports Journalism Program
The Sports Journalism program at Loyalist in Belleville is well into its first year, and from accounts of the students in the program, is a great success.
At a meeting yesterday of the Advisory Committee, we heard from the student representative Darren Matte as well as faculty involved in delivering the program.
Our day started with an informal meeting with the eleven students in the program, and ended with a meeting of the Advisory Committee, faculty and senior administrators of the College.
More later, but......this is a program well worth consideration by people who are keenly interested in sports and journalism, both written and broadcast.
At a meeting yesterday of the Advisory Committee, we heard from the student representative Darren Matte as well as faculty involved in delivering the program.
Our day started with an informal meeting with the eleven students in the program, and ended with a meeting of the Advisory Committee, faculty and senior administrators of the College.
More later, but......this is a program well worth consideration by people who are keenly interested in sports and journalism, both written and broadcast.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Kingston's waterfront is a jewel in the rough
Blue-Ribbon Panel
By DIANA DAVIS DUERKOP
The waterfront is Kingston's premier recreational resource. It offers opportunity to get outdoors, to be active, to celebrate nature and to enjoy our natural advantage.
But Kingston needs a waterfront that is accessible to everyone, not just a few people, from Collins Bay to Ravensview. Accessible means that people can get to the shore via public walkways. They can ride bicycles on the pathway. Persons with disabilities can manoeuvre their wheelchairs easily, and people can actually use the shoreline and water. There is no shortage of ideas; just ask your family members and neighbours how they imagine the waterfront.
Kingston's waterfront pathway should be widened to offer separate cycling and walking lanes. The gaps in the trail need to be eliminated. The trail should have consistent pavement, signage and other markings along its entire length from west to east. The waterfront needs picnic tables, little fireboxes
to cook hot dogs, bathrooms and emergency communication in case assistance is needed.
Citizens and tourists should be able to visit marinas, walk on the docks and view the harbour from a boardwalk constructed on the breakwater at Flora MacDonald Basin. Private developers must no longer be able to build on the precious little bit of land left beside the water that has not been developed.
Make swimming in Lake Ontario and the western end of the St. Lawrence River a priority. Easyaccess beaches, ladders at docks and life-saving gear would encourage use. Put a couple of rafts out at Richardson Beach, restore the bathhouse, open a canteen and look for the swimmers. Open-water swimming is a natural for this area, so Kingston should have lots of athletes trying to qualify for the long-distance 10-kilometre events at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Continued After Advertisement Below
Advertisement
Hang-gliding and sailboarding are naturals for Kingston's waterfront. Provide suitable facilities at the PUC docks, where hang-gliding now takes place. There has been rowing in the Kingston area for almost 170 years. The Cataraqui river is perfect for rowing and canoeing (especially the competitive kind). A long competition course and new, attractive easy-to-access facilities, launching ramps and parking would draw more people to that part of the waterfront, and offer more "on water'" activities. This part of the waterfront is ideal for rowing and Olympic-style canoeing.
Recreational canoeing and kayaking are quite inexpensive activities, but there's no place to launch easily. Launch sites at West Street and at the rowing club are slippery and not planned for getting underway in one's canoe or kayak. As well, those sites aren't designed for trailering a small boat with an outboard motor or a Laser with a mast and gear. Besides, where do you park your trailer while you're out on the water?
The waterfront trail needs to be opened up from Collins Bay to the Woolen Mill, and along the shore to Ravensview. Post historical information all along the trail, as well as information about flora and fauna. There are many varieties of flowers, weeds and trees to see; wildlife is common. Walking tours with this sort of information available in windproof and waterproof boxes could be provided, and would be very popular.
Kingston's waterfront needs a champion. It needs someone or some group willing and able to go to bat for the waterfront, remove obstacles that are in the way and keep a citizen-focused vision in front of everyone. The waterfront champion needs to engage the municipality, province, federal government and citizens. Everyone in Kingston has opinions about the waterfront, and most of us yearn for the day when we can boast about our greatest treasure.
Our waterfront champion will empower us to take pride in what has been referred to as "the crown jewel of Kingston," will advocate for the waterfront and will enable us to find the means to do what Kingstonians wish for. Together we must do everything we can to develop this opportunity. It's long overdue.
-30-
* Diana Davis Duerkop is a former vice-president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and former president of Synchro Canada. She oversaw development of the rowing/canoeing course and river-edge boathouse for the 1989 Jeux Canada Games in Saskatoon. She has an extensive involvement in recreation, particularly swimming and boating, and is a waterfront enthusiast.
Article ID# 1279959
from The kingston Whig Standard, October 31, 2008.
By DIANA DAVIS DUERKOP
The waterfront is Kingston's premier recreational resource. It offers opportunity to get outdoors, to be active, to celebrate nature and to enjoy our natural advantage.
But Kingston needs a waterfront that is accessible to everyone, not just a few people, from Collins Bay to Ravensview. Accessible means that people can get to the shore via public walkways. They can ride bicycles on the pathway. Persons with disabilities can manoeuvre their wheelchairs easily, and people can actually use the shoreline and water. There is no shortage of ideas; just ask your family members and neighbours how they imagine the waterfront.
Kingston's waterfront pathway should be widened to offer separate cycling and walking lanes. The gaps in the trail need to be eliminated. The trail should have consistent pavement, signage and other markings along its entire length from west to east. The waterfront needs picnic tables, little fireboxes
to cook hot dogs, bathrooms and emergency communication in case assistance is needed.
Citizens and tourists should be able to visit marinas, walk on the docks and view the harbour from a boardwalk constructed on the breakwater at Flora MacDonald Basin. Private developers must no longer be able to build on the precious little bit of land left beside the water that has not been developed.
Make swimming in Lake Ontario and the western end of the St. Lawrence River a priority. Easyaccess beaches, ladders at docks and life-saving gear would encourage use. Put a couple of rafts out at Richardson Beach, restore the bathhouse, open a canteen and look for the swimmers. Open-water swimming is a natural for this area, so Kingston should have lots of athletes trying to qualify for the long-distance 10-kilometre events at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Continued After Advertisement Below
Advertisement
Hang-gliding and sailboarding are naturals for Kingston's waterfront. Provide suitable facilities at the PUC docks, where hang-gliding now takes place. There has been rowing in the Kingston area for almost 170 years. The Cataraqui river is perfect for rowing and canoeing (especially the competitive kind). A long competition course and new, attractive easy-to-access facilities, launching ramps and parking would draw more people to that part of the waterfront, and offer more "on water'" activities. This part of the waterfront is ideal for rowing and Olympic-style canoeing.
Recreational canoeing and kayaking are quite inexpensive activities, but there's no place to launch easily. Launch sites at West Street and at the rowing club are slippery and not planned for getting underway in one's canoe or kayak. As well, those sites aren't designed for trailering a small boat with an outboard motor or a Laser with a mast and gear. Besides, where do you park your trailer while you're out on the water?
The waterfront trail needs to be opened up from Collins Bay to the Woolen Mill, and along the shore to Ravensview. Post historical information all along the trail, as well as information about flora and fauna. There are many varieties of flowers, weeds and trees to see; wildlife is common. Walking tours with this sort of information available in windproof and waterproof boxes could be provided, and would be very popular.
Kingston's waterfront needs a champion. It needs someone or some group willing and able to go to bat for the waterfront, remove obstacles that are in the way and keep a citizen-focused vision in front of everyone. The waterfront champion needs to engage the municipality, province, federal government and citizens. Everyone in Kingston has opinions about the waterfront, and most of us yearn for the day when we can boast about our greatest treasure.
Our waterfront champion will empower us to take pride in what has been referred to as "the crown jewel of Kingston," will advocate for the waterfront and will enable us to find the means to do what Kingstonians wish for. Together we must do everything we can to develop this opportunity. It's long overdue.
-30-
* Diana Davis Duerkop is a former vice-president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and former president of Synchro Canada. She oversaw development of the rowing/canoeing course and river-edge boathouse for the 1989 Jeux Canada Games in Saskatoon. She has an extensive involvement in recreation, particularly swimming and boating, and is a waterfront enthusiast.
Article ID# 1279959
from The kingston Whig Standard, October 31, 2008.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Bishop Dolegiewicz Dies
Shot putter admitted his steroid use
Dolegiewicz, 55, died this week in Utah
Oct 31, 2008 04:30 AM
by Randy Starkman SPORTS REPORTER (The Star)
Canadian shot putter Bishop Dolegiewicz, a three-time Olympian who had a larger-than-life personality to match his mountainous physique, died Tuesday night in his sleep at the age of 55.
Dolegiewicz, a Toronto native who starred at Parkdale Collegiate, won two gold medals at the Pan Am Games, two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and 13 medals at Canadian championships. He was 11th at the 1984 L.A. Olympics and fourth in 1980 in a world's strongest man contest.
He was later stripped of his Canadian shot put record after admitting during the Dubin Inquiry to using steroids for more than a decade.
Dolegiewicz, who had success as a coach at Southern Utah University, was suffering from cardio and circulation problems. He died in Lehi, Utah, leaving behind his wife Anna, 30, a thrower he coached.
Former teammate Bruce Pirnie said Dolegiewicz's testimony at the Dubin Inquiry, where he also admitted to supplying steroids to athletes, cost him his coaching job at the University of Saskatchewan and took a toll on his health. Justice Charles Dubin also died this week.
"It's definitely (a coincidence) that Bish and Justice Dubin should pass away at the same time," said Pirnie, adding that Dolegiewicz had a positive coaching legacy in Canada. "Saskatchewan still sees the benefit of Bish's imprint. They turn out more throwers than anyone in the country."
Former Canadian discus champ Rob Gray was saddened by the news. "Whatever you say about the guy, he was a great competitor, a mountain of a man and a great athlete," said Gray, who also admitted to steroid use. "He was a big, strong guy because he worked his butt off and showed us how hard you had to work to get to the next level. It's hard to call him a role model, but he was in some ways."
Dolegiewicz told the inquiry he regretted using steroids because of the toll it had on his mind and body and that as a coach he strongly warned athletes against them.
"I give people the examples of individuals that I have known that have gotten sick from the use of steroids and I try to come across and give the kids the message, `Look, you're going to pay the price at some point in time,'" Dolegiewicz said during his testimony.
Pirnie said he had been pondering whether steroids had a role in Dolegiewicz's health issues. "I would be very surprised if there wasn't a connection," he said.
Gray said, "I suspect it has got a lot more to do with that he was a 6-foot-6, 330-pound man who was probably overweight."
-30-
THE BIG ONE
Terrible headline as his claim to fame was that he was the greatest thrower in Canadian history. We called him the "Big One" as he was the biggest and strongest of us all. Athletics Canada wiped out his career achievements for telling the truth at the Dubin inquiry (funny how all the liars at the inquiry and those who avoided testifying still have their tainted performances recognized). I can't believe that Athletics Canada has already taken down their announcement of his passing -possibly as a result of the Star headline ? Athletics Canada should reinstate his performances instead of pretending he didn't exist like they are doing again. He will live on in my memories always as a mentor,friend,training partner and teamate. He was a great man who accomplished a great deal and I would hope that his memory shouldn't be tarnished by the fact that he admitted to doing what everyone was and is still doing to reach the highest levels of sport. Rob Gray
Posted By Rob Gray at 4:47 PM Friday, October 31 2008
---------
I remember Bish
As someone who did look upon Bishop as a role model being a young thrower in the 70's with a modicum of success in the 80's I am saddened at the loss of an old friend, former room mate and training partner. Despite any admissions of errors by Bish I will always recall the gentle giant who helped me along, the hours spent working out in California as the sun went down, bbq's in Dallas, the friend and role model. Shame on anyone who has hind sight sanctimonius judgement, look in the mirror. My condolences to his wife and family.
Posted By jharkness at 11:08 AM Friday, October 31 2008
-30-
Dolegieweicz admitted his drug use and if the pictures on the internet are recent, it seems that he continued to use them.
Bishop played a large part in speedying the evolution of throwing events in Canada, and deserves to be remembered.
The story of this death was posted on www.athletics .ca the website of Canadian Track and Field. It was taken down. That's unfortunate. Bishop, like Ben, is a recognized figure, and he lived his life in this country. Both men, although acknowledged drug users, lived and deserve to be recognized. To ignore Bishop's death is pretending it never happened.
Dolegiewicz, 55, died this week in Utah
Oct 31, 2008 04:30 AM
by Randy Starkman SPORTS REPORTER (The Star)
Canadian shot putter Bishop Dolegiewicz, a three-time Olympian who had a larger-than-life personality to match his mountainous physique, died Tuesday night in his sleep at the age of 55.
Dolegiewicz, a Toronto native who starred at Parkdale Collegiate, won two gold medals at the Pan Am Games, two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and 13 medals at Canadian championships. He was 11th at the 1984 L.A. Olympics and fourth in 1980 in a world's strongest man contest.
