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London Olympics - News & Views
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19323535
Somalia Olympic runner
'drowns trying to reach Europe'
A Somali Olympic athlete has reportedly drowned
while attempting to reach Europe on a migrant boat.
20 August 2012 Last updated at 14:46 ET
Samia was said to have moved
to Ethiopia in search of a coach
Runner Samia Yusuf Omar was trying to cross from Libya to Italy in April when the boat she was travelling in sank, according to Italian media.
The head of Somalia's National Olympic Committee confirmed to the BBC that she had died but did not say how.
Samia competed in the 200m event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 despite having almost no formal training.
Although she came in last place, several seconds behind the other competitors, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says it is extraordinary that she was able to take part at all.
She had grown up and trained in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, facing war, poverty, a complete lack of athletics facilities and prejudice from some quarters against women participating in sports.
According to a profile of Samia on al-Jazeera, she faced death threats and intimidation when she returned to Somalia after the 2008 Olympics, with the Islamist militia al-Shabab controlling parts of the capital.
'We will not forget'
In October 2010, the runner is reported to have moved to Ethiopia in search of a coach to help her train for the London 2012 Olympics.
What happened between then and her apparent death in the Mediterranean Sea is unclear.
According to al-Jazeera, there were no guarantees that she would be accepted to train at the stadium in Addis Ababa - it was dependent on her running times and permission from the Ethiopian Athletics Federation.
Reports in Italian media suggest she may have been hoping to find a coach in Europe who could help her reach the London Olympics.
Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera says Samia's fate only came to light when former Somali Olympic athlete Abdi Bile brought it up at a talk.
He mentioned Mo Farah, the Somali runner who moved to the United Kingdom aged 12 and triumphed in this year's Olympics.
"We are happy for Mo - he is our pride," he said. "But we will not forget Samia."
oilgun:
London 2012: Hits and Misses
A look at the architecture and design from the London Olympics that made headlines, including Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond's Orbit, Hopkins Architects' Velodrome and Thomas Heatherwick's cauldron.
1 Velodrome by Hopkins Architects
While some speculate that the Olympic Stadium, designed by Populous, will nab the 2012 Stirling Prize in October, Hopkins' pringle-shaped Velodrome remains the star of this summer's games. It's the combination of stunning form and sustainable construction and operation that makes this venue a hit. Steel-framed and clad entirely in locally sourced FSC timber, the home to the indoor cycling track features a glazed concourse and two tiers of seating. Sustainable measures include passive cooling and a grey water system.
2 ArcelorMittal Orbit by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond
Guests entering Olympic Park were baffled by the 115-metre-tall tower. Designed by Anish Kapoor and structural engineer Cecil Balmond, the functional sculpture received a cool reception that included comparisons to rollercoasters and hookahs. One of the game's permanent structures, it's made from 560 metres of red tubular steel and features an observation deck (spectators are encouraged to exit via the 400-plus spiraling stairs). It's a daring engineering feat but it's a far cry from Kapoor's seamless and refined public art pieces.
3 Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid
Hadid came under heavy fire when Olympic officials began offering refunds to spectators watching – and, to some degree, not being able to see – the diving and swimming competitions in her 8,000-capacity stingray-like structure. Many blamed the undulating roof (sculptural, gravity-defying and huge: signature Hadid) for blocking the views of the 10-metre diving board. Hadid's office denied the existence of a design flaw, saying that the firm delivered a stadium with 5,000 uninterrupted views, just as it was asked to do.
4 Oscar Pistorius' prosthetic legs
Dubbed the Blade Runner, the South African sprinter – and double amputee – raised eyebrows when he qualified for the 400-metre race. Donning the Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthetic legs, created by Össur, he was targeted by critics who postulated that the lightweight prostheses gave him an unfair advantage. Made of carbon fibre, the J-shaped legs are also fitted with shock-absorbing spike pads specially developed for Pistorius by Nike. Pistorius's qualification opens the door for devlopment of high-tech innovations in sports gear, as well as a new debate over performance-enhancers.
5. Olympic cauldron by Thomas Heatherwick
Not only was the design for this Olympic icon top secret, but the final piece was almost impossible to catch a glimpse of. (The Vancouver winter games in 2010 made a similar blunder by surrounding the flames with a chainlink fence). Still, it was a hit. Made from 204 copper petals – representing each participating country – attached to long poles, it was lit by British Olympians and drawn up to form an 8.5-metre-tall cylinder topped with a single massive flame.
6 London 2012 logo
Instantly dismissed at its 2007 unveiling, the dense geometric logo based on the date 2012, was an undeniable eyesore. Designed by Wolff Ollins, who has also worked with GE, Target and (Red), the emblem was also turned into an animation that allegedly caused seizuring. According to Unbeige, organizers for Rio's 2016 games took note – its sans serif logo is simple and easy to read.
http://azuremagazine.com/newsviews/blog_content.php?id=2145
Sheriff Roland:
That logo, London 2012 - I hadn't even seen (or even looked for) the numbers in it until I read your post Gil. What I had seen (after considerable effort) were the distorted letters of 'London'. I'm sure that was intentional. At first , and for a long time, I imagined that the 'letters' represented a mini map of the buroughs of the city. :P
L N
o
D N
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/insane-minnesota-couple-hated-the-olympics-for-bei
Minnesota Couple Hated The Olympics
For Being Too Sexy
This couple was furious about the “pagan noise”
and “cleavage” on display. Way too sexy!
By Jack Moore
BuzzFeed Staff
Posted about 14 hours ago
Click for the comic BuzzFeed commentary/response:
Here is the real letter:
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/240419/
We’ve enjoyed past Olympic openings and closings, and some of the sports.
But the quality of the past two or three Olympics has been a great disappointment.
The entertainment of this latest Olympics was dark, loud, sexualized with scanty clothes and revealing cleavage on women, and with disturbing pagan noise. Connecting children, beds plus frightening villains made one think of pedophiles.
The black and red colors of sex and violence dominated most of the closing. The nuns were obviously there to mock Christianity while one could only think of Satan being glorified.
The comical entrance of the queen was one of the few bright spots.
Past Olympics had spectacular bright, cheerful and family-style entertainment but the English seem to have put teens who worship Satan in charge. It was disgraceful and we suffered through them hoping for some improvement.
Some of the clothes the competitors wore also reflect the sexualized entertainment.
The male swimmers look unprofessional with their hip-huggers trunks stopping just above their pubic region, as also the women’s track and volleyball with their underwear-bikinis.
All are offensive and degrading. These styles are also now worn in our schools and colleges, which no one seems to have objected to.
The girls’ gymnastics also are sexualized in their swimsuits and are too tight around the buttocks plus partially expose their butts.
We had enough with all the sexuality which took away any enjoyment to watch so we only watched the entertainment.
Rio Di Janeiro [sic] has nothing better to offer with more dark juvenile entertainment and women parading around sexually, displaying cleavage and little talent.
Dennis P. & Rosemarie Mitchell
Duluth
oilgun:
"The black and red colors of sex and violence dominated most of the closing."
"[...]disturbing pagan noise."
"[...]the English seem to have put teens who worship Satan in charge."
Good grief, why do they even publish this crazy stuff? For the entertainment value? These people are obviously religious nut-cases. To hell with them, lol!
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