Slashdot Mirror
Olympians Banned From Blogging
nodwick writes "CNN reports that in a bid to protect its lucrative media contracts, the IOC is barring competitors, coaches, and support personnel from writing firsthand accounts of their Olympic experience, on the web or in print, for the duration of the Games. Nor are they allowed to ever post photographs or movies that they've taken, including media of themselves, even after the Games are finished. They've threatened to disqualify anyone that violates their restrictions and sue them for monetary damages. Looks like an effort to clamp down on grassroots, word-of-mouth publicity for the Olympics -- good thing they're not having any problems selling tickets anyways, eh?"
a lot of bloggers work for large companies, attened events or whatever but never give out personally identifying information.
Myself, I talk about work all the time but never use my real name or the company I work for. If you were clever you could work it out but - the company could never pin it on me. Anyway whos going to enforce this anyway
There is no god
Why on earth would you want to prevent these people from telling there stories? I know that some of the challenges they go through to get there and during the games, would be well worth sharing with others. Guess the Games have become about money too now.
The Corprate World Strikes again!!!!!
At least they can't ban them from thinking about their hardships. Lucky Olympians.
The IOC are a non-profit organization so they can't be doing this for evil reasons.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
"....that in a bid to protect its lucrative media contracts, the IOC is barring..."
...and i stopped reading. i'm not going to rant about the legacy of the games or this and that...i'm just going to say: keep 'em, keep the money, keep your coverage, keep the contracts and consider me disgusted.
I would rather get the reports right from the competitors but the reality is that this is not about the people that are actually competing and more about the talking heads of the networks. Unfortunately we will put up with this and just say tsk! tsk!
Stay tuned for new sig...
So now big brother corporate is trying to milk the olympics for all they're worth as well?
Is nothing sacred?
This calls for a revolution
...the legality of the actions taken. For, who actually owns the Olympic games? How can these rights be changed from country to country? I'm absolutely flustered by it all, especially since I thought that, in the first place, taking photos at an event was entirely legal.
The Political Programmer
Why don't they just make the final sport in the Olympics a death-match? Simpler, and they can sell it on pay-per-view.
I doubt they would get away with this in America, just preempting the greedy American companies arguements. Can't wait for 2008 though :) we'll see what happens there...
They shouldn't be alowed to do this.
I know other parts of the world don't respect free speach as we 'try' to in the US but this is horrible.
The medal winners need to organize and have a blogathon. They can't disqualify everyone.
They IOC doesn't own the experiences of the athletes!!!! UGGGG
I wish
And some say Blogging is addictive, so I see how they could be concerned!
Just another in a long list of reasons for me to not waste my time watching the Olympics on TV. I remember when just being at the Olympics was enough to justify a lifelong pursuit of perfection. Nowadays, it's just a ticket to a lucrative advertising career, and you'd better get the gold, because 2nd place won't get you on a Wheaties box.
Morons. They pull crap like this, and blocking all streaming footage for the US and they insist that THEY know best and that we don't really want to watch anything live if it is on in the middle of the night. I have watched a grand total of 2 minutes of the olympics so far. And that was only because I was in a store where it was one the TV. I hope NBC loses millions on the Olympics.
I'm sure this argument will be echoed by other posters, but I think this "Olympic blackout" policy by the IOC is getting ridiculous.
But I also think that the problem is self-repairing.
As it becomes more and more obvious that the Olympics are becoming NOTHING more than a corporate subsidized media event, the whole thing will revert to non-commercial, non-exclusive, pure competition. (Athletic competition, not commercial.)
Of course, we might have to endure the NBC/Nike Olympic Games! first.
Forbidding the athletes to post their own pictures is insane. I guess since the IOC makes the rules, they can just dis-allow someone from participating for any reason they want...but it's definately insane.
--Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
Are Belong To Us
Let's see...you train your whole life to have a shot at this thing, enjoy the moment, and want to share that moment with anyone and everyone using your own words. Sounds like natural progression in technology, eh?
Well, too bad. You've got corporate sponsors -- shoes, clothes, probably even the plane ticket to Athens. Then you've got people who commercialize this event so bad that they won't even let you share your thoughts unless they can make money off of it. You're a commodity, not some olympic hero. You're merchandise to be marketed and sold to a public who admire you. Your honor and glory amount to a feel-good story soundbyte...and that's about it.
So much for the spirit of the olympics. I'd have taken the laurel wreath and the vat of olive oil. Then again I'm not an athlete...and I'm not at all marketable...so a good bottle of olive oil sounds nice.
but i bet if enough disobayed then the '04 olympics could flutter dead....
No ticket sales and if enough get kicked then its really nothing...
PS: yes i know no one will endanger their being there and say FUCK THEM....
The cold war is over. The feeling of 'east versus west' is gone. A lot of people don't care anymore. After the blatantly corrupt money-grab of the previous Olympics, even fewer people care. Attempts by the organization to commodify all aspects of the Olympic experience will only accelerate the trend.
For me, the most heartening and yet saddest aspect of this debacle is the recognition of the power of the web to convey stories and images much faster and more efficiently than traditional outlets. I suppose the future is here, I guess I just hoped for something else.
Maybe a high-profile gold-medal favorite should do a blog and get himself/herself banned from the Games in order to expose the absurdity of this restriction.
That sucks, and I will not support the IOC with my money. Someone tell me when the Olympics start, so I can be sure not to watch TV that week.
And when I think about you ...I touch myself
The IOC joins the ranks of the RIAA and MPAA. How long before we have ads during the olympics showing us how sharing our experiences at the events hurts the guy who's only livelyhood is hurt because of how you've shared it?