He was later stripped of his Canadian shot put record after admitting during the Dubin Inquiry to using steroids for more than a decade.
Dolegiewicz, who had success as a coach at Southern Utah University, was suffering from cardio and circulation problems. He died in Lehi, Utah, leaving behind his wife Anna, 30, a thrower he coached.
Former teammate Bruce Pirnie said Dolegiewicz's testimony at the Dubin Inquiry, where he also admitted to supplying steroids to athletes, cost him his coaching job at the University of Saskatchewan and took a toll on his health. Justice Charles Dubin also died this week.
"It's definitely (a coincidence) that Bish and Justice Dubin should pass away at the same time," said Pirnie, adding that Dolegiewicz had a positive coaching legacy in Canada. "Saskatchewan still sees the benefit of Bish's imprint. They turn out more throwers than anyone in the country."
Former Canadian discus champ Rob Gray was saddened by the news. "Whatever you say about the guy, he was a great competitor, a mountain of a man and a great athlete," said Gray, who also admitted to steroid use. "He was a big, strong guy because he worked his butt off and showed us how hard you had to work to get to the next level. It's hard to call him a role model, but he was in some ways."
Dolegiewicz told the inquiry he regretted using steroids because of the toll it had on his mind and body and that as a coach he strongly warned athletes against them.
"I give people the examples of individuals that I have known that have gotten sick from the use of steroids and I try to come across and give the kids the message, `Look, you're going to pay the price at some point in time,'" Dolegiewicz said during his testimony.
Pirnie said he had been pondering whether steroids had a role in Dolegiewicz's health issues. "I would be very surprised if there wasn't a connection," he said.
Gray said, "I suspect it has got a lot more to do with that he was a 6-foot-6, 330-pound man who was probably overweight."
-30-
THE BIG ONE
Terrible headline as his claim to fame was that he was the greatest thrower in Canadian history. We called him the "Big One" as he was the biggest and strongest of us all. Athletics Canada wiped out his career achievements for telling the truth at the Dubin inquiry (funny how all the liars at the inquiry and those who avoided testifying still have their tainted performances recognized). I can't believe that Athletics Canada has already taken down their announcement of his passing -possibly as a result of the Star headline ? Athletics Canada should reinstate his performances instead of pretending he didn't exist like they are doing again. He will live on in my memories always as a mentor,friend,training partner and teamate. He was a great man who accomplished a great deal and I would hope that his memory shouldn't be tarnished by the fact that he admitted to doing what everyone was and is still doing to reach the highest levels of sport. Rob Gray
Posted By Rob Gray at 4:47 PM Friday, October 31 2008
---------
I remember Bish
As someone who did look upon Bishop as a role model being a young thrower in the 70's with a modicum of success in the 80's I am saddened at the loss of an old friend, former room mate and training partner. Despite any admissions of errors by Bish I will always recall the gentle giant who helped me along, the hours spent working out in California as the sun went down, bbq's in Dallas, the friend and role model. Shame on anyone who has hind sight sanctimonius judgement, look in the mirror. My condolences to his wife and family.
Posted By jharkness at 11:08 AM Friday, October 31 2008
-30-
Dolegieweicz admitted his drug use and if the pictures on the internet are recent, it seems that he continued to use them.
Bishop played a large part in speedying the evolution of throwing events in Canada, and deserves to be remembered.
The story of this death was posted on www.athletics .ca the website of Canadian Track and Field. It was taken down. That's unfortunate. Bishop, like Ben, is a recognized figure, and he lived his life in this country. Both men, although acknowledged drug users, lived and deserve to be recognized. To ignore Bishop's death is pretending it never happened.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Election Day: Vote Liberal!
Time to vote Liberal. A better choice.
The leader isn't a bully and he doesn't break his promises.
He doesn't blackmail parliament by saying "Either vote for this (a confidence vote) or else." That's about as low as you can get.
The leader isn't a bully and he doesn't break his promises.
He doesn't blackmail parliament by saying "Either vote for this (a confidence vote) or else." That's about as low as you can get.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
If You Need Only One Reason Not to Vote Tory,.....
...here it is. Canada needs a National Child CAre Program!
Choice in child care is what Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised in the last election with the Conservatives' Universal Child Care Benefit, a taxable, $100-a-month payment to families for each child under age 6. The money, Harper said, would give all parents the ability to choose the child-care option that best suited their family needs. Since July 2006, some $5 billion has been spent on the initiative.
In addition to cash for parents, the Conservatives pledged $250 million per year in tax credits to help businesses and community groups create 125,000 new child-care spaces over five years. But employers weren't keen to get into the child-care business, so the Tories folded the money into Ottawa's annual social transfer to provinces.
It's unclear how many spaces that money has created, because Ottawa hasn't kept track. But a review of provincial daycare programs by the Toronto-based Child Care Resource and Research Unit shows growth in licensed daycare spots across the country is slowing. In 2006, just 26,600 new spaces opened in Canada, a drop from 32,600 in each of the previous two years and about half of the 51,000 a year that opened between 2001 and 2004.
The centre's research shows that the percentage of Canadian children who have access to regulated child care has grown by just 10 per cent, to 17 per cent, in the past 15 years. And the bulk of those new spaces have been in Quebec.
At this rate, it would take another 60 years to reach universal supply, says the research unit's Martha Friendly, who has been tracking child care in Canada for the past 30 years.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has singled out Canada on several occasions for its poor record on child care. A 2004 report blasted the country's chronically underfunded patchwork of often mediocre programs run by underpaid and poorly trained staff. A 2006 report by the agency ranked Canada last among 14 Western nations in spending on early-learning, child-care and kindergarten programs – either through tax breaks, cash or services – putting us behind nearly every country in Europe and even the United States.
In Canada, fewer than one in five children under age 13 have access to licensed child care. Meanwhile, 71 per cent of mothers in two-parent families – and 83 per cent of single moms – are in the workforce.
"Monthly cheques (to parents) have been sent out since July 2006, but there has been no attempt to account for the dollars," says Friendly. "What is it spent on? Does it deliver choice in child care? Does it help Canadians balance work and family? Is it a good use of $2.4 billion a year? We just don't know.
"What we do know is that finding and affording high-quality early-childhood education and care continues to be an ongoing crisis for families. Indeed, since the Conservatives came to power in 2006, child-care space expansion dropped to its lowest level in some years."
But the popularity of the Tory child-care benefit means no other party has risked proposing to scrap the cash and plough the money into more daycare spaces in this campaign.
The Conservative child-care benefit replaced the previous Liberal government's five-year, $5-billion national child-care plan, aimed at creating 250,000 new high-quality, affordable and accessible spaces.
Under the ill-fated scheme, Ontario would have created 25,000 new affordable spaces by now, with more than 5,000 of them in Toronto. Instead, the province has been able to add just 15,000 new spaces, and Toronto has been able to create barely 2,000 new spots with the federal money.
Although the Liberals howled when Harper axed their child-care plan in favour of cash payments to parents, leader Stéphane Dion says if he's elected he'll keep the Tory benefit and add a new, $350 refundable child-tax credit to all families with children under age 18. But Dion says he's committed to reviving the Liberals' vision of a national child-care system and has promised to pump $1.25 billion into the creation of 165,000 new regulated spots within four years.
"Unfortunately, all too often, children are stuck on waiting lists because of a shortage of spaces," Dion said at a Kitchener child-care centre last month. "And as every parent knows, no space means no choice."
Leaside parents Chris Markham and Raghad Zaiyouna, whose children are 6, 3 and two months old, are relieved none of the parties wants to scrap the Tory child-care payments.
Unable to find daycare when their first child was born, Zaiyouna scaled back to part-time work, and for the past three years has relied on her mother and mother-in-law for help. Until Harper's cash payments, they felt their family's choice was being ignored.
"People who use child care can recover some of their costs through the child-care tax deduction," Markham says. "But there's no recognition of my wife's loss of income or of our parents' travel costs and time. The $100 payment begins to level the playing field. But so much more needs to be done."
Markham, who works for a non-governmental agency promoting healthy, active lifestyles, realizes his family is lucky to have grandparents nearby who are willing and able to help. And he knows they were lucky to get child-care spaces in their local school this fall for their eldest two children, now in Grade 1 and junior kindergarten.
Etobicoke single mother Jennefer Desrochers is one of those parents. Two years ago she lost her job just as her network of family supports fell apart. Without child care for her two boys, then 2 and 7, she struggled to get back on her feet.
Last month she found a job and was thrilled to get a child-care spot in a neighbourhood centre. But on wages of just $11 an hour, there's no way she can afford to pay almost $1,000 a month in fees. And with 14,500 other children in Toronto waiting for daycare subsidies, Desrochers is frantic.
"I borrowed money from a friend to pay the first week, and now I'm three weeks in arrears," she says. "What is the government doing for me? I don't want to sit at home and collect a welfare cheque. I want to contribute and be part of society. But without (affordable) child care, I can't do that."
from The Star, October 5, 2008
A disgrace. Licensed programs should be funded and there should be a system of accountability.
Grandparents should not be forced to care for their grandchildren because there is no alternative.
Choice in child care is what Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised in the last election with the Conservatives' Universal Child Care Benefit, a taxable, $100-a-month payment to families for each child under age 6. The money, Harper said, would give all parents the ability to choose the child-care option that best suited their family needs. Since July 2006, some $5 billion has been spent on the initiative.
In addition to cash for parents, the Conservatives pledged $250 million per year in tax credits to help businesses and community groups create 125,000 new child-care spaces over five years. But employers weren't keen to get into the child-care business, so the Tories folded the money into Ottawa's annual social transfer to provinces.
It's unclear how many spaces that money has created, because Ottawa hasn't kept track. But a review of provincial daycare programs by the Toronto-based Child Care Resource and Research Unit shows growth in licensed daycare spots across the country is slowing. In 2006, just 26,600 new spaces opened in Canada, a drop from 32,600 in each of the previous two years and about half of the 51,000 a year that opened between 2001 and 2004.
The centre's research shows that the percentage of Canadian children who have access to regulated child care has grown by just 10 per cent, to 17 per cent, in the past 15 years. And the bulk of those new spaces have been in Quebec.
At this rate, it would take another 60 years to reach universal supply, says the research unit's Martha Friendly, who has been tracking child care in Canada for the past 30 years.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has singled out Canada on several occasions for its poor record on child care. A 2004 report blasted the country's chronically underfunded patchwork of often mediocre programs run by underpaid and poorly trained staff. A 2006 report by the agency ranked Canada last among 14 Western nations in spending on early-learning, child-care and kindergarten programs – either through tax breaks, cash or services – putting us behind nearly every country in Europe and even the United States.
In Canada, fewer than one in five children under age 13 have access to licensed child care. Meanwhile, 71 per cent of mothers in two-parent families – and 83 per cent of single moms – are in the workforce.
"Monthly cheques (to parents) have been sent out since July 2006, but there has been no attempt to account for the dollars," says Friendly. "What is it spent on? Does it deliver choice in child care? Does it help Canadians balance work and family? Is it a good use of $2.4 billion a year? We just don't know.
"What we do know is that finding and affording high-quality early-childhood education and care continues to be an ongoing crisis for families. Indeed, since the Conservatives came to power in 2006, child-care space expansion dropped to its lowest level in some years."
But the popularity of the Tory child-care benefit means no other party has risked proposing to scrap the cash and plough the money into more daycare spaces in this campaign.
The Conservative child-care benefit replaced the previous Liberal government's five-year, $5-billion national child-care plan, aimed at creating 250,000 new high-quality, affordable and accessible spaces.
Under the ill-fated scheme, Ontario would have created 25,000 new affordable spaces by now, with more than 5,000 of them in Toronto. Instead, the province has been able to add just 15,000 new spaces, and Toronto has been able to create barely 2,000 new spots with the federal money.
Although the Liberals howled when Harper axed their child-care plan in favour of cash payments to parents, leader Stéphane Dion says if he's elected he'll keep the Tory benefit and add a new, $350 refundable child-tax credit to all families with children under age 18. But Dion says he's committed to reviving the Liberals' vision of a national child-care system and has promised to pump $1.25 billion into the creation of 165,000 new regulated spots within four years.
"Unfortunately, all too often, children are stuck on waiting lists because of a shortage of spaces," Dion said at a Kitchener child-care centre last month. "And as every parent knows, no space means no choice."
Leaside parents Chris Markham and Raghad Zaiyouna, whose children are 6, 3 and two months old, are relieved none of the parties wants to scrap the Tory child-care payments.
Unable to find daycare when their first child was born, Zaiyouna scaled back to part-time work, and for the past three years has relied on her mother and mother-in-law for help. Until Harper's cash payments, they felt their family's choice was being ignored.
"People who use child care can recover some of their costs through the child-care tax deduction," Markham says. "But there's no recognition of my wife's loss of income or of our parents' travel costs and time. The $100 payment begins to level the playing field. But so much more needs to be done."
