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Post by Cranky on Aug 15, 2008 9:11:55 GMT -5
People may complain about no medals....but how many Canada car flags do you see in your area? I travel to and from Toronto on an almost daily basis...and I'd be hard-pressed to say I've seen 5 in total...and that's along a 100-km stretch of the 401 and throughout the city. I don't have one. In terms of athletic patriotism, we are apathetic....the exception being our national hockey teams. Is it a result of our "results".....i.e. would we be more excited if we had much success? Chicken or egg? Would we support more government $$ for development....or do we really not care? Did you not get the Liberal memo? We are a mutlicultural society and Canadian nationalism has to be severly beaten out of us. I see more Chinese flags then Canadian. More Italien flags then Canadian. I see more of everybody else's flag then Canadian.  |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 15, 2008 9:29:17 GMT -5
Actually I passed this article to some of the guys at work. I know it's an Olympic thread but try this one when you have time. ... the Balance of Power ...It's written by George Friedman, an extremely well-informed writer. Cheers. I posted that in another forum a couple of days ago and the first response that I got was the Friedman was an old school Hungarian that had a hate-on for Russia. Whatever... There is a bigger picture being played.... I read Friedman quite often, HA. A friend of mine described him as a writer who just spills his thoughts onto a page. There's no emotion in his writing and his conclusions are well-placed IMO. I'm wondering what Gwynne Dyer thinks about Olympics/politics. Cheers. |
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Post by Cranky on Aug 15, 2008 9:30:35 GMT -5
...I really question this underfunding thingy... From Olympics to Olympics we are strong in different areas (sometimes we're good in the pool, sometimes we suck, sometimes we're dominant in diving, sometimes we're invisible, sometimes we're good at track and field, sometimes we suck, etc...)... If we can succeed in some events depending on which Olympics (and we're much better at winter Olympics too) than obviously the underfunding is the scarecrow continually raised by the COC to deflect the attention from their own incompetence. The COC is a wasp's nest of petty politics games that's all about on who and where the important budget of that committee will be spent. Like for all of our political institutions, the real competency (coaches and athletes) is separated from the decision process by a heavy layer of red tape. Here we go... Politics again... Did you shower after you mentioned the COC? A freind of mine is CEO of a damn huge multinational. He wanted to sponsor a few athletes but he could not get it past the BOD because the COC will NOT let any sponsors name show on athletes or equipment. The ONLY thing his company could do is advertise that they sponsor Olympic athletes, however, they have to give the COC their blood money in order to use the rings. If the company does not get even an ounce of return for their moneys worth, then why bother? BTW, we are not talking about about a few thousand dollars. A full time sponsorship for a high level athlete runs into the multi-hundreds of thousands. Then if your company name gets closly attached to that athlete and he does something stupid, the company has egg on it's face. Too bad that athleticism does not get better with old age. No problem in funding and besides, how much money does it take to be become a world class..... .....couch potatoe? |
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 15, 2008 11:20:00 GMT -5
People may complain about no medals....but how many Canada car flags do you see in your area? I travel to and from Toronto on an almost daily basis...and I'd be hard-pressed to say I've seen 5 in total...and that's along a 100-km stretch of the 401 and throughout the city. I don't have one. In terms of athletic patriotism, we are apathetic....the exception being our national hockey teams. Is it a result of our "results".....i.e. would we be more excited if we had much success? Chicken or egg? Would we support more government $$ for development....or do we really not care? Did you not get the Liberal memo? We are a mutlicultural society and Canadian nationalism has to be severly beaten out of us. I see more Chinese flags then Canadian. More Italien flags then Canadian. I see more of everybody else's flag then Canadian. I don't see why that sentiment is relative to the Liberals...immigration happens and multi-culturalism is fostered no matter who's in power. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Aug 15, 2008 13:08:10 GMT -5
A bunch of young kids from Canada are ready to play against a bunch of young kids from Russia at the Ivan Hlinka tournament tomorrow.
Should we refuse to play the game as a protest over Georgia?
Were any of those Russian kids responsible for Putins actions?
Russia is taking a very calculated course of action to return to Soviet glory days of the KGB.
Economic dominance of Europe using gas and resources. Dominance over breakaway republics and satelite states like Poland.
The Bear is back and it's not going to be pretty.
Russia has suffered through breadlines under the new democracy and they are flexing their muscles under the old/new totalitarian regiem.
Iraq and Iran are minor inconveniences compared to the Soviet threat. We need a policy to support our eastern bloc friends that are under threat from Russia.
Standing on the sidelines and shaking a fist saying get out of Georgia will not work.
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!"