Lets hope someone sues them for infringing on the right to free speech or something.
The IOC has gotta learn it dosn't make these guys good athleets or sporting stars. THEY make themselves great, through dedication and effort. So they should be allowed to do what they like.
The IOC are being dicks, taking a mile when you give them an inch. THEY should be the ones bowing for the talent and dedication of the sportmen and women not the other way around.
If you win a gold medal that commands a certain degree of respect. But what does it mean if you cannot write about an achievement that was all your own work?
They're only barred from writing for other news organizations, not for personal websites. Blogging isn't banned, according to the article.
Rather, Olympians are prohibited from writing articles and taking photographs for publication by outside news agencies.
This.. doesn't seem nearly so horrid. They can control which credentialed journalists get in, and make sure they've paid their dues and whatnot. The IOC is trying to prevent organizations from skipping past them and hiring on Olympians as insiders.
Is the IOC a private organization?
Logic, macros, and more
I'm with you entirely, but unfortunatley these things just keep encroaching and encroaching on our lives. Last night I went (as usual) to stick the BBC World Service on RealPlayer so that I could listen to it while going off to sleep (lets not get into why I was sleeping in the office). What I actually got, however, was a continuous loop of "Because of licensing restrictions, we cannot bring you this service". Apparently this is all because the Olympics can't be covered by the BBC in the States. This is ridiculous.
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
If I'm interested in a sport, I will want to see the full quality version. Sure, I'd love to read a blog or two, but what I'm really interested in is the event itself and I'll figure a way around M$NBC's stupid internet black out to get it.
If I were an athlete, I'd tell the IOC to shove it just as soon as my event was over and post whatever I wanted my family and friends to see.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Nor are they allowed to ever post photographs or movies that they've taken, including media of themselves, even after the Games are finished.
Huh? You take a picture of yourself, it's yours. This is pure threatening bullshit just said to try to scare them. They don't have a leg to stand on if some athlete, with their own camera, took photos of themselves at the game and then 6 months later they put them up on the web to say "look what I did with MY camera taking pictures of MY person".
It's not like a ton of cash is exchanging hands anyway. Anyone even watching the games?
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
For that matter, we should have a television broadcast devoted to political candidates in the US- so that any candidate from any party with enough signatures can get an equal share of air time.
Logic, macros, and more
Well okay, so let's admit the IOC is sold to big media corps, which they are for various reasons involving money under the table no double, and they threaten to sue the hell out of olympians who post pictures and accounts. Let's say...
But disqualify them? under what rule? if someone wins an event fairly and his/her urine checks out, why would they be disqualified by this? is this a rule that was written that athletes agreed upon before? I bet it's not. And if it isn't, I wager olympians who already won something before this IOC statement could probably post something, because rules usually can't be made retroactive.
And at any rate, I'm quite sure athletes could challenge such a disqualification in court without too much trouble. But of course, they won't, because their goal is to win medals, not defend free speech, and also the last thing they need is to antagonize media monopolies, because a great part of their incomes come from airtime and grooming their public image.
So, way to go IOC. You fit just right in the current grand scheme of corrupt things. Not that I care greatly about what athlete have to say, they're usually fairly inane to listen to, but none the less they should have free speech like the rest of us.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
As a protest to the greed at the games I'm withdrawing myself from the 100 hour couch potato Jerry Spinger event! This is an outrage!
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
Shouldnt come as any suprise thou...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Really, are the Olympics anything more than sponser corporations and television networks and the tourist boards of cities trying to capitalize on the nationalism of their respective states?
I have no problem with the commercialization of sports... But I am disturbed by several things.
First, shouldn't the athletes get a cut of the money? I mean, it is the single most popular sporting event in the world. Look how much they make in the NBA, or how much footballers are paid. The athletes are the stars of the show, and other than maybe some endorsement deals afterwords, they get non of the share of the billions made from the Olympic Games.
Second, why do taxpayers have to pay to support the Olympics? Since it is just big buisness now (and there is nothing wrong with that in of itself), shouldn't those profiting from the Olympics bear the sole burdon. I don't see why I need to pay taxes to help the Olympic team promote their new softdrink. The hardworking taxpayer is being extorted to help a bunch of corporations increase their bottom line.
Third, why is it my patriotic duty to have some sort of nationalistic concern over who can throw a heavy object the farthest, or who can shoot a basket? They should give us the reports of how much the multinational corporations make/lose on the olympic games, and we should give the winners metals. Gold for Cocacola, Silver for Mitsubishi, and Bronze for IBM. That would be just as entertaining, and wouldn't stoke nationalistic rivalry.
While I am not saying I completely agree with the IOC on this one, but they have the legal right to control all means of making money on this. If Mr. Phelps or some other big name Olympian had their own blog they could generate a lot of traffic. If they just happen to also have some advertising on it they could potentially make a lot of money reporting the Olympics. Most likely a 3rd party company would run the blog for the athlete so even more people are making money. This is all about money (whether that is a good thing or a bad thing) not the IOC trying to control the athletes thoughts.
All this will take to reverse is one gold medalist posting a bunch of photos and movies their parents took of them.
It doesn't matter what any court anywhere would say, they would be so pressured by public opinion over the matter that this wouldn't last.
Just imagine if they tried to not let them compete, or take away a medal or something.
Case closed.
Experiment!
The Cold War is over and the press is despairing. Have you noticed the new emphasis in the (US) press about the competition between China and the US in these Olympics? Apparently, they realized as you did that there's no East vs. West rivalry anymore and they're trying to push this rivalry on us in order to gain ratings.