Markham, who works for a non-governmental agency promoting healthy, active lifestyles, realizes his family is lucky to have grandparents nearby who are willing and able to help. And he knows they were lucky to get child-care spaces in their local school this fall for their eldest two children, now in Grade 1 and junior kindergarten.
Etobicoke single mother Jennefer Desrochers is one of those parents. Two years ago she lost her job just as her network of family supports fell apart. Without child care for her two boys, then 2 and 7, she struggled to get back on her feet.
Last month she found a job and was thrilled to get a child-care spot in a neighbourhood centre. But on wages of just $11 an hour, there's no way she can afford to pay almost $1,000 a month in fees. And with 14,500 other children in Toronto waiting for daycare subsidies, Desrochers is frantic.
"I borrowed money from a friend to pay the first week, and now I'm three weeks in arrears," she says. "What is the government doing for me? I don't want to sit at home and collect a welfare cheque. I want to contribute and be part of society. But without (affordable) child care, I can't do that."
from The Star, October 5, 2008
A disgrace. Licensed programs should be funded and there should be a system of accountability.
Grandparents should not be forced to care for their grandchildren because there is no alternative.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
This Move Won't Get Any Votes...Sports People Aren't That Gullible...
WWW.UNIVERSITYSPORT.CA
October 02, 2008
2015 Summer Universiade Bid: CIS praises Prime Minister Harper's support
OTTAWA (CIS) - Canadian Interuniversity Sport is delighted to announce that the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, has pledged support in principle to CIS in the bidding process to host the 2015 Summer Universiade.
All three orders of government officially confirmed their support for Edmonton's bid at a press conference in Alberta's capital on Thursday afternoon. "A successful 2015 Summer Universiade Bid will provide Albertans and Canadians the opportunity to host the world and experience the excitement of this major multisport event," said CIS President Dick White. "The support in principle for the Edmonton bid process demonstrates the commitment towards developing an integrated and comprehensive approach to the long term development of Canada's future Olympians."
The International University Sports Federation (FISU) circulated the call for bids on September 1st, 2008. Canada plans to submit a letter of intent to bid to FISU on October 8 and the final bid package by March 15, 2009.
Competing bids for the 2015 Summer Universiade are expected from Spain (Vigo), South Korea (Gwangju), Poland (Poznan) and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).
Canada has hosted the Summer Universiade once, in Edmonton back in 1983.
The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival that is staged every two years. It is second in size and scope only to the Olympic Games.
The Summer Universiade consists of 13 compulsory sports and up to five optional sports chosen by the host country. It is estimated that the 28th Summer Universiade hosted in Edmonton in 2015 would attract over 7,000 student-athletes, 2,000 coaches and team officials, 1,250 officials, 1,200 dignitaries, 250 media and 6,500 volunteers from 140 countries.
The Summer Universiade plays an important role in the Canadian Sport System and developing Canada's future Olympians. Forty-seven Canadian Olympians from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics participated at recent Summer Universiades, including Olympic gold medalist Carol Huynh and bronze medalist Tonya Verbeek.
The next three Summer Universiades will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2009, Shenzhen, China, in 2011, and Kazan, Russia, in 2013.
October 02, 2008
2015 Summer Universiade Bid: CIS praises Prime Minister Harper's support
OTTAWA (CIS) - Canadian Interuniversity Sport is delighted to announce that the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, has pledged support in principle to CIS in the bidding process to host the 2015 Summer Universiade.
All three orders of government officially confirmed their support for Edmonton's bid at a press conference in Alberta's capital on Thursday afternoon. "A successful 2015 Summer Universiade Bid will provide Albertans and Canadians the opportunity to host the world and experience the excitement of this major multisport event," said CIS President Dick White. "The support in principle for the Edmonton bid process demonstrates the commitment towards developing an integrated and comprehensive approach to the long term development of Canada's future Olympians."
The International University Sports Federation (FISU) circulated the call for bids on September 1st, 2008. Canada plans to submit a letter of intent to bid to FISU on October 8 and the final bid package by March 15, 2009.
Competing bids for the 2015 Summer Universiade are expected from Spain (Vigo), South Korea (Gwangju), Poland (Poznan) and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).
Canada has hosted the Summer Universiade once, in Edmonton back in 1983.
The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival that is staged every two years. It is second in size and scope only to the Olympic Games.
The Summer Universiade consists of 13 compulsory sports and up to five optional sports chosen by the host country. It is estimated that the 28th Summer Universiade hosted in Edmonton in 2015 would attract over 7,000 student-athletes, 2,000 coaches and team officials, 1,250 officials, 1,200 dignitaries, 250 media and 6,500 volunteers from 140 countries.
The Summer Universiade plays an important role in the Canadian Sport System and developing Canada's future Olympians. Forty-seven Canadian Olympians from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics participated at recent Summer Universiades, including Olympic gold medalist Carol Huynh and bronze medalist Tonya Verbeek.
The next three Summer Universiades will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2009, Shenzhen, China, in 2011, and Kazan, Russia, in 2013.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Harper: speaks the most "Spin". Mr Insincerity Himself
Queen’s own spin doctor
Computer model detects deception in political speeches
By Kerri Macdonald and Mike Woods, Journal Staff
Queen’s Computing Science professor David Skillicorn says campaign advertisements are harder to analyze than speeches because they’re more staged. (Tyler Ball)
In so many words
Computing Science Professor David Skillicorn analyzes speeches made by politicians such as American presidential candidates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Here are some samples of “typical” speeches made by Obama and McCain:
Barack Obama (Feb. 13, 2008)“That our prosperity can and must be the tide that lifts every boat; that we rise or fall as one nation; that our economy is strongest when our middle-class grows and opportunity is spread as widely as possible. And when it’s not—when opportunity is uneven or unequal—it is our responsibility to restore balance, and fairness, and keep that promise alive for the next generation.”
John McCain (May 27, 2008)“I believe we must also address nuclear testing. As president I will pledge to continue America’s current moratorium on testing, but also begin a dialogue with our allies, and with the U.S. Senate, to identify ways we can move forward to limit testing in a verifiable manner that does not undermine the security or viability of our nuclear deterrent.”
In the throes of two major elections, it can be tough to detect which politicians are genuine and which are spinning tall tales. But according to a model developed by a Queen’s professor, sniffing out spin is as easy as crunching a few numbers.
David Skillicorn, a professor in the School of Computing, analyzes political speeches to determine how truthful a candidate’s words are. Skillicorn has examined speeches by American Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama. In comparing speeches from both parties’ conventions, he found Obama’s speech had a higher level of spin than did McCain’s.
Skillicorn said people lie on a spectrum. There are outright, deceptive lies, but there are also more socially acceptable forms of lying. Politicians live somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, he said.
“Politicians are always trying to present himself or herself as the most attractive person they can possibly be, and that’s a form of deceptiveness,” he said.
But that form of political deception is a conscious choice politicians make, Skillicorn said. His research focuses on what’s primarily unconscious and comes across in large, publicized events such as political speeches, as well as in everyday situations such as job interviews.
“What you’re going to get is a variation on what that person is actually like that makes them look just a little bit nicer and better and stronger than they really are,” he said.
Although he works with computing science, psychology is where much of Skillicorn’s model is based. He said his work comes from the research of James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
The difference between his model and Pennebaker’s research is the new focus on correlation information, Skillicorn said.
Skillicorn’s model is based on speech patterns among four classes of words. He said deceptive speech has fewer first-person singular pronouns and exclusive words, and an increase in negative emotion words and action words.
When somebody’s being deceptive, they use fewer singular pronouns such as ‘I,’ he said.
“Psychologically, they’re kind of stepping back a little bit from what they’re saying—distancing themselves from it—and that shows up from this reduction in pronoun use.” Exclusive words introduce some variation to a story, Skillicorn said.
“A part of your brainpower is being spent to create this image that isn’t quite the unvarnished truth, and that means you have to keep things a little simpler than you otherwise would,” he said. “It’s really hard to keep adding complexities to whatever it is that you’re talking about.”
He said people use negative emotion words because it’s socially frowned upon to be deceptive.
“That negative feeling that they have about themselves leaks out a bit into the words they use,” he said.
He said the fourth change—an increase in action words—is the most puzzling.
“It has to do with keeping the story moving, trying to … push the listener over any bumps there might be in something that doesn’t quite fit or because you’ve constructed it on the fly, it doesn’t look quite as perfectly smooth as you’d like it to be,” he said, adding that the first three categories seem more plausible than the fourth on psychological grounds.
Although his program analyzes just over 80 words sending different signals to the listener, some words are more important than others in different contexts.
“The [words] that vary the most in the set of things you’re looking at will tend to tell you more information,” he said.
Skillicorn said examining the frequency of words used in speech is no easy task for the human ear.
“We don’t have that much control over the way we use language, not consciously,” he said.
He said other researchers examine speech patterns in terms of factors such as facial expression and voice texture to determine whether someone’s being deceptive, but much of that can be controlled consciously. Orators often go through training to learn how to control these other factors, but because spin is primarily unconscious, it’s difficult to modify.
“You could … go through your speech before you gave it and try and change things so that it would score a little bit more the way that you wanted it to,” he said. “But the trouble is what seems to happen is when you actually give the speech, you put all that stuff back again.”
“The only way you can change it is to change the way you frame the whole situation you’re in,” he said, citing Hillary Clinton—whose speech patterns changed when it became clear Obama was going to win the Democratic nomination—as an example.
Skillicorn said what politicians choose to talk about has a strong influence on how they’ll score. When a speech has a personal bent, it’s different than a speech on a broad issue and is less susceptible to spin.
“If you want to say, ‘I’m going to put giraffes on Mars because I’m an expert on space travel,’ then you’re almost forced to associate who you are to that part of that story,” he said.
Skillicorn said the Canadian election has been harder to analyze because the candidates haven’t posted enough speeches online, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s eight posted speeches have varied in their level of spin.
“You don’t have to look at them very hard to see that they’re very different from what’s going on in the U.S. situation,” he said. “Harper’s speeches are almost like press releases.”
Campaign advertisements are also harder to analyze, Skillicorn said, because they’re more staged than speeches.
“The more off the cuff it is, the more revealing it is,” he said.
Acknowledging many campaign speeches are speechwriters’ collaborations, Skillicorn said candidates still change their deliveries depending on how they’re feeling at the time.
“When a candidate’s reading from a teleprompter, they change on the fly some of these little words which are exactly the ones the model’s picking up,” he said. “Even the speechwriters tend not to notice that that’s happened.”
He said it’s more difficult to measure how deception comes into play for public figures in question-and-answer situations.
“If somebody says to you, ‘What are you going to do?’ you’re almost forced to say, ‘I am going to do this and that,’ … which means that now you’re sending a signal which looks like a lower level of spin.”
Skillicorn said his model can’t be applied to speech in different contexts—for example, it can’t compare a politician and a car salesman.
“The problem is that all these things rely on changes in the relative frequency of words, and so you have to kind of know what the norm is,” he said.
In business writing, for example, it’s much more common to use the pronoun ‘I’ than it might be in other situations.
Skillicorn said his model deals with the use of the word ‘I,’ not ‘we.’ He said politicians are trained to use ‘we,’ but psychologists have found that when men use the word ‘we’ it’s not inclusive at all. He said Obama uses ‘we’ much more often than McCain.
“That’s very much the velvet glove around the iron fist, and it’s a euphemism for ‘you,’ a command. So Obama’s ‘we’s’ are a dangerous thing for him to use, in a way.
“‘We’ can be collective responsibility, but you should always stop to think about it. Could you put ‘you’ here? If you can, then it’s a fake.”
Skillicorn said his model could be applied to everyday conversation, but at this point researchers don’t know how.
He has received requests from as far away as the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal to apply his program to politicians. But he said the model doesn’t easily translate to other languages.
“In French you don’t know what to do with the pronoun ‘on,’ because sometimes … it’s equivalent to ‘je’ and sometimes it’s not, and it’s really hard to tell the difference,” he said. Skillicorn also said it would be difficult to apply his model to historical speeches because of changes in the use of language and a lack of political context.
“The problem with all of this is getting some estimate of the ground truth,” he said. “That gets harder as you go back in time because you just don’t know the political context nearly as well.”
See more results from Skillicorn’s research at skillicorn.wordpress.com.
Reprinted from Queen's Journal, September 30, 2008 edition
Computer model detects deception in political speeches
By Kerri Macdonald and Mike Woods, Journal Staff
Queen’s Computing Science professor David Skillicorn says campaign advertisements are harder to analyze than speeches because they’re more staged. (Tyler Ball)
In so many words
Computing Science Professor David Skillicorn analyzes speeches made by politicians such as American presidential candidates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Here are some samples of “typical” speeches made by Obama and McCain:
Barack Obama (Feb. 13, 2008)“That our prosperity can and must be the tide that lifts every boat; that we rise or fall as one nation; that our economy is strongest when our middle-class grows and opportunity is spread as widely as possible. And when it’s not—when opportunity is uneven or unequal—it is our responsibility to restore balance, and fairness, and keep that promise alive for the next generation.”