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 15, 2008 13:40:42 GMT -5
A bunch of young kids from Canada are ready to play against a bunch of young kids from Russia at the Ivan Hlinka tournament tomorrow. Should we refuse to play the game as a protest over Georgia? Were any of those Russian kids responsible for Putins actions? Russia is taking a very calculated course of action to return to Soviet glory days of the KGB. Economic dominance of Europe using gas and resources. Dominance over breakaway republics and satelite states like Poland. The Bear is back and it's not going to be pretty. Russia has suffered through breadlines under the new democracy and they are flexing their muscles under the old/new totalitarian regiem. Iraq and Iran are minor inconveniences compared to the Soviet threat. We need a policy to support our eastern bloc friends that are under threat from Russia. Standing on the sidelines and shaking a fist saying get out of Georgia will not work. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" That's only one side of the story though mate. That's the perception of the West. All I read when the war broke was, "Russia Invades Georgia." That's it, that's all. Now we're gradually getting the bigger picture but even that isn't complete. Bear in mind there are always three sides to every argument; one side, the other side and the truth. Cheers. |
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Post by CrocRob on Aug 15, 2008 14:12:25 GMT -5
People may complain about no medals....but how many Canada car flags do you see in your area? I travel to and from Toronto on an almost daily basis...and I'd be hard-pressed to say I've seen 5 in total...and that's along a 100-km stretch of the 401 and throughout the city. I don't have one. In terms of athletic patriotism, we are apathetic....the exception being our national hockey teams. Is it a result of our "results".....i.e. would we be more excited if we had much success? Chicken or egg? Would we support more government $$ for development....or do we really not care? I truly don't care. I don't equate athletic achievement with any kind of ranking on how good our country is. When we do well, I'm proud I guess, but it's not going to make me tune in. I don't care (and I won't watch) either way. I would not support more spending on athletic development. Especially for the Summer Olympics. Winter, ice and snow sports are our Canadian identity, so if we're going to fund something I'd fund that. |
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Post by MC Habber on Aug 15, 2008 14:32:03 GMT -5
Very informative article. Thanks Tattac. Actually I passed this article to some of the guys at work. I know it's an Olympic thread but try this one when you have time. ... the Balance of Power ...It's written by George Friedman, an extremely well-informed writer. Cheers. Thanks Dis, that was a good read. It's funny how much our perceptions depend on our biases. American charges of Russian aggression ring hollow. Georgia started this fight – Russia finished it. People who start wars don't get to decide how and when they end.
Russia's response was "disproportionate" and "brutal," wailed Bush.
True. But did we not authorize Israel to bomb Lebanon for 35 days in response to a border skirmish where several Israel soldiers were killed and two captured? Was that not many times more "disproportionate"?
Russia has invaded a sovereign country, railed Bush. But did not the United States bomb Serbia for 78 days and invade to force it to surrender a province, Kosovo, to which Serbia had a far greater historic claim than Georgia had to Abkhazia or South Ossetia, both of which prefer Moscow to Tbilisi?
Is not Western hypocrisy astonishing?
When the Soviet Union broke into 15 nations, we celebrated. When Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Kosovo broke from Serbia, we rejoiced. Why, then, the indignation when two provinces, whose peoples are ethnically separate from Georgians and who fought for their independence, should succeed in breaking away?
Are secessions and the dissolution of nations laudable only when they advance the agenda of the neocons, many of whom viscerally detest Russia?
...
Americans have many fine qualities. A capacity to see ourselves as others see us is not high among them.
Imagine a world that never knew Ronald Reagan, where Europe had opted out of the Cold War after Moscow installed those SS-20 missiles east of the Elbe. And Europe had abandoned NATO, told us to go home and become subservient to Moscow.
How would we have reacted if Moscow had brought Western Europe into the Warsaw Pact, established bases in Mexico and Panama, put missile defense radars and rockets in Cuba, and joined with China to build pipelines to transfer Mexican and Venezuelan oil to Pacific ports for shipment to Asia? And cut us out? If there were Russian and Chinese advisers training Latin American armies, the way we are in the former Soviet republics, how would we react? Would we look with bemusement on such Russian behavior?
