Women's Ski Jumping Up for Consideration in 2014 Winter Olympics

For the third time, Women's Ski Jumping is being considered as an additional event for competitors in the Winter Olympics. Having been denied on previous occasions by the Olympic committee, participant hopefuls are working hard to make 2014 their debut year.

Previously the IOC (International Olympic Committee) had turned down requests to include a Women's Ski Jumping event because they believed there was not a sufficient number of Olympic quality athletes in this event to warrant his inclusion in the Winter Olympic Games. Supporters of the event; however, disagreed and fought the ruling for the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver all the way up to Canada's Supreme Court; however, they failed to get the IOC's decision over turned.

Today may prove to be the day they have waited for as IOC officials are meeting to discuss this and other possible additions to the Winter Games line-up including new snowboarding events and additions to Figure Skating and Luge competitions. It is likely that most of the proposed new events will meet with IOC approval this year, and Jacques Rogge, current President of the IOC, has expressed support for the inclusion of Women's Ski Jumping, at least on a provisional basis pending review of the out turn and quality of the competition during the World Championships in 2011 which are to be held in Norway.

Whether female athletes in this event are included in the upcoming Olympic games or not, they will have new ground to cover in the future beginning with the 2011-2012 season when the International Ski Federation will be adding the Women's Ski Jump as part of their event line up. This means that, even if the event is denied for a third time (which is not likely) they will still have a chance to gain great exposure and support for Women's Ski Jumping in the near future.

After previously stalling and asking for more time to consider the proposed events for inclusion in the 2014 Winter Olympics, a definite decision is expected today by the committee regarding the final approval of events that will be included in the games which are to be hosted by Sochi, Russia.

Eco-Friendliness in 2014 Winter Games

Each year, it seems that the location for the Olympic games gets a bit greener. Maybe it’s not as sustainable as some of us would like, but progress is progress. Theodore Oben, the head of the United Nations Environmental Programme Outreach Unit, says that he’s been impressed with the way people are handling preparations so far. According to Oben, most organizations and companies are working together to ensure that Russia’s first Winter Games will be as sustainable as they can.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be green—or even as sustainable as they possibly can be. For example, in order to fully preserve the land of the area, an overpass will need to be built. I’m all about creating new jobs, but building an overpass in order to preserve land just doesn’t seem like a sustainable idea to me—let alone a fiscally responsible one. Wouldn’t it be much easier—and greener—to, say, save energy, materials, and money by simply holding the games in a different location? Just an idea.

Some good news does surround the overpass—such as the planting of different plant species and the cultivation of rare plants. However, we can’t forget that the main purpose for the overpass is to provide access to the mountain resort—which isn’t an environmental focus so much as a tourist one. And while tourism brings money to an area, it also brings a hefty load of garbage and waste.

Most of the other things that businesses are doing to ensure that they remain “green” sound pretty standard as well—such as simply abiding by pollution laws and assessing building processes. Nothing sounds very innovative or even all that eco-friendly, and while it’s noted that professional ecologists have been employed to help oversee the efforts, it’s also noted that said ecologists are in-house, already employed by the construction companies.

Though I’m generally optimistic, I have a hard time seeing why Mr. Oben is so darn excited. Perhaps there are other developments and efforts being made to keep the Winter Games as green as possible that we’re not yet aware of. Wouldn’t it be amazing, for example, if only reusable drinking bottles were used, and if all trash had to be biodegradable and recyclable? The funny thing is, though people might scoff at such ideas, they are more than doable—and have been needed for a long time. It’s time for us to consider the impact that every big event like this has on our planet—and to take action to prevent negative consequences from occurring.

Bristol and Levi: Big Freaking Surprise

note: This post has been reprinted from the Secret Diaries of Sarah Palin. The original post may be viewed here. This series regularly appears at the Secret Diaries of Sarah Palin.

 

Am I surprised that Bristol and Levi aren't actually getting married? Hell no. I mean, who thought that was going to play out in any way other than how it did? Certainly not me. I may not be the most eloquent speaker or all that politically savvy, but it would take a special class of idiot to believe Alaska's own white trash mascots were bound for a life of nuptial bliss.

Of course, it probably didn't help their chances that I did what I did to that little prick, Levi. On my latest visit back to Wasilla I caught wind of Levi's most recent exploits. To be honest the kid's been off my radar for a long time. I even recalled the goons I hired to follow him around. They were getting bored and the list I've got of people who need their faces rearranged is longer than my arm. The word around town was that Levi had knocked up yet another stupid girl. Lanesia Garcia was her name. What kind of name is “Lanesia” anyway? Geez, people sure do name their kids some stupid things these days. Anyway, I sent the Garcia girl a care package with a few dozen G's in it. Every time Levi gets some girl pregnant I feel partially responsible because I should have castrated the little screw-up the moment I met him.