I feel no competition with China. If history proves anything, it's that repressive regimes eventually fail as peasants revolt. Back to my point, no one I know feels any real rivalry with China - there's just no reason to. NBC and co is spinning the coverage so that it appears there's a huge rivalry and they're trying to instill the rivalry in the viewing public. If you ask me, they want better ratings in '08 and are working on it now.
Luckily, if you RTFA they say that existing personal websites are exempt, but even then you apparently cannot post pix or video. That's fucking bullshit. I would very much like to see somebody challenge this rule, but unfortunately I think they would be simply kicked out of the Olympics and left with no recourse. Who is the IOC accountable to? No one, except for member countries, I'd bet.
Really, this seems to be a sad attempt by the news media to protect their turf. It's so pathetic. My question is, what if an athlete is also an accredited journalist in real life. Does the IOC grant them permission to post on their website? Obviously big money trumps free speech every time, though. I guess it's about time we just gave in and begged our corporate masters to be merciful. Fat lotta good that will do.
[/rant]
Electric Monkey Pants
Personally, I am much more worried about then trying to ban pornography
The capital of Washington is Olympia, named for the Olympic mountains. The name predates the modern olympic games. There are a lot of stores in Olympia and other parts of Washinton that use "Olympic" in their name...or used to. The IOC sued them for trademark infringement several years ago and most changed their names rather than bankrupt themselves fighting the IOC in court.
I think it's time for the world public to retake control of the IOC, they are completely out of control and destroying the games in their mad pursuit of money.
Money: the best thing that could happen to civilisation, the worst thing that could happen to humanity.
I wonder if some bozo, say...me...were to start writing a blog about the Olympics as if I'm really there covering it.
Could I get sued even though I'm not there and I'm just making everything I write up?
If I had the time I would...but I'm too busy writing Slashdot comments.
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
Sounds like blogging is legal to me.
They don't even want people directing traffic to their site. Check out their policy here Ooops...So much for that rule :)
"If history proves anything..." ...it's that the peasants eventually have to disperse and go home to sow or harvest their crops. The folks who riled up the peasants may be in power, but the peasants sure ain't.
bbc world service always seems to work on shortwave for me, i wonder if they will stop broadcasting on shortwave because of the olympics?
I'm really roundabout in the way I write things. I mean, nobody would ever figure out I work for Microsoft.
Damn.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I think they have already suspended short wave service in the US
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
I thought I just visited slashdot after reading about story of Indian losses whole day yesterday, followed by comments from many atheletes, and journals and blogs of theirs too.
Does that make any sense? And now I read they weren't supposed to.
Day 1 : ran/jumped/hit/rode/threw (delete as applicable)
.
:)
Day 2 : ran/jumped/hit/rode/threw (delete as applicable)
Day 3 : ran/jumped/hit/rode/threw (delete as applicable)
Day 4 : ran/jumped/hit/rode/threw (delete as applicable)
Day 5 : ran/jumped/hit/rode/threw (delete as applicable) Ooh, look ! A picture/movie (delete as applicable) of me running/jumping/hitting/riding/throwing (delete as applicable)
. .
you get the idea
The IOC has a copyright and trademark of the word Olympic. They have gone after companies, small business and even mom-and-pop Greek restaurants here in the US for using the Olympic name. The Olympus name is ok, but if you have the word Olympic AND you're not paying them a license fee, they are going to come after you. ;>)
Thank goodness that there aren't any restaurants in Philadelphia names Billy Joel (his name is copyrighted and trademarked too
[ see subject line above ]
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
No, I mean someone needs to sponser "The Olympia Games", or some other re-wording of the name "The Olympics". Exactly what gives the modern politcal organization the IOC ownership over something that happened thousands of years ago? Today's Olympics are not the same games, so why not create another?
I thought I just read "Freedom of Expression snatched".
These atheletes have full right to discolose any non-sensitive information. How does it violate any contract? It hasn't happened before, so why now? Apart from that, newspapers almost tell the whole version themselves.
Talk about pictures, they don't carry a camera in all the events they participate in all the time. You could find more footage from those broadcasting streams to billions round the globe.
I hope every single one of those people think you're an idiot. Idiot.
It's evil. Plain evil, and that is becoming more and more apparent as time goes by.
NO ONE should be allowed tell you what you can and cannot say.
There is absolutely no correlation between various bans imposed by IOC and lackluster ticket sales. The prices and general disinterest are the chief reason.
In regards to these restrictions, they go against everything Olympics is about, or rather were about. It has become too commercialized and uninteresting. IOC should enjoy the last few games before this once wonderful competition between nations goes away for good.
...and it was the other day that i was trying to defend the history of the games and the importance of so many countries taking "time out" to just compete as a human race.....
Now, all that is just....empty....sad. Makes me sad and not in a sappy, dramatic way...just...well, sad and tired.
There couldn't be a better plan to make the Olympics less "authentic" and more "manufactured". This policy is not only wrong, it's ineffective.
Open Source Music: anotherdreamer.net
To protect lucrative broadcast contracts, athletes and other participants are also prohibited from posting any video, audio or still photos they take themselves, even after the games, unless they get permission ahead of time. (Photos taken by accredited journalists are allowed on the personal sites.)
First, I don't think this would hold up in court, especially if the photographs are being used on a non-commercial site. It's like saying, "Yes, we said you could take as many pictures as you want, but you just can't show them to anyone else or use them on any website."
What's the point of taking the pictures?!?
