Tag Archives: Vancouver Olympics

Olympic officials hide truth in luge death

Cover-up is ongoing as CBC discovered through secret emails

Nodar Kumaritashvili, died on dangerous luge track in Vancouver officials ignored warning

The death of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Muaritashvili may have been preventable according to secret emails uncovered by the CBC.

Vancouver Olympic organizers (VANOC) were warned long in advance that the track was too dangerous and too fast.

In March 2009, VANOC head John Furlong wrote “Embedded in this note (cryptic as it may be) is a warning that the track is in their view too fast and someone could get badly hurt. An athlete gets badly injured or worse, and I think the case could be made we were warned and did nothing.” CBC Continue reading →

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Legally blind Canadian skier didn’t get his Olympic race

Canada finishes fifth in cross country ski race at Olympics

Devon Kershaw cries for himself not teammates as he lost cross country ski race on Sunday photo - Peter J. Thompson, Canwest News Service

It didn’t help Canada “own the podium” to discriminate against blind Olympian skier Brian McKeever. The team lost the Sunday race.

On Friday, team coach Inge Braten cut McKeever, who is legally blind.

Blind or not McKeever can see enough to finish first in the 50 km endurance race.

Most media said the coach was wrong by picking less qualified skiers over McKeever. Earlier in the week at the 30 km race, the other team members put in less than stellar performances: Babikov 5th, Harvey 9th and Grey 8th.

True to their earlier results, the Canadian team did poorly. Along with Kershaw’s 5th, Grey was 18th, Harvey 32nd and Babikov 33rd. Were Harvey and Babikov even in qualifying position?

The coach was wrong. He picked the team based on disability bigotry. He lost as a result putting poorer athletes ahead of McKeever who trained specifically for this endurance race. McKeever had just won the event in December 2009. Continue reading →

Getting close to the Olympic flame

photo by KK+

Rename IOC the Old Farts Club

So what if the woman’s hockey team celebrate on the ice

Girls celebrate in style CHRIS O'MEARA / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The IOC looks like the Old Farts Club picking on the woman’s hockey team from Canada.

They had just won the Gold.

The public was gone and the girls are having beer, cigars and a laugh on the ice.

The male hockey players are usually up to worse shenanigans than that.

I imagine the IOC don’t really know what hockey is. They were even talking about canceling woman’s hockey.

The Winnipeg Free Press reports they won’t press charges. IOC plans a letter but no investigation into Canadian women’s hockey celebration

Old farts. Party on Canada!

IOC orders blogger to remove video Compass

The International Olympic Committee has ordered a P.E.I. blogger to remove a video of the death of a Georgian luger from his website.

Stephen Pate on CBC Compass

CBC – Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21 of Georgia, died during a training run Feb. 12, just hours before the Olympic opening ceremonies. Stephen Pate, publisher of the online site NJN Network, published the video along with commentary about the death, and the IOC has since ordered him in an email to take it down.

The email states the IOC owns the rights to all images of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and only licensed broadcasters can use them. Pate said he won’t remove the video, because Canada’s Copyright Act allows the use of copyrighted material as part of a news story.

Continue reading →

Winter Olympics: IOC orders blogger to take down video of luger death

We’ve tracked this story around the world and back from Vancouver, to Switzerland, Georgia, PEI, Toronto, across Canada and the United States, Austria, India, Japan, and Israel

Indiana U – National Sports Journalism Centre

IOC - big brother is watching

“The International Olympic Committee has ordered a blogger to remove a video showing the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from his website,” International Business Times writes, adding, “Stephen Pate, publisher of the online site NJN Network, published the video along with commentary about the death, and the IOC has since ordered him in an email to take it down. The IOC asserts that it owns all the rights to all images taken at the games, and only licensed broadcasters can use them. However, Pate points to a Canadian law that allows copyrighted images to be used in news worthy cases. . . . Aside from the copyright issue, the IOC also said that the footage was disrespectful to the Kumaritashvili family.”

Blood money, blogger posts luge video

The IOC is a symbol of greed but so is NJN Network says CanadaEast

IOC - big brother is watch

By Charles Mandel, Here CanadaEast

Check out the end of this article for our response, muted as always

The tragedy of the Olympic Winter Games is now turning into a symbol of greed. Unbelievably, the long arm of the International Olympic Committee has reached all the way to Prince Edward Island, of all places. The IOC has ordered Stephen Pate, a PEI blogger, to remove a clip of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvilli crashing during his fatal practice run.

The email sent to Pate says the IOC owns the rights to all images from the Vancouver Olympics; only licenced broadcasters can use them, according to CBC News. CBC reports that Pate argues he is allowed to post the images because Canada’s copyright act allows such material to be used in news stories.
Continue reading →