John McCain (May 27, 2008)“I believe we must also address nuclear testing. As president I will pledge to continue America’s current moratorium on testing, but also begin a dialogue with our allies, and with the U.S. Senate, to identify ways we can move forward to limit testing in a verifiable manner that does not undermine the security or viability of our nuclear deterrent.”
In the throes of two major elections, it can be tough to detect which politicians are genuine and which are spinning tall tales. But according to a model developed by a Queen’s professor, sniffing out spin is as easy as crunching a few numbers.
David Skillicorn, a professor in the School of Computing, analyzes political speeches to determine how truthful a candidate’s words are. Skillicorn has examined speeches by American Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama. In comparing speeches from both parties’ conventions, he found Obama’s speech had a higher level of spin than did McCain’s.
Skillicorn said people lie on a spectrum. There are outright, deceptive lies, but there are also more socially acceptable forms of lying. Politicians live somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, he said.
“Politicians are always trying to present himself or herself as the most attractive person they can possibly be, and that’s a form of deceptiveness,” he said.
But that form of political deception is a conscious choice politicians make, Skillicorn said. His research focuses on what’s primarily unconscious and comes across in large, publicized events such as political speeches, as well as in everyday situations such as job interviews.
“What you’re going to get is a variation on what that person is actually like that makes them look just a little bit nicer and better and stronger than they really are,” he said.
Although he works with computing science, psychology is where much of Skillicorn’s model is based. He said his work comes from the research of James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
The difference between his model and Pennebaker’s research is the new focus on correlation information, Skillicorn said.
Skillicorn’s model is based on speech patterns among four classes of words. He said deceptive speech has fewer first-person singular pronouns and exclusive words, and an increase in negative emotion words and action words.
When somebody’s being deceptive, they use fewer singular pronouns such as ‘I,’ he said.
“Psychologically, they’re kind of stepping back a little bit from what they’re saying—distancing themselves from it—and that shows up from this reduction in pronoun use.” Exclusive words introduce some variation to a story, Skillicorn said.
“A part of your brainpower is being spent to create this image that isn’t quite the unvarnished truth, and that means you have to keep things a little simpler than you otherwise would,” he said. “It’s really hard to keep adding complexities to whatever it is that you’re talking about.”
He said people use negative emotion words because it’s socially frowned upon to be deceptive.
“That negative feeling that they have about themselves leaks out a bit into the words they use,” he said.
He said the fourth change—an increase in action words—is the most puzzling.
“It has to do with keeping the story moving, trying to … push the listener over any bumps there might be in something that doesn’t quite fit or because you’ve constructed it on the fly, it doesn’t look quite as perfectly smooth as you’d like it to be,” he said, adding that the first three categories seem more plausible than the fourth on psychological grounds.
Although his program analyzes just over 80 words sending different signals to the listener, some words are more important than others in different contexts.
“The [words] that vary the most in the set of things you’re looking at will tend to tell you more information,” he said.
Skillicorn said examining the frequency of words used in speech is no easy task for the human ear.
“We don’t have that much control over the way we use language, not consciously,” he said.
He said other researchers examine speech patterns in terms of factors such as facial expression and voice texture to determine whether someone’s being deceptive, but much of that can be controlled consciously. Orators often go through training to learn how to control these other factors, but because spin is primarily unconscious, it’s difficult to modify.
“You could … go through your speech before you gave it and try and change things so that it would score a little bit more the way that you wanted it to,” he said. “But the trouble is what seems to happen is when you actually give the speech, you put all that stuff back again.”
“The only way you can change it is to change the way you frame the whole situation you’re in,” he said, citing Hillary Clinton—whose speech patterns changed when it became clear Obama was going to win the Democratic nomination—as an example.
Skillicorn said what politicians choose to talk about has a strong influence on how they’ll score. When a speech has a personal bent, it’s different than a speech on a broad issue and is less susceptible to spin.
“If you want to say, ‘I’m going to put giraffes on Mars because I’m an expert on space travel,’ then you’re almost forced to associate who you are to that part of that story,” he said.
Skillicorn said the Canadian election has been harder to analyze because the candidates haven’t posted enough speeches online, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s eight posted speeches have varied in their level of spin.
“You don’t have to look at them very hard to see that they’re very different from what’s going on in the U.S. situation,” he said. “Harper’s speeches are almost like press releases.”
Campaign advertisements are also harder to analyze, Skillicorn said, because they’re more staged than speeches.
“The more off the cuff it is, the more revealing it is,” he said.
Acknowledging many campaign speeches are speechwriters’ collaborations, Skillicorn said candidates still change their deliveries depending on how they’re feeling at the time.
“When a candidate’s reading from a teleprompter, they change on the fly some of these little words which are exactly the ones the model’s picking up,” he said. “Even the speechwriters tend not to notice that that’s happened.”
He said it’s more difficult to measure how deception comes into play for public figures in question-and-answer situations.
“If somebody says to you, ‘What are you going to do?’ you’re almost forced to say, ‘I am going to do this and that,’ … which means that now you’re sending a signal which looks like a lower level of spin.”
Skillicorn said his model can’t be applied to speech in different contexts—for example, it can’t compare a politician and a car salesman.
“The problem is that all these things rely on changes in the relative frequency of words, and so you have to kind of know what the norm is,” he said.
In business writing, for example, it’s much more common to use the pronoun ‘I’ than it might be in other situations.
Skillicorn said his model deals with the use of the word ‘I,’ not ‘we.’ He said politicians are trained to use ‘we,’ but psychologists have found that when men use the word ‘we’ it’s not inclusive at all. He said Obama uses ‘we’ much more often than McCain.
“That’s very much the velvet glove around the iron fist, and it’s a euphemism for ‘you,’ a command. So Obama’s ‘we’s’ are a dangerous thing for him to use, in a way.
“‘We’ can be collective responsibility, but you should always stop to think about it. Could you put ‘you’ here? If you can, then it’s a fake.”
Skillicorn said his model could be applied to everyday conversation, but at this point researchers don’t know how.
He has received requests from as far away as the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal to apply his program to politicians. But he said the model doesn’t easily translate to other languages.
“In French you don’t know what to do with the pronoun ‘on,’ because sometimes … it’s equivalent to ‘je’ and sometimes it’s not, and it’s really hard to tell the difference,” he said. Skillicorn also said it would be difficult to apply his model to historical speeches because of changes in the use of language and a lack of political context.
“The problem with all of this is getting some estimate of the ground truth,” he said. “That gets harder as you go back in time because you just don’t know the political context nearly as well.”
See more results from Skillicorn’s research at skillicorn.wordpress.com.
Reprinted from Queen's Journal, September 30, 2008 edition
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Fall Election: Scandalous
Haven't heard or read about ANYONE wanting a fall election in Canada. That's in a national newspaper and on the radio, and in conversation.
ThePM even says that there will be a minority government after a fall election, so WHY in the world should Canadian taxpayers pay close to $700 million dollars to run an election? And why would parties want to spend their donated money to get the same sort of government?
Until this government, it was said that minority governments in Canada produce some of the best legislation possible. That is because, until the Conservatives got into their current position, the previous PMs were willing, able and committed to governing. THIS PM does not know what "negotiate" or "compromise" mean.
He is a "my way or the highway" person; or "I'll take my ball and go home if you don't play my rules."
Most of us learn how to play on the schoolground, and we make an effort to get along with our peers.
This man refuses to be "nice," to try to work with the other parties. The word "leader" does not apply to him. He's a bossy, mean man.
So, here's a short (but getting longer) list of his disgraceful decisions.
1. Cutting arts funding and supposedly giving it to athletes. Now that's a move that the artistic community hates, and one that athletes can see through, so there will be no votes from athletes in this.
ThePM even says that there will be a minority government after a fall election, so WHY in the world should Canadian taxpayers pay close to $700 million dollars to run an election? And why would parties want to spend their donated money to get the same sort of government?
Until this government, it was said that minority governments in Canada produce some of the best legislation possible. That is because, until the Conservatives got into their current position, the previous PMs were willing, able and committed to governing. THIS PM does not know what "negotiate" or "compromise" mean.
He is a "my way or the highway" person; or "I'll take my ball and go home if you don't play my rules."
Most of us learn how to play on the schoolground, and we make an effort to get along with our peers.
This man refuses to be "nice," to try to work with the other parties. The word "leader" does not apply to him. He's a bossy, mean man.
So, here's a short (but getting longer) list of his disgraceful decisions.
1. Cutting arts funding and supposedly giving it to athletes. Now that's a move that the artistic community hates, and one that athletes can see through, so there will be no votes from athletes in this.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Michael Phelps is NOT the Greatest Olympian
BEIJING -- Could everyone please stop hyperventilating about Michael Phelps?Yes, he now has won more gold medals than anyone in Olympic history.
Your Vote
Who is the greatest athlete in the history of the Summer Olympics?
1.3 %
Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, Germany, kayak
2.2 %
Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, gymnastics
24.7 %
Carl Lewis, U.S., track and field
3.9 %
Paavo Nurmi, Finland, track and field
3.8 %
Steven Redgrave, United Kingdom, rowing
50.1 %
Michael Phelps, United States, swimming
14.2 %
An athlete not listed here
7238 total responses
Ahead of him?1. Carl Lewis, U.S., track and field.2. Paavo Nurmi, Finland, track and field.3. Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, gymnastics.4. Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, Germany, kayak.5. Steven Redgrave, United Kingdom, rowing.Why is Phelps sixth?It is easy to win multiple medals in swimming.The sport is far more forgiving on the body than track or gymnastics.And Phelps does not yet have the long-term record of the others.
Lewis won nine gold medals, four in the 1984 Olympics and four straight in one event, the long jump.Nurmi won nine gold medals at distances from 1,500 to 10,000 meters over three Olympics. He likely would have won more had he not been declared ineligible after 1928 under rules that demanded Olympians be amateurs.Latynina won nine gold medals and 18 total medals over three Olympics.Fischer-Schmidt won her first of eight gold medals in 1980 and her last 24 years later as a 42-year-old mother of two. She won three for the old East Germany and five for the unified Germany. She won in singles, doubles and fours. She also won four silvers.Redgrave won gold medals in five consecutive Olympics while rowing in three different boat types.I asked Phelps on Thursday if winning the most golds makes him the greatest of all time, and he sounded like a man wisely focused on the present."I have no idea," he said. "I just get in the water and swim. That's the only thing I think about."I asked Olympic historian David Wallechinsky the same question, and he ranked Nurmi and Lewis as co-leaders."I think Phelps needs one more Olympics to join them," Wallechinsky said.
Over 12 years, Lewis won two gold medals in the 100 meters, one in the 200, two on the sprint relay and an unprecedented four straight in the long jump, an event in which the impact on the body of the run-up and takeoff has been likened to falling off a truck at 25 mph."What Lewis did is extraordinary. He is No. 1," said France's Marie-Jose Perec, one of three runners to win the 200 and 400 meters in the same Olympics."You can't compare track and swimming. In swimming, you can recover. You can do five races in a day and get world records in all of them. That's impossible in our sport."Don't try to argue that Phelps has been part of world-record performances in his first five events.New pool and suit technology have made swimming's world records meaningless, with 18 record performances through Thursday in the Olympics alone.
Just four world records have fallen in track and field all year.Swimming allows an athlete to race two finals in 29 minutes, as U.S. Olympian Ryan Lochte planned Friday morning.Track and field is so much more physically demanding that neither Allyson Felix nor Sanya Richards dared a 200-400 double after the Olympic schedule put the second round of the 200 within three hours of the 400 final."Swimming is pressure off your body, where we are pounding on it," Felix said.Swimming offers three relays with the risk of a false start minimal. Some sprinters run both of track's longer relays, the 400 and 1,600, but the exchanges on the sprint relay are so dicey Lewis lost a certain medal in 1988 when other U.S. runners botched a baton pass in a preliminary round.If Olympic track had an 800-meter relay, an event in which Lewis was part of a world-record performance, he probably would have won at least two more gold medals.Three of swimming's four strokes -- everything but the breaststroke -- might as well be the same. Otherwise, how could backstroker Matt Grevers say he barely trained that stroke before winning an Olympic silver medal in the 100? Nearly every good freestyler can be a good butterflyer, and vice-versa.
You don't see any 100-meter runners in the mile, or any milers in the long jump.Don't get the wrong idea. Track athletes have great respect for what Phelps has accomplished."It's inspiring to watch in amazement at everything he's doing," Felix said.But he's not the most amazing Olympian ever.
Hersh covers the Olympics for The Times and the Chicago Tribune.
Your Vote
Who is the greatest athlete in the history of the Summer Olympics?