I could understand if they said that the pictures could not be used commercially - that statement could at least be supported by some semblance of an argument.
I could also *maybe* understand a blackout of photographic or video media until after the olympics are over.
This, though, is just wrong.
Try eMusic. DRM free, legal, MP3 downloads.
Anybody remember when the Olympics were about bringing people from diverse cultures together for healthy competition in the spirit of brotherhood? Yeah, me neither. The horrifying way that the IOC exploits the athletes to fill their own coffers makes me sick. For that and many other reasons, I stopped supporting the Olympics many years ago.
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
This is really, really stupid. What the IOC should have done is hand over blogging rights to one of their sponsors/networks (perhaps for free, this time, in the expectation of huge returns in future games when the value of blogging is more established) then setup up blogging facilities at said sponser/network's website and make the available to any atheletes who wish to make use of them. You could partition it by country, with nbc.com blogs for American atheletes, cbc.com blogs for Canadians, etc or put it all under one big site like Coke's.
No PR nightmare and a new revenue stream too!
Dumbasses!
Too bad all those goth high schoolers aren't Olympians.
http://www.commaecho.com
If you are getting paid millions of dollars/euros/pounds for just allowing someone to broadcast what is happening in your event, you really don't want them to get angry at you! And I am sick and tired of people whining that olympics have become too commercial. In the last 30 years, the cost of organising the olympics, with the added ENORMOUS cost of security, it would make little sense for a country/city to actually want to organise/finance them on their own, no matter how much tourism promotion it will receive. And by the way, no matter what most of the international media report, this years games have already sold 3E6+ tickets already, with one week to go, and greeks still buying tickets as crazy. (Info: Recordholder for most ticket sales is seoul if I am not mistaken with 3.1E6 tickets). The stadiums are just too large peopleee!! :-)
I'm glad to know you don't know what you're talking about. Please, continue to spread the misinformation and dead-wrong assumptions.
This is my
No worries, nothing to appologise for.
YOU FAIL IT.
The games are supposed to be about the atheletes. Well, no not really. The games are about Nike, Kodak, McDonalds, and NBC. Trouble is the athletes are whoring themselves for a metal and life-time bragging rights. Image the athletes giving the IOC the finger and doing what they wanted with their stories. For some reason the IOC thinks they own the athletes.
4. Married Ponch
that's either the protruding belly you get after marriage (and the consistent good grub it brings)
or you are telling us that you married eric estrada, of the infamous "you're a homo" campaign.
This theory is not without a basis. I've seen this sort of thing happen (though on a significantly smaller scale). There's a festival held near my home every year. For a few years it had gotten increasingly commercial, up until last year where every single booth and kiosk was related to some big name company, and you got as much schwag as at a convention. But no one was there. This year? Almost all of that crap was gone, there was just a single solitary little KFC booth way in the back. Everything else was back to being operated by little local businesses and organizations. And you know what? The place was packed.
The negative press the IOC would receive over it, especially if the medalist broke a world record, would probably be enough for them to fall over themselves trying to recount their ruling.
Someone say illegal Blogs? Get RIAA on them stat!
The reason is that such a policy sounds so much like something the IOC would come up with that noone doubts it
Nice to see that they're Big Brother factor is only level Microsoft, not level Patriot Act =)
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
The IOC. They get countries and commercial interests to spend billions because there's a boatload of money to be made by hosting and covering the games. The Olympics have ALWAYS been a private interest. Ownership of the games has for over a hundred years been controlled by the IOC. The atheletes are members who have agreed to abide by every whim of the IOC in return for being allowed to participate. There's NOTHING surprising or new here.
What would the US's founding fathers and the Original olimpians think? Probably that the exclusivity given to NBC is out rageous.
My money (either collected from me by sponsors or the government) is used to sponsor the olympics. I own it just as much as the next guy.
The Olympic Spirit is one of humanity and peace not one of capitalism and greed.
The IOC should be ashamed of themselves for sensuring the best athletes in the world, in any respect.
Vote with your dollars. Don't go don't buy tickets. Make the IOC despertate so that they let anyone and everyone cover the Olympics freely as anyone should be able to.
In Roman times, admittance to the colesieum was free if you were a Roman citizen. The Olymics belong to us, not NBC or commite, though we do thank them for their hard work. But no one has the exclusive right to cover what should belong to the people of the world.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Replace "peasants" with middle class (a large and growing group in modern China) and the statement makes far more sense. I was using "peasants" in a historical sense versus a literal sense.
The Chinese middle class will be the ultimate catalyst for change in their own country.
My point stands, however, that we have little to envy China for and there is no need for Sino-American rivalry that outdoes any other Olympic rivalry.
So, this "Olympics", it's some kind of sports event,
right? Wish I could find out more about it, but there's almost nothing about it on the web.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Thanks...I will.
Since you didn't seem to enlighten us with your wisdom!
If I'm wrong, please correct me with actual facts instead of trying (and failing) to be witty.
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
I hope every single one of those people think you're an idiot. Idiot.
E A G L E S - EAGLES!
You can take my blog. Just don't take my eBay ID.
Learn About Outsourcing. http://www.pioutsource.com
while it is ridiculous to ban blogging, are we really missing out? I mean, the people that get to these games are so self-absorbed, what exactly are they doing for society anyway? just because they can run doesn't make them interesting. could be that that IOC is doing the world a favor by preventing these narcissistic sissies from belabouring the world with more self-indulgent crap. there. i said it. and i'm not bitter about not being in the olympics.
He's right, they can't stop the athletes from taking pictures of themselves.