I was going to leave it at that. Really, it's not like I have time to minister after Bristol's love life. So her philandering ass of a boyfriend or fiance or whatever was diddling girls in the back of the Dairy Queen or whatever. Three words: Not my problem. But then I got a phone call from Todd (even though I've told him countless times not to call me on my travel line). He sounded like his usual idiot self, except I detected a hint of genuine concern in his voice. He told me that Bristol was crying, really upset, not even touching her Butterscotch Tower Sundae. She never resists the Tower. Never. I had my driver swing around to the old homestead... with its stupid, ugly fence and jerky neighbors.

Bristol told me about all the crap she found out about Levi. Poor girl. She thought she was actually going to get married. Well, I can't just watch my girl fall to pieces like that. I called in my boys, the talented ones. They picked up Levi trying to put his moves on some bar back. He and I had a little chat after that. It was in an unfinished basement in, let's say central Alaska, surrounded by medical equipment. I told Levi he could continue to associate with my family if he paid the toll. A jewel or two, that's all I asked of him. When he told me he didn't have any jewels it only took him about 30 seconds to parse my inference. Did he accept my offer? Well, just watch the news. If you see Levi Johnston's name in the same sentence as the name Palin, you've got your answer.

Bristol and Levi: Big Freaking Surprise

Am I surprised that Bristol and Levi aren't actually getting married? Hell no. I mean, who thought that was going to play out in any way other than how it did? Certainly not me. I may not be the most eloquent speaker or all that politically savvy, but it would take a special class of idiot to believe Alaska's own white trash mascots were bound for a life of nuptial bliss.

Of course, it probably didn't help their chances that I did what I did to that little prick, Levi. On my latest visit back to Wasilla I caught wind of Levi's most recent exploits. To be honest the kid's been off my radar for a long time. I even recalled the goons I hired to follow him around. They were getting bored and the list I've got of people who need their faces rearranged is longer than my arm. The word around town was that Levi had knocked up yet another stupid girl. Lanesia Garcia was her name. What kind of name is “Lanesia” anyway? Geez, people sure do name their kids some stupid things these days. Anyway, I sent the Garcia girl a care package with a few dozen G's in it. Every time Levi gets some girl pregnant I feel partially responsible because I should have castrated the little screw-up the moment I met him.

I was going to leave it at that. Really, it's not like I have time to minister after Bristol's love life. So her philandering ass of a boyfriend or fiance or whatever was diddling girls in the back of the Dairy Queen or whatever. Three words: Not my problem. But then I got a phone call from Todd (even though I've told him countless times not to call me on my travel line). He sounded like his usual idiot self, except I detected a hint of genuine concern in his voice. He told me that Bristol was crying, really upset, not even touching her Butterscotch Tower Sundae. She never resists the Tower. Never. I had my driver swing around to the old homestead... with its stupid, ugly fence and jerky neighbors.

Bristol told me about all the crap she found out about Levi. Poor girl. She thought she was actually going to get married. Well, I can't just watch my girl fall to pieces like that. I called in my boys, the talented ones. They picked up Levi trying to put his moves on some bar back. He and I had a little chat after that. It was in an unfinished basement in, let's say central Alaska, surrounded by medical equipment. I told Levi he could continue to associate with my family if he paid the toll. A jewel or two, that's all I asked of him. When he told me he didn't have any jewels it only took him about 30 seconds to parse my inference. Did he accept my offer? Well, just watch the news. If you see Levi Johnston's name in the same sentence as the name Palin, you've got your answer.

Olympics Bring Unity

There has been a lot of negative talk in many of the blogs that I have read on this site regarding the Olympics, and that really intrigues me.  Obviously they have their views, and I respect them, but they may be missing the point.

Let's start with the symbol of the games, the Olympics rings, five interlaced rings showing a coming together of the five continents that participate in the games.  It is a showcase of unity, and there aren't many events in the entire world that bring as many countries and people together.  Athletes compete on the biggest stage, representing their countries with honor, pride and grace.  

The Olympics have also been a source of incredible inspiration and national pride throughout the years.  If it weren't for the Olympics the world wouldn't have been able to see Jesse Owen's unreal performance in the 1936 games, would have missed the "Miracle on Ice" game in Lake Placid, wouldn't have seen Bonnie Blair or Apolo Anton Ohno become superstars in speed skating, and wouldn't have been able to see Michael Phelp's 8 gold medal performance in the last summer games, to mention just a few.