(excerpted from Blowback From Bear-Baiting) |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 15, 2008 16:13:33 GMT -5
Thanks Dis, that was a good read. It's funny how much our perceptions depend on our biases. We can change our paradigms but it's easier said than done. Cheers. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Aug 15, 2008 18:06:33 GMT -5
A bunch of young kids from Canada are ready to play against a bunch of young kids from Russia at the Ivan Hlinka tournament tomorrow. Should we refuse to play the game as a protest over Georgia? Were any of those Russian kids responsible for Putins actions? Russia is taking a very calculated course of action to return to Soviet glory days of the KGB. Economic dominance of Europe using gas and resources. Dominance over breakaway republics and satelite states like Poland. The Bear is back and it's not going to be pretty. Russia has suffered through breadlines under the new democracy and they are flexing their muscles under the old/new totalitarian regiem. Iraq and Iran are minor inconveniences compared to the Soviet threat. We need a policy to support our eastern bloc friends that are under threat from Russia. Standing on the sidelines and shaking a fist saying get out of Georgia will not work. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" That's only one side of the story though mate. That's the perception of the West. All I read when the war broke was, "Russia Invades Georgia." That's it, that's all. Now we're gradually getting the bigger picture but even that isn't complete. Bear in mind there are always three sides to every argument; one side, the other side and the truth. Cheers. You are correct that we never know the exact story. I do tend to trust our disjointed independent capitalist for profit press over the state controlled TASS. Does Georgia have any intention of invading Russia and annexing their territory? Does Russia want to take land away from Georgia and Poland? I'm never certain, but when it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I sometimes jump to conclusions.  |
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Post by Cranky on Aug 15, 2008 22:44:08 GMT -5
You are correct that we never know the exact story. I do tend to trust our disjointed independent capitalist for profit press over the state controlled TASS. Does Georgia have any intention of invading Russia and annexing their territory? Does Russia want to take land away from Georgia and Poland? I'm never certain, but when it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I sometimes jump to conclusions. Oh please, the Russians are angels. When the big bad Georgian terror machine roared into action, the Russians used their Star Gate technology to teleport hundreds of tanks to the front line in two hours. Otherwise, the poor defensless Russians would not have any soldiers and tanks massed at the border to respond within hours. Any day now, I'm sure we are going to get all the facts from the neutral Russian free press. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 16, 2008 19:39:24 GMT -5
You are correct that we never know the exact story. I do tend to trust our disjointed independent capitalist for profit press over the state controlled TASS. Nahhh ... they're both guilt of censorship whether from their editor or from their government. Depends on what story they want to tell, or what story they're told to tell. Only in a game of Risk I suppose. ... then it might be an eagle or a bear ... depends on what your perception is I reckon. Cheers la. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 17, 2008 10:07:46 GMT -5
The diary of a specimen ...
Absolutely spectacular race from the future face of international sprinting. The 200 metre is supposed to be his specialty and I'm hoping he breaks Michael Johnson's 19.32 mark. Will tune in for that also. Never seen the likes.
Quite the sprinting program Jamaica has; their women just swept the 100 metre final as well.
Cheers.
Edit: If you get the right replay you'll notice that Bolt actually drags his left foot as he comes out of the blocks. Imagine his time if he had gotten away clean and hadn't let up at the 80-metre mark.
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 17, 2008 12:27:43 GMT -5
Awesome. Thanks for posting the clip, Dis.....but I doubt very much he let up with 60-feet to go. That looked all-out through the tape to me.
What an appropriate name for a sprinter.
---------------------------------------------
Speaking of appropriateness, I almost drove off the road when the radio sportscaster said, "We also have hopes for a medal in the Women's Eight with Cox."
Then they went on to talk about how small and/or light the coxswain should be.....cox size does matter, apparently.
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Post by Skilly on Aug 17, 2008 14:10:55 GMT -5
The diary of a specimen ... Absolutely spectacular race from the future face of international sprinting. The 200 metre is supposed to be his specialty and I'm hoping he breaks Michael Johnson's 19.32 mark. Will tune in for that also. Never seen the likes. Quite the sprinting program Jamaica has; their women just swept the 100 metre final as well. Cheers. Edit: If you get the right replay you'll notice that Bolt actually drags his left foot as he comes out of the blocks. Imagine his time if he had gotten away clean and hadn't let up at the 80-metre mark. We were saying the same thing in 1988 ... let's wait a few days and see how good his masking agents are first.  .... yes, I am a cynic. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 17, 2008 14:12:09 GMT -5
Awesome. Thanks for posting the clip, Dis.....but I doubt very much he let up with 60-feet to go. That looked all-out through the tape to me. I'm at work right now, CH, and they don't allow for streaming. I'll have to review it later but I thought he let up around the 80-metre mark. I looked for it after the CBC analysts noted it. Could have been nearer to the finish line but I think he could have possibly went sub 9.6. Also, it's almost impossible to see on a You Tube-quality vid but they had a camera on him as he took off and you can see that he actually dragged his left toe as he blasted out of the blocks. Don't let the Swain here you say that (the Navy types will know what I'm talking about). Cheers. |
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Post by MC Habber on Aug 17, 2008 14:17:51 GMT -5
That video isn't from these olympics. You can see the new WR here. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 17, 2008 16:09:58 GMT -5
That video isn't from these olympics. You can see the new WR here. Thanks MCH. I was looking for a good copy and thought I had one. I think this is the one from a meet not long before the Olympics. And, CH, you're right too. He didn't let up in the video I posted, but look at the one MCH has. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 17, 2008 17:15:35 GMT -5
The diary of a specimen ... Absolutely spectacular race from the future face of international sprinting. The 200 metre is supposed to be his specialty and I'm hoping he breaks Michael Johnson's 19.32 mark. Will tune in for that also. Never seen the likes. Quite the sprinting program Jamaica has; their women just swept the 100 metre final as well. Cheers. Edit: If you get the right replay you'll notice that Bolt actually drags his left foot as he comes out of the blocks. Imagine his time if he had gotten away clean and hadn't let up at the 80-metre mark. We were saying the same thing in 1988 ... let's wait a few days and see how good his masking agents are first. .... yes, I am a cynic. Interesting piece I heard on the tube last night. Jamaica doesn't have a screening program set up for its athletes. I guess they must figure their athletes will be tested often enough that if they're caught, they're caught. Could be financial constraints as well but I really don't know. Another interesting tid bit I heard was that Asafa Powell sometimes trains on a dirt track back in Jamaica. Son of a gun. Cheers. |
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 17, 2008 20:39:30 GMT -5
Yeah, that posted vid was running all the way through.