It also states on the actual story on CNN, unlike the Slashdot story, that An exception is if an athlete has a personal Web site that they did not set up specifically for the Games.
and
they may not post journals or online diaries, blogs in Internet parlance, until the Games end August 29
So yes, they can post blogs and pictures of themselves AFTER the games are over. The asshat that posted the story here on Slashdot got the story wrong trying to inflame people here.
When in doubt, RTFA
Censorship in the land whose great claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of democracy.
Shame on Athens, on Greece, and on the IOC.
Reflexive has an awesome breakout-style neoclassic arcade game called Ricochet Lost Worlds, the sequel to their first title, Ricochet Xtreme.
Anyway, in Lost Worlds, the secondary objective is to make your ball hit 5 golden rings every level. Hit all 5 in one level and you get 10 rings. 35 means an additional ball.
[Sarcasm]
I'm certain that Reflexive Entertainment is using 5 rings as a selling point because people identifying it with the Ancient Olympic Games (TM). Time to sue Reflexive.
[/Sarcasm]
Laws are for people with no friends.
organize an "anti" event and may be call it "Poopympics" or soemthing like that. The participants will be judged on how _bad_ they are at any given activity. Think of the possibilities! There could be any number of events from install-fests to ......
Sorry, have to get back to work. God, I am bored. Bub-bye.
I will be an olympic athelete, a member of the Jamacian ski team. I will blog, and I will post my personal media. If they disqualify me I'll take them on at their own game. Sure I won't win, I'm not a gold-metal skier, but I'll prove a point. Then I'll found the Nerd Olympics, and if they threatan to sue, I'll say "Its an ancient game, you can't trademark that!" and prove it in court. I tellyahwhat.
I will personally offer to host any pictures, and stories from olympians. We won't tell them who's story/pictures and let them chase their tails.
Kind thoughts do not change the world
Would they seriously sue Micheal phelps and revoke his 4 medals just for talking about how awesome it felt to win four medals on his website? I highly doubt it.
prohibited from posting any video, audio or still photos they take themselves, even after the games, unless they get permission ahead of time
Personal audio/video/stills cannot compete with professional media. For composition or accessibility. These are treasured moments for the athletes and their friends and families. Fluff for the rest of us. Being able to show ALL your relatives the video you took while marching into the stadium is something that cannot be replaced nor recreated.
Screw you, IOC. You don't own them. Especially not forever.
Blogging is not the only things that Athens 2004 Olympic Committee is forbidding. Hyperlinks are forbidden too.
In fact there is to warn Athens 2004 that you are linking to athens2004.com, with some details about the reason of the links. You can only link with the words Athens 2004 (or the translation in other languages). After a review of your request, if they do not agree with the link, you will get an answer with their disapproval and an order to remove it. I am curious about the legal weight of such a request. Anyway, this is unenforceable as the majority is not aware of this policy.
The details about this are on this page (oops I linked!)
Some french-speaking blogs have launched a Google bomb against this policy, with the word médaille de la marchandisation which means approximately medal of the mercantilism (approximately because "mercantilisme" and "marchandisation" are slightly different in French, but I think the English world is about theses two almost identical ideas)
Mayfoev [Damn Frenchy]
I've seen precisely one event that wasn't swimming, gymnastics, or volleyball.... Shotput. Okay, I take that back. I caught about 2:00 of the Boulder kid winning the gold in the bike contest, and some water polo... But that's more-or-less swimming, so it dosen't count! :P
I know other things have to be going on... I mean, as endlessly facinating swimming and teenage girls bouncing about are, I'd like to see some other stuff.
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
I haven't watched any of the Olympics yet this year and I don't plan to watch either. I'm glad I haven't been supporting them, this is getting ridiculous.
Unfortunately I'll have to watch hockey in the next winter Olympics :/
I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
The modern games have never been anything else but a giant propaganda machine. Wich such niceties as the nazis hosting it, the boycotts by the americans and soviets and the munich masacre the games have even lost the pretence of being about anything more then sporters being paid by the state not to work.
When someone dies during the Tour de France it has been known that the entire group of cyclist let the team of the dead person win by driving over the finishing line together. Their at least there are more important things then winning.
How many sporters at the munich olympics made even 1 symbolic protest? Was any of them intrestted in anything else but winning?
Peace through sports? Not until we get rid of the sporters and those who measure the worth of their country through beating other countries.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Watched the opening cerimoneys on CBC in Canada. They called some of the atheletes on their cell phones and had the cameras focused on them at the same time. Thought that was cool. I'm thinking, too, that probably soon the IOC will sell the rights to the "web presence" from the Oympics. Probably make more money. BTW, I have this idea pattented, copyrighted, trademarked etc.
rewriting history since 2109
The Olympics are merely a drain on every societies finances when there are still more credible needs to be filled. The "games" are politics, not sports, so let us treat them (and the IOC) as such.
What you have to understand is that the Olympics left Greece as a name with purity and now it has returned as a trademark. When you are on their land and you have signed their contracts you have to follow their rules. The Olympic authorities are constantly moaning about people tarnishing the purity of their sacred Olymic name what they really mean is people are dirtying their brand. The whole thing is nothing more than a marketing event and they want to keep all their IP (broadcast rights and advertising deals) safe. Im not sure exactly where it sold out - it was probably over many decades! but next Olympics will probably have a 'tm' or 'r' sign and you (the spectators) will be heavily searched in the name of security for anything that could be used to broadcast out. Mobile phone oparators will be instructed to block picture/video messaging from the area and you wont be allowed to leave untill 3 hours after each event (to stop you selling the tapes).