These people are national hereos, role models for children, and shows what one can do with hard work, practice and dedication.  I applaud and respect these athletes, and look forward to their performances in the games of the future.

Olympics are Not Sustainable, Let Alone Sacred

Are you an Olympic protestor? Every time the Olympics roll around everyone always hushes me and my protests with some kind of misguided interpretation of the Olympics, usually along the lines of, “But they’re a sacred tradition! They’re like the Greek gods and stuff.”

Oh, really, the Greek gods, you say? Then you’ll have no trouble with me guffawing in your face when you start to push your Christian ideals on me as well (as most of these people do) and calling you a hypocrite when you condemn me to hell for being a pagan.

Aside from this obvious state of disjointed, weird Olympic worship, what really bothers me about the sports—aside from the fact that yes, they are sports, and not actual heroic feats performed by actual heroes and yet they are still worshipped as such, and to a gross extent that actual heroes have never born witness to—is the vast amounts of dollars, time, and resources that go hand-in-hand with such big events (I guess that’s also in relation to my first point—they’re sports).

All of these resources—from energy to cups and everything in between!—are being used for some glorified sacred “sports,” even as we push for a greener policy in every political realm—for a real plan to combat climate change. Do we care so little for our children’s futures that we’d rather blow all of the energy we’ve already got on watching prepubescent girls who starve themselves and miss out on their own childhoods walk a balance beam? (Yes, another issue I have with Olympic sports!)

Will I protest the seal clubbing, the Tibetan people’s plight—and, continually, the wars in the U.S.? Most definitely. These are good reasons to not give dollars to countries and their regimes, after all, and I’m down with people not throwing more money at them for these atrocities occurring. In fact, if it weren’t for my primary reasons, I would probably still not follow the Olympics because of these issues. No country is perfect—and the single issue of seal clubbing might not be big enough to garner a protest, perhaps—but flooding monies into countries that are constantly keeping other countries poor and at their mercy—as well as killing thousands of people—is simply not justifiable.

So as much of a cutie I think Johnny Weir is, I won’t be partaking in any Olympic activities and neither will my family. Maybe if it were all run on solar power, with completely recycled everything, and everyone involved swapped salaries with firefighters, teachers, and nurses--or even if they'd revert back to the old days of simple sports, no corporate endorsements, and a small budget--I’d give it a shot.

Torch Is Passed: 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics Games in Vancouver have recently finished, which means all eyes are now on the 2014 Winter Olympic host Sochi, Russia. This will only be the second time the Olympics have been held inside Russia's borders, with the first being Moscow, then apart of the Soviet Union, when they held the 1980 Summer Olympic Games. Sochi compares with Vancouver in many ways in that it narrowly won the Olympic bid. In the first round of voting Sochi was actually second behind PyeongChang, South Korea, with Salzburg, Austria not able to get enough votes to make it out of the round. However, when Sochi went up against PyeongChang for the final voting it came out victorious by a 51-47 vote margin. Another similarity is that the Sochi Games will be in two clusters, as was the case in Vancouver. The coastal area of Sochi will hold all of the indoor events (ice hockey, speed skating and curling), Olympic Stadium, the Olympic Village, and the international broadcast center and main press room. The mountainous region of Krasnaya Polyana will hold all the outdoor events (all types of skiing, snowboarding, bobsled, luge and skeleton). Hopefully Sochi can have the same success as Vancouver, have a couple weeks of great competition, and be a means to bring the world together. The world awaits 2014.

U.S. and Russia "close" to a Deal On Nuclear Arms

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met at the end of this week but did not come to an agreement on reducing Cold War era nuclear arms stocks. They did, however, say that they would continue to work to do so until the new year.

The Al Jazeera headline read, “U.S. and Russia ‘Close’ to Arms Deal.” The Reuters headline for the same story read, “U.S. and Russia fail to clinch nuclear arms deal.” A reminder that journalists can spin a story in either direction they choose- but the point is that the U.S. and Russia are working on a deal about their nuclear arms and they haven’t come to any conclusion. There was some talk that Obama would stop in and sign a deal while he was in Copenhagen working to break the deadlock at that summit- but it turns out making two deals was one too many for Obama. Saving the world from both nuclear arms and climate change

Obama characterized the two Cold War powers as “quite close” to an agreement, but a Russian spokesman said talks would continue into January.