1.3 %
Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, Germany, kayak
2.2 %
Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, gymnastics
24.7 %
Carl Lewis, U.S., track and field
3.9 %
Paavo Nurmi, Finland, track and field
3.8 %
Steven Redgrave, United Kingdom, rowing
50.1 %
Michael Phelps, United States, swimming
14.2 %
An athlete not listed here
7238 total responses
Ahead of him?1. Carl Lewis, U.S., track and field.2. Paavo Nurmi, Finland, track and field.3. Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, gymnastics.4. Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, Germany, kayak.5. Steven Redgrave, United Kingdom, rowing.Why is Phelps sixth?It is easy to win multiple medals in swimming.The sport is far more forgiving on the body than track or gymnastics.And Phelps does not yet have the long-term record of the others.
Lewis won nine gold medals, four in the 1984 Olympics and four straight in one event, the long jump.Nurmi won nine gold medals at distances from 1,500 to 10,000 meters over three Olympics. He likely would have won more had he not been declared ineligible after 1928 under rules that demanded Olympians be amateurs.Latynina won nine gold medals and 18 total medals over three Olympics.Fischer-Schmidt won her first of eight gold medals in 1980 and her last 24 years later as a 42-year-old mother of two. She won three for the old East Germany and five for the unified Germany. She won in singles, doubles and fours. She also won four silvers.Redgrave won gold medals in five consecutive Olympics while rowing in three different boat types.I asked Phelps on Thursday if winning the most golds makes him the greatest of all time, and he sounded like a man wisely focused on the present."I have no idea," he said. "I just get in the water and swim. That's the only thing I think about."I asked Olympic historian David Wallechinsky the same question, and he ranked Nurmi and Lewis as co-leaders."I think Phelps needs one more Olympics to join them," Wallechinsky said.
Over 12 years, Lewis won two gold medals in the 100 meters, one in the 200, two on the sprint relay and an unprecedented four straight in the long jump, an event in which the impact on the body of the run-up and takeoff has been likened to falling off a truck at 25 mph."What Lewis did is extraordinary. He is No. 1," said France's Marie-Jose Perec, one of three runners to win the 200 and 400 meters in the same Olympics."You can't compare track and swimming. In swimming, you can recover. You can do five races in a day and get world records in all of them. That's impossible in our sport."Don't try to argue that Phelps has been part of world-record performances in his first five events.New pool and suit technology have made swimming's world records meaningless, with 18 record performances through Thursday in the Olympics alone.
Just four world records have fallen in track and field all year.Swimming allows an athlete to race two finals in 29 minutes, as U.S. Olympian Ryan Lochte planned Friday morning.Track and field is so much more physically demanding that neither Allyson Felix nor Sanya Richards dared a 200-400 double after the Olympic schedule put the second round of the 200 within three hours of the 400 final."Swimming is pressure off your body, where we are pounding on it," Felix said.Swimming offers three relays with the risk of a false start minimal. Some sprinters run both of track's longer relays, the 400 and 1,600, but the exchanges on the sprint relay are so dicey Lewis lost a certain medal in 1988 when other U.S. runners botched a baton pass in a preliminary round.If Olympic track had an 800-meter relay, an event in which Lewis was part of a world-record performance, he probably would have won at least two more gold medals.Three of swimming's four strokes -- everything but the breaststroke -- might as well be the same. Otherwise, how could backstroker Matt Grevers say he barely trained that stroke before winning an Olympic silver medal in the 100? Nearly every good freestyler can be a good butterflyer, and vice-versa.
You don't see any 100-meter runners in the mile, or any milers in the long jump.Don't get the wrong idea. Track athletes have great respect for what Phelps has accomplished."It's inspiring to watch in amazement at everything he's doing," Felix said.But he's not the most amazing Olympian ever.
Hersh covers the Olympics for The Times and the Chicago Tribune.
Friday, August 08, 2008
No Harper, and No Minister of Sport (We Don't Even HAVE One). Canada sure is a Loser
IOC President to meet with world leaders
On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, IOC President Jacques Rogge is to meet with some of the world’s major leaders, who are visiting Beijing for the opening ceremony. Among the leaders Rogge will be meeting are Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Brazillian President Luiz Lula da Silva.
More world leaders – more than 100 sovereigns, heads of state and heads of government - will be attending the Beijing Olympic Games, as well as 170 Ministers of Sport.
As well as discussing the Beijing Games, Rogge will be using the meetings as an opportunity to raise issues of concern to the Olympic movement – the fight against doping, and the role of sport in education and in improving public health.
Sport’s role in improving health outcomes “It is essential that we promote the central role of sport in modern society,” said Rogge today. “Everyday sport can deliver substantial social, environmental and economic benefits by reducing obesity and cardiac disease and creating a healthy society. The IOC wants governments to support elite sport and the Olympic movement – that’s essential – but we also want them to invest in public sports facilities.”
Just as vital is that the IOC and governments collaborate in the fight against doping by providing consistent funding for WADA, enabling co-operation between law enforcement and doping authorities; and application of the World Anti-Doping Code. This may require legislative change.
Doping – a problem to be tackled together Doping, and particularly steroid abuse, is a public health issue – it is not simply a matter for elite sport – it reaches down into amateur sports clubs, universities and high schools and causes physical and psychological damage to the user. This trickle-down effect is what should worry everyone. Moreover, steroid use and crime are inextricably linked – many acts of violent crime in society are thought to be connected to steroid use.”
President Rogge will continue to promote these issues, through both the IOC and collaboration with other Olympic organisations, in his regular schedule of visits and consultations with world leaders regarding their national sport agenda.
[This is an IOC News Release, dated August 8, 2008]
On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, IOC President Jacques Rogge is to meet with some of the world’s major leaders, who are visiting Beijing for the opening ceremony. Among the leaders Rogge will be meeting are Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Brazillian President Luiz Lula da Silva.
More world leaders – more than 100 sovereigns, heads of state and heads of government - will be attending the Beijing Olympic Games, as well as 170 Ministers of Sport.
As well as discussing the Beijing Games, Rogge will be using the meetings as an opportunity to raise issues of concern to the Olympic movement – the fight against doping, and the role of sport in education and in improving public health.
Sport’s role in improving health outcomes “It is essential that we promote the central role of sport in modern society,” said Rogge today. “Everyday sport can deliver substantial social, environmental and economic benefits by reducing obesity and cardiac disease and creating a healthy society. The IOC wants governments to support elite sport and the Olympic movement – that’s essential – but we also want them to invest in public sports facilities.”
Just as vital is that the IOC and governments collaborate in the fight against doping by providing consistent funding for WADA, enabling co-operation between law enforcement and doping authorities; and application of the World Anti-Doping Code. This may require legislative change.
Doping – a problem to be tackled together Doping, and particularly steroid abuse, is a public health issue – it is not simply a matter for elite sport – it reaches down into amateur sports clubs, universities and high schools and causes physical and psychological damage to the user. This trickle-down effect is what should worry everyone. Moreover, steroid use and crime are inextricably linked – many acts of violent crime in society are thought to be connected to steroid use.”
President Rogge will continue to promote these issues, through both the IOC and collaboration with other Olympic organisations, in his regular schedule of visits and consultations with world leaders regarding their national sport agenda.
[This is an IOC News Release, dated August 8, 2008]
"Last Minute Harper" and He's Still Staying Home. Probably a Good Thing.
Harper backing city's Pan Am bid
McGuinty off to China to lobby sports officials at Olympics to boost Toronto area's chances
Aug 08, 2008 04:30 AM
Be the first to comment on this article... Robert Benzie Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is backing Toronto's $1.77 billion bid for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Harper yesterday gave Ottawa's endorsement of efforts to host the international sports event in Toronto and a dozen other Golden Horseshoe municipalities.
"It's very positive. It's a boost for the entire region," federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the Star last night.
"Toronto hasn't had a major sporting event in many, many years," said Flaherty, who is Harper's Greater Toronto Area minister.
He added that in difficult economic times, the Pan Am Games would "create jobs and construction activity" and leave behind an infrastructure legacy in the GTA and beyond.
Flaherty emphasized that Ottawa's funding commitment is still being finalized because security costs are being calculated with the OPP, the RCMP and other agencies.
Ottawa's move, which came months earlier than expected, led Premier Dalton McGuinty to start packing to fly to China to lobby sports officials at the Olympics.
"The premier will be taking the important next step of going to Beijing Aug. 13 to 15 to speak with key national Olympic committee chairs, to make sure Ontario has the best opportunity to make a winning case," said press secretary Jane Almeida.
"Moving forward, we will be working closely with the federal government and municipalities."
McGuinty had been gearing up for the lobbying trip. "I am ready and raring to go," the premier told reporters on July 23.
"To say I'm really, really, really keen on this is a gross understatement," Michael Chambers, the Canadian Olympic Committee president, told the Star's Jim Byers in Beijing. "I really believe we can do this and that it's not a shot in the dark. It's a bid we can win.
"We'll have tremendous games and it will be a building block for what we're seeing here in China."
Chambers said the southern Ontario bid will be officially presented to Pan American Sports Organization officials at Canada Olympic House in Beijing on Aug. 14.
The Pan Am Games, open to 42 nations in the Americas, are held every four years. They were held in Rio de Janeiro last year and will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.
Other cities expected to bid for the 2015 Games are Bogota, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; and Lima, Peru, but insiders say Toronto – one of the largest media markets in North or South America – has a great shot at hosting them. The winner will be chosen next year.
There had been concerns that Ottawa would not have completed its study of the bid before the Pan American Sports Organization's general meeting in October.
While the municipalities, the province and Ottawa will each be on the hook for about $620 million, Queen's Park has agreed to cover any overruns to the expected $1.77 billion tab.
McGuinty off to China to lobby sports officials at Olympics to boost Toronto area's chances
Aug 08, 2008 04:30 AM
Be the first to comment on this article... Robert Benzie Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is backing Toronto's $1.77 billion bid for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Harper yesterday gave Ottawa's endorsement of efforts to host the international sports event in Toronto and a dozen other Golden Horseshoe municipalities.
"It's very positive. It's a boost for the entire region," federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the Star last night.
"Toronto hasn't had a major sporting event in many, many years," said Flaherty, who is Harper's Greater Toronto Area minister.
He added that in difficult economic times, the Pan Am Games would "create jobs and construction activity" and leave behind an infrastructure legacy in the GTA and beyond.
Flaherty emphasized that Ottawa's funding commitment is still being finalized because security costs are being calculated with the OPP, the RCMP and other agencies.
Ottawa's move, which came months earlier than expected, led Premier Dalton McGuinty to start packing to fly to China to lobby sports officials at the Olympics.
"The premier will be taking the important next step of going to Beijing Aug. 13 to 15 to speak with key national Olympic committee chairs, to make sure Ontario has the best opportunity to make a winning case," said press secretary Jane Almeida.
"Moving forward, we will be working closely with the federal government and municipalities."
McGuinty had been gearing up for the lobbying trip. "I am ready and raring to go," the premier told reporters on July 23.
"To say I'm really, really, really keen on this is a gross understatement," Michael Chambers, the Canadian Olympic Committee president, told the Star's Jim Byers in Beijing. "I really believe we can do this and that it's not a shot in the dark. It's a bid we can win.
"We'll have tremendous games and it will be a building block for what we're seeing here in China."
Chambers said the southern Ontario bid will be officially presented to Pan American Sports Organization officials at Canada Olympic House in Beijing on Aug. 14.
The Pan Am Games, open to 42 nations in the Americas, are held every four years. They were held in Rio de Janeiro last year and will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.
Other cities expected to bid for the 2015 Games are Bogota, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; and Lima, Peru, but insiders say Toronto – one of the largest media markets in North or South America – has a great shot at hosting them. The winner will be chosen next year.
There had been concerns that Ottawa would not have completed its study of the bid before the Pan American Sports Organization's general meeting in October.
While the municipalities, the province and Ottawa will each be on the hook for about $620 million, Queen's Park has agreed to cover any overruns to the expected $1.77 billion tab.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Beijing, Echos of Cuba
On Monday night, Pastor Mansbridge began his National News program from Beijing.
There he was, smog and all behind him, but no teleprompter.
He had a segment about security in China, noting the neighbourhood community watches that have been set up. These are citizens who have volunteered (and recieved a little red band for their left arm) to keep watch on their own neighbourhood, and report anyone or anything suspicious.
There was even a shot of two women fanning themselves, sitting on pots or something, "looking out" for their neighbourhood.
How it took me back. In 1990-1991 when we made trips to Cuba in preparation for the Pan American Games, we saw and knew that locals would "report" on their neighbours. We saw the grandmothers out for their morning exercises, calesthenics actually, then they would disperse, and go about their business. Part of that business was ratting on their neighbours.
This is the way Castro keeps the population in check: have spies who report up the ladder.
Castro reigns not through the love of his people, but by fear. Do something wrong, say something about the government or a "leader" and find yourself in the clink.