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
I really used to believe in free market enterprise and commercialisation but I'm rapidly starting to see merit in the views of the radical left. More and more what were once simple and oft loved things are being eroded by the single minded drive to make a buck as fast as possible. I cite for example the recent merger between Sony and BMG - the result of which I will bet that popular, but lower revenue generating acts will be kicked out in favour of the Shannon Nolls (Australian Idol) and other pieces of crap with no merit whatsoever. The same thing is slowly happening to the movie industry and has already happended to television. Why make a quality drama for X Million an episode when you can get the same audience with a piece og reality xrap for a tenth as much plus you don't need all those annoying actors! I used to love the Olympics, but now it is just a stinking sludge pool of corporate sponsership, advertising, greed and drugs. I feel sorry for those athletes who still think it is about the sport.
nobody gives a shit about the Olympics this year.
My wife and I were just talking about this earlier today. It's not a sporting event any more...it's a tv show.
Evil is the money of root.
i can't pass up commenting on that page:
... wow ... really sad.
That is
Okay, the medias hype of phelps was rediculous. But he never asked for it. Where's this 'bad attitude?' where's this 'big mouth.' but i guess because you don't have corporate sponsership, every smile is unjust and portrays someones underlieing greed. man this guy is so cocky i bet he'd get '5 insightful' for bashing athletes online. Face it. The guy is good. He's more ore less the best in the world at what he does and I'd be happy if i was in his postion. I actually know a number of olympic swimmers on the Canadian team (many of them attend the university of british columbia) and i have yet to hear anything bad said about Phelps attitude.
The Neo-Bohemian Techno-Socialist
that makes no sense, you know. Shortwave is broadcast in the UK, and received in the US...
These professors, programmers and athletes get a small share of the value they create. Most of the value goes to those who have cleverly extended the "container" and claim the individual's achievement in the name of the container.
It is an error to attribute the individual's achievement to the container in which he works.
I write here to inform you of the really quite shocking actions being
perpetuated by the UK cinema chain Odeon against a disabled Scottish
boy Matthew Somerville.
9 year old Matthew suffers from the rare, medically unknown condition
of "Shatner's Palsy" which attacks unoxygenated body tissue. Doctors are
working hard on a cure, but admit the possibility of a fatal remission
within 70 years. Despite this, Matthew continues to brighten the lives
of everyone he meets.
Incredibly, despite having weak arms, he is still able to operate a
computer using a specially constructed input device, consisting of a
covered spherical ball and a pair of single-pole-single-throw latches.
Resting his disabled hand on the tool, any small movements are converted
to gigabyte digital input signals.
The disabled boy constructed a special film portal for the disabled.
It was very popular, receiving over 100 "hits" a month. Webmaster
experts based at Durham University examined his JavaScript code and
proclaimed it "fully polymorphic and 100% XML ready"
Despite this, Odeon cinemas have ordered him to "cease and desist"
using the recently enacted European Millennium Copyright Act (EMCA) to
copyright the notion of "film discussion" by a person and/or persons
"without full limb mobility". They have demanded his website is put in
the Windows XP recycle bin, and insisted "It shall then be emptied".
Unsurprisingly, the move has been supported by the Internet Knowledge
Enforcement Agency (IKEA).
This cannot be allowed to happen. The disabled should have almost as
many rights as normal people, at least with regard to discussing films.
Luckily for us, people power works, and that's where you come in.
How can you help disabled boy Matthew Somerville?
a) Email Odeon customer support (info@odeonuk.com) and tell them you are
boycotting their chain (Rocky 6 excepted) while they continue
their legal actions against disabled boys.
b) Email Odeon UK chairman Luke Vetere (lvetere@odeonuk.com) and insist
that the website be retrieved from the recycle bin, cleaned, and
uploaded back onto the UK internet web system using FTP packet protocols.
c) Email and post this message to everybody you know (several times), and
on every "blog" site you can find.
d) You can help Matthew in his separate quest to enter the "Guinness Book
of Records" with the record of "largest collection of cinema ticket
stubs". Matthew is aiming for over a thousand. Send them, perhaps with
a letter of encouragement to
Matthew Somerville
Guinness Record Attempt
109 Eastern Drive
Edinburgh
EH7 1DA
Remember, only by working together can we can beat an evil law, and
brighten the failing heart of a young disabled angel.
RTFA.
"An exception is if an athlete has a personal Web site that they did not set up specifically for the Games."
/usr/bin/grep -i -E meaning life.txt
maybe the us just stopped not jamming it. After all, in the american corporate reich, why would you need to listen to the BBC? You should be grateful to server your MBA masters!
One of the big three TV stations that didn't get the broadcast rights to the Olympics.....
s/server/serve/
duh.
If you get the link from a third party and have not seen the policy, then you cannot agree to it, therefore you're indemnified from any breach of contract action they may try to file against you (IANAL, I just speak like one).
These sponsor contracts are very lucrative for the IOC, and though they may be a non-profit, they pay for many expensive perks and luxurious travel for the IOC's directors (do you think they fly to check out potential sites in Coach class?).
What's funny is that sometimes becoming the official anything of an olympic event may be worth way less than you paid. Converse paid millions to be the official shoe of the 1984 summer Olympics and blew their budget doing so, having little money to leverage and exploit this supposedly plum sponsorship.
Nike, not having thrown 8 figures at the organizing committee, blitzed advertising around L.A. and during the broadcast. By the end of the games, if you asked people what the official shoe was, they were answering "Nike".