In 1991 the START I pact created the largest cut in nuclear arms in the world up to that point- the two countries have been meeting to try and make another large cut. The START I treaty had set a December 5 deadline for the next agreement on arms cuts to happen- unfortunately, that deadline has passed.

It’s interesting to think about where the world was around nuclear weapons in the early 90’s. I was listening to Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers I think, or maybe that was the next year- 18 years ago. The world was recovering from the Cold War- reinventing rock and roll as grunge as youth gave a big sigh and got sad. But then, I was also listening to Public Enemy and N.W.A.- what Bob Dylan had done in the 60’s, Chuck D did for the 90’s- well, at least, for me.

My point is, the emotions were releasing- sadness and anger coming out at the end of the Cold War. 18 years later there is once again a pervasive sense of anxiety around climate change and the ecological future of the Earth, not to mention the economic and financial straits that we all find ourselves in. The idea of building up or trimming down a gigantic pile of nuclear weapons somewhere sounds, well, like it’s missing the point- why would anyone need nuclear weapons? Would you have to buy carbon offsets if you dropped one? What will you do with all those dismantled nuclear bombs?

The diplomatic side of the equation is that The U.S. won’t build any anti-missile systems in Central Europe and we are cooling off our handshakes with old Soviet Republics. What we get out of it is Russia’s help with Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran. If you ask me, Obama is shrewdly negotiating on this one- nice job him. We need help with those countries a lot more than we need another missile system anywhere.

Obama’s diplomatic negotiating skills seem to be shining through of late- good thing we all sat around and waited for him to shine.

Photo Credit: Violentz (via Flickr under CCL)

Competition For Sochi 2014 Flag Handover

Sochi will be soliciting ideas for the flag handover ceremonies for the 2014 Olympic Games. The nationwide competition is to find the best ideas for the handover of the Olympic and Paralympic flags to Sochi during the Vancouver 2010 Closing Ceremony.

The Closing Ceremonies of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games consists of two key sections, according to a press release.  The first is the official protocol which is regulated by the International Olympic Committee(IOC).  Vancouver's mayor will return the flag to the IOC president who will then pass it on to the mayor of Sochi. This will be followed by a performance during which Sochi 2014 will put on a ten-minute display showcasing the host city to the Olympic Movement. 

The Sochi 2014 competition will decide this section of the ceremonies. "Given Russia's passion for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, we wanted to give everybody the opportunity to participate in the planning of these key ceremonies.  The flag handover sections can have a significant impact on perceptions of the Sochi Games between 2010 and 2014.  This competition offers us the best means of consulting with the Russian people on presenting our nation to the world," said Dmitry Chernyshenko, the President and CEO of the Sochi 2014.

The closing date for entries is December 25.

Not All Is Peaceful in Sochi

According to an article from the BBC, the 2014 Olympics in Sochi are creating conflicts in all sectors of the population.  From the land owners that are being displaced by contruction of new resorts, to the environmentalists who want to protect the pristine mountainside.  There are those who view the expansion of the city as a bad move which will have a negative impact on the residents as well as the land for years to come. According to a resident of Sochi, who recently lost his home, which has been in his family for four generations, says he finds it hard to imagine Sochi bieng turned into the Russian Riviera.  There are many concerns for the residents.
Land had shot up in price around here, he said, after the Olympic bid. But the levels of compensation being proposed by officials do not reflect this. The villagers, he complained, were being robbed. Some say they will refuse to leave; there have already been violent stand-offs with bailiffs.
Environmental groups fear that government officials, in their drive to promote Sochi as a jewel of Russia, will compromise the environment.
Dmitry Kaptsov, from local environmental group Ecological Watch, said the promised economic benefits were "fantasy". His organisation has won a number of court cases against developers, and has attracted much international attention and support. Mr Kaptsov insisted that Sochi had the resources to develop economically without the Winter Olympics. Their cost, he said, would be environmental and social damage.
Rumors of government corruption and incompetence also abound.
Whatever the real level of corruption, politics in Sochi is far from calm. The local mayor has recently been suddenly dismissed, part of what residents said was a battle for influence and lucrative posts. Sochi, and the wider Krasnodar Region, have promoted themselves as a modern-day Russian success story. And in many respects, they are. The region has high rates of investment, new roads and industries, flourishing agriculture. It is open, hospitable, and incomparable to the troubled republics (Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya) lying just a few hundred kilometres to the east.
Whatever the situation in Sochi, plans to expand the city for the 2014 Olympics will move forward.  It's still five years away, and a lot can happen, maybe some of these issues can be reconciled.

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