The Cuban people are an amazing lot to have survived with so little, without contact with the outside world, and living in constant fear. It becomes a way of life.
So little "freedom" in China and Cuba.
How fortunate Canadians are.
There he was, smog and all behind him, but no teleprompter.
He had a segment about security in China, noting the neighbourhood community watches that have been set up. These are citizens who have volunteered (and recieved a little red band for their left arm) to keep watch on their own neighbourhood, and report anyone or anything suspicious.
There was even a shot of two women fanning themselves, sitting on pots or something, "looking out" for their neighbourhood.
How it took me back. In 1990-1991 when we made trips to Cuba in preparation for the Pan American Games, we saw and knew that locals would "report" on their neighbours. We saw the grandmothers out for their morning exercises, calesthenics actually, then they would disperse, and go about their business. Part of that business was ratting on their neighbours.
This is the way Castro keeps the population in check: have spies who report up the ladder.
Castro reigns not through the love of his people, but by fear. Do something wrong, say something about the government or a "leader" and find yourself in the clink.
The Cuban people are an amazing lot to have survived with so little, without contact with the outside world, and living in constant fear. It becomes a way of life.
So little "freedom" in China and Cuba.
How fortunate Canadians are.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Trouble on the Horizon and Lying
Trouble on the China borders as well as protests in Beijing that are quelled by rounding up the people and herding them into a paddy-wagon, foreshadow a stressful Olympics and serious trouble during the Games.
If anyone in the world still thinks that China is a fair and honourable nation, they must have been snoozing while the media reports on the third athlete whose age is in doubt. I hope that reporters don't let this one go. These female gymnasts are under-age, as their earlier documents show. The docs they submitted to the Organizing Committee were "doctored" to have these young girls able to compete in Beijing. FIG instigated the age rule for a reason...to stop medal-hungry nations from overtraining girls and putting their lives in jeopardy.
The Chinese are lying. Getting those medals ahead of the USA is the most important thing, except of course spending $35 billion on these Games, China's "coming out party."
China shames the Olympic Movement, and countries let them get away with this stuff.
Shame, Mr Rogge.
If anyone in the world still thinks that China is a fair and honourable nation, they must have been snoozing while the media reports on the third athlete whose age is in doubt. I hope that reporters don't let this one go. These female gymnasts are under-age, as their earlier documents show. The docs they submitted to the Organizing Committee were "doctored" to have these young girls able to compete in Beijing. FIG instigated the age rule for a reason...to stop medal-hungry nations from overtraining girls and putting their lives in jeopardy.
The Chinese are lying. Getting those medals ahead of the USA is the most important thing, except of course spending $35 billion on these Games, China's "coming out party."
China shames the Olympic Movement, and countries let them get away with this stuff.
Shame, Mr Rogge.
Some Beijing Stuff
With the Olympics just 3+ days away, we hear that Mr Emerson will lead a delegation to Beijing. Not the Prime Minister.
When talk of an Olympic boycott started several months agao, the PM said he would not be going to Beijing. Supposedly boycotting, although he said that wasn't the reason.
So, when Mr Emerson gets to Beijing, and is asked why the Prime Minister didn't go, which of the following will he answer?
1. He is too busy.
2. He is boycotting China because of its human rights record.
3. He had a vacation planned.
4. He didn't feel like travelling all that way.
5. His medical shots aren't up-to-date.
6. He is worried about the food (one reporter noted "Donkey Pot Pie" on a menu in Beijing)
7. He just didn't think it was important.
8. He's not good at "small talk."
9. He didn't want to have to answer questions about the federal government's dallying about and not being able to make a decision about support for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
10. None of the above.
Canadians are embarassed that he is not going. Once again, he demonstrates his disregard for Canada's international reputation, his contempt for the Canadian people, and his arrogance.
Let's get to the polls in the fall, and get rid of this government and this Prime Minister.
When talk of an Olympic boycott started several months agao, the PM said he would not be going to Beijing. Supposedly boycotting, although he said that wasn't the reason.
So, when Mr Emerson gets to Beijing, and is asked why the Prime Minister didn't go, which of the following will he answer?
1. He is too busy.
2. He is boycotting China because of its human rights record.
3. He had a vacation planned.
4. He didn't feel like travelling all that way.
5. His medical shots aren't up-to-date.
6. He is worried about the food (one reporter noted "Donkey Pot Pie" on a menu in Beijing)
7. He just didn't think it was important.
8. He's not good at "small talk."
9. He didn't want to have to answer questions about the federal government's dallying about and not being able to make a decision about support for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
10. None of the above.
Canadians are embarassed that he is not going. Once again, he demonstrates his disregard for Canada's international reputation, his contempt for the Canadian people, and his arrogance.
Let's get to the polls in the fall, and get rid of this government and this Prime Minister.
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Globe & Mail and the 21st Century
It's hard to believe, but check this...The Globe does a nice story about swimmer Julia Wilkinson breaking her own Canadian record, set 3 weeks ago at the Olympic Trials.
BUT, along side the good-news story, they run a photo of a MALE swimmer competing in the 200m fly. And it doesn't even say that he won his event!
How far have women come????
Better still, how far has The Globe come?
BUT, along side the good-news story, they run a photo of a MALE swimmer competing in the 200m fly. And it doesn't even say that he won his event!
How far have women come????
Better still, how far has The Globe come?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Heat of the Moment
Sometimes when people get wound up, they get carried away, and say things that listeners cannot figure out.
Such was the case on Tuesday evening during a long, unfocussed discussion about an aquatic facility in Kingston. Background...city staff suggested continuing to explore details for a new aquatic facility. Their recommendation was quite clear: spend the money already agreed to in the current budget to get some answers to questions that were arising (this was Commissioner Beach's remark).
Nearing the end of the rambling, unfocussed discussion about the recommendation, Councillor Hutchison remarked "We are trying to hit a home run and we haven't even got to first base."
Does he know what he said? If so, what does this mean? A player hits a home run from the plate, not first base. What a comment.
On more than one occasion, the mayor (to his credit) reminded council what the proposal actually was...the one agreed to many moons ago, and described in the council materials: an aquatic facility that would be comprised of one long pool that could be divided into two 25m pools PLUS another 25m pool that would have a number of leisure features incorporated into it. He rightly commented that a long pool, the 50m pool, would not be adequate for competitions (major or minor) because there would be no warm-up pool.
On this he is absolutely correct. Proponants of a new aquatic facility support the location at the Invista Centre, and they support a complex that would be suitable for major competitions (in all 4 Olympic sports). This is in agreement with current practice around the world: if one expects to hold any kind of elite compeition, a warm-up pool is mandatory.
Let's hope that councillors read and understand the material that they have been given.
Councillor Osanic's frustration at the process (going over the same, already-decided material repeatedly) is I am sure felt by other councillors who have kept up with the debate, read their material, talked to people who know what they are talking about. And it surely must be frustrating for Commissioner Beach and her colleagues on staff, to have to find answers to questions that have already been answered, or worse, answers to questions that can only be answered when additional study has been done. [one councillor suggested that a Murtha pool was best, having just heard Councillor Gerretsen say "we are not experts in this." ]
Patience is the order for this day, this month, and for the last 2 years. One must admire the patience of Commissioner Beach who is carrying this project.
My patience is wearing thin.
Such was the case on Tuesday evening during a long, unfocussed discussion about an aquatic facility in Kingston. Background...city staff suggested continuing to explore details for a new aquatic facility. Their recommendation was quite clear: spend the money already agreed to in the current budget to get some answers to questions that were arising (this was Commissioner Beach's remark).
Nearing the end of the rambling, unfocussed discussion about the recommendation, Councillor Hutchison remarked "We are trying to hit a home run and we haven't even got to first base."
Does he know what he said? If so, what does this mean? A player hits a home run from the plate, not first base. What a comment.
On more than one occasion, the mayor (to his credit) reminded council what the proposal actually was...the one agreed to many moons ago, and described in the council materials: an aquatic facility that would be comprised of one long pool that could be divided into two 25m pools PLUS another 25m pool that would have a number of leisure features incorporated into it. He rightly commented that a long pool, the 50m pool, would not be adequate for competitions (major or minor) because there would be no warm-up pool.
On this he is absolutely correct. Proponants of a new aquatic facility support the location at the Invista Centre, and they support a complex that would be suitable for major competitions (in all 4 Olympic sports). This is in agreement with current practice around the world: if one expects to hold any kind of elite compeition, a warm-up pool is mandatory.
Let's hope that councillors read and understand the material that they have been given.
Councillor Osanic's frustration at the process (going over the same, already-decided material repeatedly) is I am sure felt by other councillors who have kept up with the debate, read their material, talked to people who know what they are talking about. And it surely must be frustrating for Commissioner Beach and her colleagues on staff, to have to find answers to questions that have already been answered, or worse, answers to questions that can only be answered when additional study has been done. [one councillor suggested that a Murtha pool was best, having just heard Councillor Gerretsen say "we are not experts in this." ]
Patience is the order for this day, this month, and for the last 2 years. One must admire the patience of Commissioner Beach who is carrying this project.
My patience is wearing thin.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Support A Progressive Community!
At the city council meeting tomorrow evening, councillors will consider whether or not to continue investigating the feasibility of a fine aquatic centre for Kingston.
Let's hope that this city council demonstrates what so many citizens want: a council that is progressive, that leads, and that isn't satisfied with just plodding along, but rather, wants to raise the bar for this community.
Eastern Ontario will use an aquatic facility full-tilt if they build it and then hire a creative, experienced programmer for it. This has the potential for being the hub of activity for this city, but it will take progressive councillors to make this happen.
No city in this country has even thought about building a 25m pool that could be expanded. Expanded? What is that...a miracle happening?
With the Olympics barely 26 days away, city council can take a lesson from athletes. Not one of them got to the Olympics by saying "I can't do it. I'm not good enough." Every one got there by believing they COULD do it, and then getting busy making it happen. And not one of them is going there planning to be second or third or down the pack. Every one is going there to win, to be first, to bust their buns. If they can do it, why can't Kingston?
Kingston can be a leader. It can be proactive. It can plan for today and the future. Let's hope it does.
Let's hope that this city council demonstrates what so many citizens want: a council that is progressive, that leads, and that isn't satisfied with just plodding along, but rather, wants to raise the bar for this community.
Eastern Ontario will use an aquatic facility full-tilt if they build it and then hire a creative, experienced programmer for it. This has the potential for being the hub of activity for this city, but it will take progressive councillors to make this happen.
No city in this country has even thought about building a 25m pool that could be expanded. Expanded? What is that...a miracle happening?
With the Olympics barely 26 days away, city council can take a lesson from athletes. Not one of them got to the Olympics by saying "I can't do it. I'm not good enough." Every one got there by believing they COULD do it, and then getting busy making it happen. And not one of them is going there planning to be second or third or down the pack. Every one is going there to win, to be first, to bust their buns. If they can do it, why can't Kingston?
Kingston can be a leader. It can be proactive. It can plan for today and the future. Let's hope it does.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Stop Stabbing Your Finger At Me!
Stop Stabbing Your Finger at Me!!!
One of these days, "important" people are going to figure out that we hate being pointed at and finger-stabbed at!
Look at this photo of Steve Harper, on July 6th.
http://www.thestar.com/news
Stop pointing!!!!
He's probably taken a lesson from that awful George Stroumboulopoulis on the CBC. He points to the camera, the fans, everyone all the time. No wonder we aren't watching his show. Or Obama or Clinton.
Do they think we like this? Someone tell them we don't!!!
Give them presentation lessons, quickly!
help!!!
One of these days, "important" people are going to figure out that we hate being pointed at and finger-stabbed at!
Look at this photo of Steve Harper, on July 6th.
http://www.thestar.com/news
Stop pointing!!!!
He's probably taken a lesson from that awful George Stroumboulopoulis on the CBC. He points to the camera, the fans, everyone all the time. No wonder we aren't watching his show. Or Obama or Clinton.
Do they think we like this? Someone tell them we don't!!!
Give them presentation lessons, quickly!
help!!!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
As for the Olympics, don't you dare mention the B-word
Printed in The Kingston Whig Standard, July 2, 2008.
By Diana Davis Duerkop
Parents spend a lot of time helping their offspring understand the consequences of their behaviour. If you leave your clothes on the bedroom floor, one day, you won’t have any clean clothes to wear. If you don’t lock your bike securely, someone may steal it. If you drive a vehicle after drinking, you could be in an accident and cause tremendous harm to yourself and others
Young people aren’t the only ones that have to learn about consequences. Organizations, including governments, also need to understand the consequences of their decisions.
Talk of a Canadian boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games has thankfully dropped to a whisper. The consequences of boycotting are now apparent not only to athletes, but also to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and to the government of Canada. Many people do not realize that the decision about whether or not to go will be made by the COC, not the government. It is in this context that the undeniable link between sports and politics is demonstrated once again.