- Greg
Start a happiness pandemic
I think it's fairly easy to push humans into the "us vs. them" mindset, although it's not there by default.
In the modern world, the USA more than any country except Israel needs to have a THEM to rail against--not only is the mindset of the country geared that way, but the economy is as well. Thus, the government and the media implicitly collude to constantly create such a 'them.' In the government's case, it's a combination of paranoia and a superlative mentality: "Who is our BIGGEST threat? What is the MOST DANGEROUS long-term enemy? We'd better watch them!!!" On the media side, it's much more cynical and deliberate: "Who can we focus on as a competitor to drum up the most money?"
The problems with this attitude are that it continues to breed paranoia, and it makes the populace less critical towards further 'proclamations.' Also, it dehumanises the competition. No longer is it "Jones vs. Dmitrioff," it's "our nation vs. their nation" and the athletes are just pawns.
This is nothing new. What's new is that the USA has never had to scramble so hard to find an opponent. They've been building up China in that role for nearly ten years now, but at the same time are more than a little nervous about actively engaging (or even offending) a country that's roughly their equal.
I think you're right--come 2008, the USA will HATE the Chinese team, because the media and government will spend four years creating that attitude.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
That's talking about a non-games related personal web site. Two paragraphs down:
Participants in the games may respond to written questions from reporters or participate in online chat sessions -- akin to a face-to-face or telephone interview -- but they may not post journals or online diaries, blogs in Internet parlance, until the Games end August 29.
come off as if they were written by passive-aggressive douchebags? "Its not as if ticket sales blah blah blah." Earlier today, "I guess thats what you get when the customer blah blah blah." And earlier still, "I wonder how choked the Hotmail plus blah blah blah." Its lame. If you have a problem with something or someone just say it, in real life or on slashdot. Its not cute, its not clever, its just douchebagish.
Been watching the HD loop of the Olympics.
...and doing it poorly!
I'm appalled that the competitors themselves can't write what they're thinking, and instead we have color commentators doing that for us.
Just a little while ago, I heard the commentator use the word "swum" as the past tense of "to swim".
Last time I checked, "swam" was the past tense, and "swum" the past participle.
Compare:
He swam today.
He has swum every day for the past week.
Yeah, it's a nitpicky sorta thing, but if they're hired to commentate, they should have a brilliant command of the English language. "swum" that!
Even Leni Riefenstahl would feel slightly uneasy with the synical propaganda machine which tells us to worship our money hunger uberlords, but certainly not to critisize them.
hhmmm, could serve as bad poetry just same...
I've just been listening to the streaming news broadcast on BBC Radio 4 / World Service.
As I read this thread, the news has cut out to be replaced with a looped voice saying "Due to rights restrictions we currently unable to bring you this programme..."
Have just checked the radio, which is now broadcasting global current affairs (Olympic coverage has finished). The online version is still censored. Madness.
We could link http://www.athens2004.com/ to ridiculous repressive bastards...
Not that it would do much, but it'd be fun!
There's so little difference between politics and jihad lately...
Given this piece of utter cluelessness:
Hyperlink Policy
ATHENS 2004 Organising Commitee for the Olympic Games -Website Hyperlink Policy
For your protection and ours we have established a procedure for parties wishing to introduce a link to the ATHENS 2004 website on their site. By introducing a link to the ATHENS 2004 official Website on your site you are agreeing to comply with the ATHENS 2004 Website General Terms and Conditions. In order to place a link embedded in copy interested parties should:
a) Use the term ATHENS 2004 only, and no other term as the text referent
b) Not associate the link with any image, esp. the ATHENS 2004 Emblem (see paragraph below)
c) Send a request letter to the Internet Department stating:
* Short description of site
* Reason for linking
* Unique URL containing the link (if no unique URL than just the main URL)
* Publishing period
* Contact point (e-mail address)
Once the request has been mailed, interested parties can proceed to include the link and will only receive a response if ATHENS 2004 does not accept the link. All requests should be sent to:
The Internet Department
Iolkou 8 and Filikis Eterias str.
GR-142 34 N. Ionia, Athens
Tel: +30 210 2004 000
Fax: +30 210 2004 800
e-mail: (All information submitted using this e-mail address is governed by the ATHENS 2004 Privacy Policy)
terms@athens2004.gr
ATH0 Bitcoin: 1DnwFLXczVZV8kLJbMYoheUrpqHesjxrSi
...as seen on freshmeat, a new distro, Limpix Linux! Be the first in your locker room to try it out!
The IOC sued them for trademark infringement several years ago and most changed their names rather than bankrupt themselves fighting the IOC in court.
While IOC is definitely at fault here, a bigger problem is the US judicial system where the average person or small business can't defend themselves without risking bancrupcy.
Well, I don't know what to tell you. Apparently the BBC stopped Short wave broadcasts to North America in 2001. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2001-06-22-bbc-s hortwave.htm
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
If it's all about the money then I say kudos to all the drug cheats.
Anyone know how the X Games feels about this issue as pertains to their games? They generally seem to be much more liberal.
You READ the article???? Yourself??? WTF!!!
Regards,
~Joshua Norton
If the IOC wants to make some fucking rules why not make rules banning professionals from competing? They did that once. It didn't work and they changed that rule ages ago because it sucked.
You know, a while back Fidel Castro was lobbying for a Havana Olympics, perhaps in 2012, but I can't remember. Anyway, the IOC said that it was impossible because Havana doesn't have the required infrastructure.