Wow...to let up at that time.....
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Aug 18, 2008 13:31:35 GMT -5
The United States has a lot to learn from China.
Michael Phelps did a great job in the swimming pool, but we should have chosen a younger Tom Cruise for the photo sessions on the medal presentation podium.
Remind me again how the press in communist countries is as free as ours.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 18, 2008 19:37:49 GMT -5
First, congratulations to Phelps and Bolt. They are true specimens of our species.
Secondly, a small request folks. I'll start a political thread if there's any politics left to talk about. I've been an offender as well, but I'm asking that we keep the thread dedicated to the Olympics.
Thirdly, Canada added two more silver medals to its recent success. At 61 years of age, Ian Millar finally got his Olympic medal (how's that for an Olympic story). It came down to a jump off with the USA, but the Canadian team wasn't allowed to drop their weakest performance as one of the horses pulled up injured. That left them with four horses all of which had to be counted.
Thanks.
Dis
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 18, 2008 20:37:57 GMT -5
Usain Bolt has yet to run completely all-out through any of his races. Here he prances through the 200 metre qualifying round. Men's qualifying/200 metres (I guess you'll have to access Day 10 when you get on the site. I can't get the 200-metre, round 2, to come up right away) Guess he must want to break a few records at a time. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 19, 2008 6:45:14 GMT -5
Quite the comeback story for Simon Whitfield. Eight years ago in Sydney he won gold. Four years ago in Athens he finishes 11th and yesterday, in a complete roll reversal from from Sydney, he wins silver.
Quite the story for the young man who trains in BC but hails from Kingston.
Cheers.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 20, 2008 11:35:12 GMT -5
Usain Bolt pulls it off again. I haven't seen the replay as yet but he just broke Michael Johnson's record in the 200 metre sprint; he was clocked at 19.30 seconds.
Did anyone see the race by chance? Did he keep running through to the finish or was he hot-dogging again?
Cheers.
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Post by jkr on Aug 20, 2008 11:51:39 GMT -5
Usain Bolt pulls it off again. I haven't seen the replay as yet but he just broke Michael Johnson's record in the 200 metre sprint; he was clocked at 19.30 seconds. Did anyone see the race by chance? Did he keep running through to the finish or was he hot-dogging again? Cheers. This story says he ran through to the finish line. www.tsn.ca/ctvnews/?id=246998 |
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 20, 2008 14:53:57 GMT -5
Poor quality vid....but he blows everybody away...and it looks as if he runs right through. Either everyone else was slowing down, or he kept accelerating. Unbelievable. Bolt 200BTW....aren't all these guys on some kind of performance-enhancing substances? Hasn't it gone beyond turning back? In Johnnie Cochran-speak: If you wanna compete, you gotta cheat. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 20, 2008 18:13:16 GMT -5
If you wanna compete, you gotta cheat. And if you're not cheating you're obviously not trying hard enough |
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Post by Doc Holliday on Aug 20, 2008 19:14:50 GMT -5
Quite frankly I'm wondering if they shouldn't simply make these drugs as legal as water and be done with it rather then pretending they can actually control the cheating...
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 20, 2008 19:45:43 GMT -5
Quite frankly I'm wondering if they shouldn't simply make these drugs as legal as water and be done with it rather then pretending they can actually control the cheating... Yep, unless the science of detection can keep up with science of doping, we'll never get rid of it. Thus, someone will always use it to get the edge....and so on and so on.... Just wondering......let's say: Without performance enhancing substances, Person A is faster/stronger than Person Z. One would assume that if both people take the same substances, the result would be the same. But, can Person Z overcome Person A? In other words, do these "supplements" react differently in different people? I haven't read anything about that. But it must be the case....otherwise the playing field may be raised, but remain level. |
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.... yes, I am a cynic.