Let’s look at a few of the negatives of missing these Olympics. It costs the COC a lot of money to send a team composed of athletes, mission staff and medical support. The money doesn’t come from the federal government because the COC is a private, not-for-profit organization responsible for Canada’s participation in the Olympics. The COC raises money through sponsorships, licensing goods and services, and donations. Interestingly, when the COC wilted under the federal government’s pressure not to go to Moscow in April 1980, the compensation package was about $3.2 million in 2008 dollars. Given that costs have increased and there are more athletes and support staff, it will cost around $5 million to send this team to Beijing. Much of this money has already been spent.
All the International Federations that organize sports on the Olympic program hold elections of executive and committees in the host city prior to the games. Key decisions about the sport are made at these meetings. If Canadians do not attend these meetings, they won’t have a voice or get elected, and Canada’s representation and ability to influence international sports will be greatly diminished. Election to these positions requires years of politicking; if missing this time, it is doubtful that Canadians will be elected even at the next meetings in 2012. Our ability to lead and influence in the international arena is therefore compromised.
If we didn’t attend the games, Canada’s reputation would suffer tremendously, not only in the sport community but in the social, economic, education and political spheres. A few illustrations. Canada is, for example, investing $13 billion in the Port of Prince Rupert and railway lines leading to it, to develop a transpacific trade corridor. The city is to become the gateway to Pacific nations from mid-America. Any uncertainty around Canada’s support for China, a significant trading partner, would be disastrous economically.
One other illustration. Since 2001, Canada has signalled its interest in once again holding one of the non-permanent seats on the United Nation’s Security Council. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that China, a permanent member, would not welcome Canada at the table if it boycotts their games, and might actively campaign against Canada.
All this is not to ignore the people for whom the games are organized. Rather, it is intended to illustrate the interrelationship of sport and politics, and importance of being aware of some of the less obvious consequences of boycotting Beijing.
The biggest impact a boycott would have would be on the athletes. The road to the Olympics is long, difficult, and rewarding. One has only to follow the process to understand that few Canadians actually get to an Olympic Games. Canada’s men’s basketball team is in the final stages of preparation for the last opportunity to qualify for Beijing. Only 20 players in all of Canada were even invited to try-out for the team. The team must place in the top three at the conclusion of the July tournament to get to Beijing. This is a monumental task, and one that head coach Leo Rautins relishes. You see, he was a player on the men’s basketball team that didn’t go to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He knows the meaning of a boycott because he was one of the disappointed athletes. And just what did that boycott accomplish?
Let’s not even whisper of boycotts. They do more harm than good.
-30-
Diana Davis Duerkop is a former Vice-President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. She is a board member of the Kingston & District Sports Hall of Fame and Sport Kingston, and lives in Kingston.
By Diana Davis Duerkop
Parents spend a lot of time helping their offspring understand the consequences of their behaviour. If you leave your clothes on the bedroom floor, one day, you won’t have any clean clothes to wear. If you don’t lock your bike securely, someone may steal it. If you drive a vehicle after drinking, you could be in an accident and cause tremendous harm to yourself and others
Young people aren’t the only ones that have to learn about consequences. Organizations, including governments, also need to understand the consequences of their decisions.
Talk of a Canadian boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games has thankfully dropped to a whisper. The consequences of boycotting are now apparent not only to athletes, but also to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and to the government of Canada. Many people do not realize that the decision about whether or not to go will be made by the COC, not the government. It is in this context that the undeniable link between sports and politics is demonstrated once again.
Let’s look at a few of the negatives of missing these Olympics. It costs the COC a lot of money to send a team composed of athletes, mission staff and medical support. The money doesn’t come from the federal government because the COC is a private, not-for-profit organization responsible for Canada’s participation in the Olympics. The COC raises money through sponsorships, licensing goods and services, and donations. Interestingly, when the COC wilted under the federal government’s pressure not to go to Moscow in April 1980, the compensation package was about $3.2 million in 2008 dollars. Given that costs have increased and there are more athletes and support staff, it will cost around $5 million to send this team to Beijing. Much of this money has already been spent.
All the International Federations that organize sports on the Olympic program hold elections of executive and committees in the host city prior to the games. Key decisions about the sport are made at these meetings. If Canadians do not attend these meetings, they won’t have a voice or get elected, and Canada’s representation and ability to influence international sports will be greatly diminished. Election to these positions requires years of politicking; if missing this time, it is doubtful that Canadians will be elected even at the next meetings in 2012. Our ability to lead and influence in the international arena is therefore compromised.
If we didn’t attend the games, Canada’s reputation would suffer tremendously, not only in the sport community but in the social, economic, education and political spheres. A few illustrations. Canada is, for example, investing $13 billion in the Port of Prince Rupert and railway lines leading to it, to develop a transpacific trade corridor. The city is to become the gateway to Pacific nations from mid-America. Any uncertainty around Canada’s support for China, a significant trading partner, would be disastrous economically.
One other illustration. Since 2001, Canada has signalled its interest in once again holding one of the non-permanent seats on the United Nation’s Security Council. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that China, a permanent member, would not welcome Canada at the table if it boycotts their games, and might actively campaign against Canada.
All this is not to ignore the people for whom the games are organized. Rather, it is intended to illustrate the interrelationship of sport and politics, and importance of being aware of some of the less obvious consequences of boycotting Beijing.
The biggest impact a boycott would have would be on the athletes. The road to the Olympics is long, difficult, and rewarding. One has only to follow the process to understand that few Canadians actually get to an Olympic Games. Canada’s men’s basketball team is in the final stages of preparation for the last opportunity to qualify for Beijing. Only 20 players in all of Canada were even invited to try-out for the team. The team must place in the top three at the conclusion of the July tournament to get to Beijing. This is a monumental task, and one that head coach Leo Rautins relishes. You see, he was a player on the men’s basketball team that didn’t go to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He knows the meaning of a boycott because he was one of the disappointed athletes. And just what did that boycott accomplish?
Let’s not even whisper of boycotts. They do more harm than good.
-30-
Diana Davis Duerkop is a former Vice-President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. She is a board member of the Kingston & District Sports Hall of Fame and Sport Kingston, and lives in Kingston.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Nearly Olympics Time!
Yeserday in a local grocery store, a couple of clerks were decked out in red and white to celebrate Canada day today.
One woman wore the Team Canada T-shirt and pants (aka pyjamas), which she said were very comfortable. [Get them at The Bay, and support the team. Remember, there is NO government money in getting the team to Beijing, keeping it fed and accomodated there, and getting it home. Not even unis .]
Apparently they weren't made for Canadian men: they are, shall we say, binding. A team meembr had tried theem on, and turned thumbs down.
Sure is going to be tough on the eyes, if they wear that outfit as the Parade outfit at the Opening Ceremony. Which I doubt. Athletes have several outfits, one of which is spiffy and is to be worn at the Opening.
One woman wore the Team Canada T-shirt and pants (aka pyjamas), which she said were very comfortable. [Get them at The Bay, and support the team. Remember, there is NO government money in getting the team to Beijing, keeping it fed and accomodated there, and getting it home. Not even unis .]
Apparently they weren't made for Canadian men: they are, shall we say, binding. A team meembr had tried theem on, and turned thumbs down.
Sure is going to be tough on the eyes, if they wear that outfit as the Parade outfit at the Opening Ceremony. Which I doubt. Athletes have several outfits, one of which is spiffy and is to be worn at the Opening.
No one Thought About the Equipment?
Thanks to all for your comments. Too bad the anonymous notes (left by those who just bitch and have no particular reason to be anyoymous) are left by people who are not prepared to stand by their opinions. That's why The Whig won't publish your letters: they only publish letters written by those who have the guts to sign their names.....
And, in follow-up to the comments about the generators.....keep checking the tenders on the city's website, and the line items in the dreadful reports of the LVEC operations that are sent to council. Soon, there will be calls for tenders for, not one, but TWO more generators for the LVEC. Yes that's right. The power supply was so inadequate for at least 2 of the shows that came through Kingston since the opening on February 12, that management has said that more power is needed, and two generators will be ordered. Probably when that can be done under cloak of darkness! ha ha.
For at least 2 shows, auxillary generators had to be "rented" in order to supply suffieient power.
Just keep watching for this....
And for those who enter downtown via Place d'Armes, 2-3 weeks of Ontario Street only should cause a few headaches. It's not really funny, particularly for fire truck drivers and ambulance drivers. If you have seen fire trucks travelling north on Ontario Street, screeching to a manageable speed at Fort Frontenac, you will have much appreciation for them. Especially when they are carrying a full load of water....2000 lbs. They don't really like it at all.
And, in follow-up to the comments about the generators.....keep checking the tenders on the city's website, and the line items in the dreadful reports of the LVEC operations that are sent to council. Soon, there will be calls for tenders for, not one, but TWO more generators for the LVEC. Yes that's right. The power supply was so inadequate for at least 2 of the shows that came through Kingston since the opening on February 12, that management has said that more power is needed, and two generators will be ordered. Probably when that can be done under cloak of darkness! ha ha.
For at least 2 shows, auxillary generators had to be "rented" in order to supply suffieient power.
Just keep watching for this....
And for those who enter downtown via Place d'Armes, 2-3 weeks of Ontario Street only should cause a few headaches. It's not really funny, particularly for fire truck drivers and ambulance drivers. If you have seen fire trucks travelling north on Ontario Street, screeching to a manageable speed at Fort Frontenac, you will have much appreciation for them. Especially when they are carrying a full load of water....2000 lbs. They don't really like it at all.
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.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Peregrine Falcons Growing Up
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/falcon/
Follow the link to see a Peregrine Falcon keeping her 3 babies warm on the Radisson Hotel in Winnipeg.
We have been watching the eggs hatch, then the babies being fed, and parents changing places. This is truly one fine experience.
Show your children!
Follow the link to see a Peregrine Falcon keeping her 3 babies warm on the Radisson Hotel in Winnipeg.
We have been watching the eggs hatch, then the babies being fed, and parents changing places. This is truly one fine experience.
Show your children!
Fall Election? Definitely!
This government is absolutely incredible.
It is led by a man whose ethics are not ingrained, like most Canadians, but that are skin deep and can be changed (like underwear, as Ms Couillard would say) for convenience and to keep in power.
This is a man who claims to be honourable. No one in this country would use that word to describe him.
The sooner Canadians can get to the polls, the better.
It is led by a man whose ethics are not ingrained, like most Canadians, but that are skin deep and can be changed (like underwear, as Ms Couillard would say) for convenience and to keep in power.
This is a man who claims to be honourable. No one in this country would use that word to describe him.
The sooner Canadians can get to the polls, the better.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
More on Queen's and its Principal
The last few years at Queen's have been full of change. New facilities, building construction, street redesign and upgrading, new policies, faculty and staff retirements and new hires....the list is long.
The next few years must be seen as a period of "entrenchment." This isn't stagnation, not doing anything, standing pat. It is insuring that initiatives of the past few years are incorporated into the university's modus operandi.
It takes a particular kind of person to do this effectively, not "just anybody."
Let's hope that those who identify the criteria essential for the next Principal, take this into account.
The next few years must be seen as a period of "entrenchment." This isn't stagnation, not doing anything, standing pat. It is insuring that initiatives of the past few years are incorporated into the university's modus operandi.
It takes a particular kind of person to do this effectively, not "just anybody."
Let's hope that those who identify the criteria essential for the next Principal, take this into account.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Queen's and It's Most Recent Principal
It's not easy for an organization to lose the person who holds the top position, particularly when the person is expected to continue in the job.
Until the AMS passed its resolution in March, there had only been rumblings and grapevine talk about the job that the principal was doing. The resolution forced, fortunately, the talk-over-coffee out into the open.
I was fortunate to be a part of a group called "The Group for Excellence." Its sole raison d'etre was to provide expert input into the physical activity component of the Queen's Centre. The group met for almost 3 years, developed a program for the facility, met with key persons on campus who were involved in the process, lobbied the trustees, and ultimately met with Principal Hitchcock to explain our suggestions, and try to have her understand the tremendous benefits of the university building a 50m swimming pool.
It was at this meeting (with one other graduate of Queen's, and the Principal) that I began to understand that she really didn't want to hear what we had to say, and really didn't care at all. Our meeting was half an hour. We had carefully planned the key points to make, the rationale, and the counter-arguments we expected her to make. We barely opened our mouths before SHE began to talk. She pretty well talked the whole time. We did make our key point, but it was quite clear that she had made up her mind and there was no point in our banging our heads against a concrete wall.
In all the years I have worked with others who are committed to a project, the "Group for Excellence" was the most satisfying, and the least satisfying. A group of about 15 people with wide sport interests agreed that the greater good would be served by our working together.
Never have I presented an idea to someone who not only refused to listen, but insisted in talking the whole time.
So the resolution that the AMS passed didn't surprise me, and it didn't surprise me to hear that students on campus think she doesn't connect with them. She doesn't.
Communication is a 2 way thing, and listening requires "hearing" what others are saying. One of the common techniques to effective listening is to concentrate on what is being said, and NOT getting ready to counter the arguments.
It has been said that her gender and American citizenship were the factors that did her in. It is more than that. She never really understood the "culture"of Queen's, the "Big Four" universities, or the traditions that (for good and bad) are entrenched in this institution. There's stuff at this university that creates the culture of this university; it has been here forever, and every year, it gets further entrenched.
Bill Leggett wasn't a Queen's grad, but he knew the MGill culture, not the same as Queen's, but a unique culture that differentiates it from every other university. And certainly differentiates it from any American university/college. And Leggett was liked by the students.
Principal Hitchcock never figured it out, didn't seem to be TRYING to figure it out.
We missed her at football games in the fall, except for the "command performance" at homecoming. Her presence there would have sent a positive message to students, and more importantly, to alumni who populate the west grandstand, and who cough up the bucks.
When the powers-that-be get down to deciding what the next principal needs, let's hope that they decide that being a Queen's grad is essential. The pieces need to be gathered up and put back together again, and only a Queen's grad can do that.
This is THE essential ingredient for the next principal.
Until the AMS passed its resolution in March, there had only been rumblings and grapevine talk about the job that the principal was doing. The resolution forced, fortunately, the talk-over-coffee out into the open.
I was fortunate to be a part of a group called "The Group for Excellence." Its sole raison d'etre was to provide expert input into the physical activity component of the Queen's Centre. The group met for almost 3 years, developed a program for the facility, met with key persons on campus who were involved in the process, lobbied the trustees, and ultimately met with Principal Hitchcock to explain our suggestions, and try to have her understand the tremendous benefits of the university building a 50m swimming pool.
It was at this meeting (with one other graduate of Queen's, and the Principal) that I began to understand that she really didn't want to hear what we had to say, and really didn't care at all. Our meeting was half an hour. We had carefully planned the key points to make, the rationale, and the counter-arguments we expected her to make. We barely opened our mouths before SHE began to talk. She pretty well talked the whole time. We did make our key point, but it was quite clear that she had made up her mind and there was no point in our banging our heads against a concrete wall.
In all the years I have worked with others who are committed to a project, the "Group for Excellence" was the most satisfying, and the least satisfying. A group of about 15 people with wide sport interests agreed that the greater good would be served by our working together.
Never have I presented an idea to someone who not only refused to listen, but insisted in talking the whole time.
So the resolution that the AMS passed didn't surprise me, and it didn't surprise me to hear that students on campus think she doesn't connect with them. She doesn't.
Communication is a 2 way thing, and listening requires "hearing" what others are saying. One of the common techniques to effective listening is to concentrate on what is being said, and NOT getting ready to counter the arguments.
It has been said that her gender and American citizenship were the factors that did her in. It is more than that. She never really understood the "culture"of Queen's, the "Big Four" universities, or the traditions that (for good and bad) are entrenched in this institution. There's stuff at this university that creates the culture of this university; it has been here forever, and every year, it gets further entrenched.
Bill Leggett wasn't a Queen's grad, but he knew the MGill culture, not the same as Queen's, but a unique culture that differentiates it from every other university. And certainly differentiates it from any American university/college. And Leggett was liked by the students.
Principal Hitchcock never figured it out, didn't seem to be TRYING to figure it out.
We missed her at football games in the fall, except for the "command performance" at homecoming. Her presence there would have sent a positive message to students, and more importantly, to alumni who populate the west grandstand, and who cough up the bucks.
When the powers-that-be get down to deciding what the next principal needs, let's hope that they decide that being a Queen's grad is essential. The pieces need to be gathered up and put back together again, and only a Queen's grad can do that.
This is THE essential ingredient for the next principal.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
It Matters A LOT
Patrons to the new arena in downtown Kingston have reported a lot of unfortunate things about the facility. The most recent, and perhaps the most irritating, is the fact that the Canadian flag is flying incorrectly.
Canadian flag protocol requires that when two flags are being flown, the Canadian flag is placed to the left of the other nation's flag. This is not quite written in (lime)stone, but almost.
In the new rink, the Canadian flag is being flown on the right of the USA flag.
Apparently, when this was brought to the attention (twice, at least) of the rink's management, the person who pointed this out, was told that it would require a cherry-picker -type of equipment to change it. The inference being that it would cost a lot of money to hire one, and it wasn't worth the cost.
Here's the news: it IS worth the cost of renting the necessary equipment.
In this town, there ARE a lot of people who think that it is important to fly the Canadian flag correctly. And, in fact, there are a lot of Canadians who think that too. And I am one. It is important to fly the flag correctly. Not just now, or in Kingston where the armed forces are constantly present, but in every town and hamlet in this country.
If this matters so little to the rink's management, is there anything that matters MORE? Oh yes. Selling tickets.
Speaking of which, in an unprompted conversation today, a woman told me of her recent visit to the rink to get tickets for some show. She was told that there were none there, but she could get them online.
"Online?" she said.
"Yes. They have them online."
Heavens....all those add-ons, coming to almost $15.00 per ticket! The management makes it so that if one wants tickets, they have to be bought online, even if the customer is standing right there at the ticket wicket. What a rip-off.
This is another example of the cavalier attitude demonstrated at the new rink.
Someone should tell Councillor Hector that the flags are being flown incorrectly. Then, get your stopwatch out, and see how long it takes to order up a cherry picker! Nanoseconds!!!!
Canadian flag protocol requires that when two flags are being flown, the Canadian flag is placed to the left of the other nation's flag. This is not quite written in (lime)stone, but almost.
In the new rink, the Canadian flag is being flown on the right of the USA flag.
Apparently, when this was brought to the attention (twice, at least) of the rink's management, the person who pointed this out, was told that it would require a cherry-picker -type of equipment to change it. The inference being that it would cost a lot of money to hire one, and it wasn't worth the cost.
Here's the news: it IS worth the cost of renting the necessary equipment.
In this town, there ARE a lot of people who think that it is important to fly the Canadian flag correctly. And, in fact, there are a lot of Canadians who think that too. And I am one. It is important to fly the flag correctly. Not just now, or in Kingston where the armed forces are constantly present, but in every town and hamlet in this country.
If this matters so little to the rink's management, is there anything that matters MORE? Oh yes. Selling tickets.
Speaking of which, in an unprompted conversation today, a woman told me of her recent visit to the rink to get tickets for some show. She was told that there were none there, but she could get them online.
"Online?" she said.
"Yes. They have them online."
Heavens....all those add-ons, coming to almost $15.00 per ticket! The management makes it so that if one wants tickets, they have to be bought online, even if the customer is standing right there at the ticket wicket. What a rip-off.
This is another example of the cavalier attitude demonstrated at the new rink.
Someone should tell Councillor Hector that the flags are being flown incorrectly. Then, get your stopwatch out, and see how long it takes to order up a cherry picker! Nanoseconds!!!!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
MEMO TO HARPER: Don't even think about a boycott.
THE CANADIAN PRESS, MONTREAL, April 4, 2008
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it's too early to talk about any boycott of the 2008 Olympics, but most athletes would prefer to simply strike the dreaded b-word from the dictionary.
The thought of missing the Beijing Olympics weighs heavily on the minds of many Canadian athletes who have spent a lifetime training for the global athletic event. Politics and sports just don't mix, says Canadian swimming sensation Brent Hayden. "I'm an athlete, I'm not a politician and I'm going to compete at the Games no matter where they're held," Hayden said Friday during Olympic swimming trials in Montreal.
China's violent crackdown on riots in Tibet has prompted human rights groups to call for a boycott of the Games. Amnesty International has accused China of human rights abuses.
Harper won't attend the opening ceremony in August. Instead he will send a high-level delegation to represent Canada. The prime minister said his absence has nothing to do with a boycott and that he planned to skip the ceremonies long before the unrest in Tibet. The Canadian Olympic Committee would not comment on Harper skipping the ceremony. There is no set protocol on whether a prime minister or head of state should attend and rulers around the world are making different plans.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has mused he and the entire French team might boycott the opening ceremonies while allowing athletes to take part in competition. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will take a pass on the opening while U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown plan to attend.
Calgary swimmer Mike Brown says he won't boycott the Games, but he wouldn't hold it against any athlete who did. "I would have liked (Harper) to have been there," Brown said. But the 23-year-old Brown says the thought of missing the Games is unfathomable. "I would be very heartbroken if everything gets put on hold," Brown said. "For somebody else to decide that we're not allowed to compete at the Games? That doesn't seem right to me."
Most Canadians seem to be on the same page as the athletes. A survey by Harris-Decima conducted at the end of March found only 13 per cent of Canadians supported a boycott, though more than half wanted some form of protest that would still allow Canadian athletes to compete. Pierre Lafontaine, Swimming Canada's CEO and head coach, says his team likely won't take part in the opening ceremonies as his athletes' competition begins the following morning. "I don't think the swimming team has ever gone because it takes four or five days to recover," Lafontaine said. But any boycott talk irks Lafontaine, who said "boycotting the games has never worked, is never good." Boycotts only hurt the morale of young athletes who have spent a lifetime training for an Olympic spot, he said. "This is the one common denominator around the world that brings people together," Lafontaine said. "It's the one thing -- it's not religion, it's not politics -- it's sports."
First-time Olympian Tanya Hunks says she has sacrificed too much to even fathom the idea of not going to the Games. "It kind of breaks my heart," Hunks said of boycott talk. "I've put my life on hold for this and so many athletes have." Hunks says boycotting the games in the past has shown no benefits, referring to Canada's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. "Waking up at 5 a.m. is hard, so we deserve" to go, said the 27-year-old Vancouver native.
This week there were signs that tension is easing in Tibet as the Chinese government announced it would reopen the region to tourism by May. However, reports Friday said China's state media were reporting new violence had broken out in a volatile Tibetan region, leaving at least one government official seriously injured.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it's too early to talk about any boycott of the 2008 Olympics, but most athletes would prefer to simply strike the dreaded b-word from the dictionary.
The thought of missing the Beijing Olympics weighs heavily on the minds of many Canadian athletes who have spent a lifetime training for the global athletic event. Politics and sports just don't mix, says Canadian swimming sensation Brent Hayden. "I'm an athlete, I'm not a politician and I'm going to compete at the Games no matter where they're held," Hayden said Friday during Olympic swimming trials in Montreal.
China's violent crackdown on riots in Tibet has prompted human rights groups to call for a boycott of the Games. Amnesty International has accused China of human rights abuses.
Harper won't attend the opening ceremony in August. Instead he will send a high-level delegation to represent Canada. The prime minister said his absence has nothing to do with a boycott and that he planned to skip the ceremonies long before the unrest in Tibet. The Canadian Olympic Committee would not comment on Harper skipping the ceremony. There is no set protocol on whether a prime minister or head of state should attend and rulers around the world are making different plans.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has mused he and the entire French team might boycott the opening ceremonies while allowing athletes to take part in competition. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will take a pass on the opening while U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown plan to attend.
Calgary swimmer Mike Brown says he won't boycott the Games, but he wouldn't hold it against any athlete who did. "I would have liked (Harper) to have been there," Brown said. But the 23-year-old Brown says the thought of missing the Games is unfathomable. "I would be very heartbroken if everything gets put on hold," Brown said. "For somebody else to decide that we're not allowed to compete at the Games? That doesn't seem right to me."
Most Canadians seem to be on the same page as the athletes. A survey by Harris-Decima conducted at the end of March found only 13 per cent of Canadians supported a boycott, though more than half wanted some form of protest that would still allow Canadian athletes to compete. Pierre Lafontaine, Swimming Canada's CEO and head coach, says his team likely won't take part in the opening ceremonies as his athletes' competition begins the following morning. "I don't think the swimming team has ever gone because it takes four or five days to recover," Lafontaine said. But any boycott talk irks Lafontaine, who said "boycotting the games has never worked, is never good." Boycotts only hurt the morale of young athletes who have spent a lifetime training for an Olympic spot, he said. "This is the one common denominator around the world that brings people together," Lafontaine said. "It's the one thing -- it's not religion, it's not politics -- it's sports."
First-time Olympian Tanya Hunks says she has sacrificed too much to even fathom the idea of not going to the Games. "It kind of breaks my heart," Hunks said of boycott talk. "I've put my life on hold for this and so many athletes have." Hunks says boycotting the games in the past has shown no benefits, referring to Canada's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. "Waking up at 5 a.m. is hard, so we deserve" to go, said the 27-year-old Vancouver native.
This week there were signs that tension is easing in Tibet as the Chinese government announced it would reopen the region to tourism by May. However, reports Friday said China's state media were reporting new violence had broken out in a volatile Tibetan region, leaving at least one government official seriously injured.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)