Castro's response was that he knew his country didn't have the kind of resources to provide an ultra-modern olympic village like other countries do, but that despite their apparent lack of infrastructure and small size, Cuba has always produced good athletes. His opinion was that in a less modern country, athletes would have to focus on the game more than the money, and that the Olypmics was becoming too commercialized.
At the time I laughed, because to Castro, buying a candybar with your own money is probably too commercialized, but after reading the last few articles about IOC shenanigans I'm beginning to wonder if Havana wouldn't be a good place for the games. You can bet your tush that Castro wouldn't allow it to be the Corporatist games. Hey, he may be a communist dictator, but sometimes, that's a good thing. Can you imagine an olympic games without coca-cola ads everywhere, but instead, just a bunch of the best athletes in the world competing?
Twitter, you're a petulant cock-gobbling sycophant to Linux Torvaldyos! Quit taking DP from ESR and RMS's feculent cocks and why don't you try to stop sucking quite so much? Get out of your parents' basement and see the real world - maybe then you'll see how pathetic you sound, with your neverending stream of bullshit about how Microsoft is stalking you. Wasn't it you who said that Microsoft believes your insane ranting is actually a threat to them, so they PAY PEOPLE to reply to you on Slashdot? No sir, I don't get any money. I do it for the love. Someone has to go up against your paranoid whining. So get back in your cage and shut the fuck up already.
I haven't seen anything other than swimming, gymnastics, or beach volleyball.
Then you're not just a troll, but one without a television. Let's see what's been shown today that ISN'T one of your hated sports...
I believe NBC said they would cover something like 3 hours in EVERY SPORT. From what I've been taping this week, I have to agree. I've seen rafting, some sort of weird round-ball-with-hands, fencing, five more listed above, and all the other "hated" sports. Just because you're too lazy to look doesn't mean it's not there.
specific Olympian and the media's quest to make the rest of us idolize him
Ready? People like heroes. It's cool to see. Even if he didn't medal, the fact that he's racing 18 times is pretty darn impressive. The fact that he's winning... what, does it piss you off that someone's doing well? If it annoys you that much, hit mute and just watch and enjoy the games. Even if you hate him, guess what? You're getting more swimming, which more people are watching.
Wah.
I saw his cocky little smile showing that he wanted MONEY.
And? What's wrong with that? More power to him. What is with the communist screed on slashdot over certain things?
why not make rules banning professionals from competing
I'll agree with you there. That was the whole point of bringing the Dream Team over the first time - you want pro, we'll bring pro. I'll agree with what Costas said... "Unfortunately, marketing won."
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
'Cause in a free society that's exactly what we need, government control of who reports the news. Oh, wait, we have that. It's called Fox.
fter the blatantly corrupt money-grab of the previous Olympics, even fewer people care. The Olympics have been hijacked before in 1936 where Hitler used the O'lympics to prove his racist propaganda. Apparently this hasn't damaged the image of the Olymics much afterwards.
(subj. askz it all...)
that if there were more blogs then people will be convinced to fly to greece and pay for tickets? extremely doubtful.
Slashdot headline: "Olympians Banned From Blogging"
No, I see no relevant difference between the two, other than that one word they obviously cut to save bandwidth.
Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
Could I get sued even though I'm not there and I'm just making everything I write up?
Yes you will get sued. The plaintiff doesn't need to be 100% right to sue you, they just need to pay some lawyers to file the suit (OIC has lots of lawyers on staff). And in a country like USA, you will then have to take a lot of financial risk to fight the suit in court, and even if you win (I'd give you a 50-50 chance) you may still lose a lot of money. So when the letter comes, you will probably find it much more easy to just remove the blog.
Loooolorrzzz roffle OMGOMGOMG GMGMGMMOGGOOOOHOOO ooohohoooo M$NBC ohhoho do the jokes never cease when you're ROLLIN' WIT TWITTER? Wow M$NBC that is so clever, tell the truth twit, you must have a full-time writing staff to come up with that much quality material. Right? RIGHT, YOU PETULANT FUCK?
..I've seen coverage on a variety of pages so far. No idea on broadcast TV, though, I only watch local weather mostly. From what I read as of late last night it was a general broadcast threat, but no actual roadblocks set up, as a bus convoy went out the main drag over there and saw nothing.
...well... OK, I fudged a little on the televiewing, I admit I've watched womens beach volleyball and the jumping cutie pie elfling grrls on the toob this week... %^)
See kids, pays to own your own high velocity hardware, then threats might not be as threatening....
more lost news stories not well known this week, but available if you look
--the actual death toll from hurricane charley is much higher than official figures.
--FEMA is blocking truck convoys of water and food going in, because they don't have an intact "handicap assessible" warehouse in the immediate area, so to distribute from some other place not so equipped they say would be "illegal". Some trucks have been sitting for three days being told they cannot enter to distribute.
I'll just wait for the fan-made highlight reels to hit the "illegal p2p networks".
Olympic(TM)(r)(mineMineMINE!) Highlight reel #1: The "standard" nationalistic summary of events.
Highlight reel #2: The "good stuff" - the upsets, mishaps, dislocated thumbs, and crotch shots, etc.
--
Power to the Peaceful
The IOC was conceived, created and peopled by the "internationalists", the same bunch of supposed do-gooders who populate the bureacracy of the UN.
In other words, totalitarian minded scam artists out for some juicy graft. The first whiff of something that might negatively affect their little game, slam bam off come the gloves, baby. Kids in the Olympics have no rights and don't you forget it. Same as the UN, but more obvious and less damaging. At least nobody is getting starved to death or fed into a shredder for some faceless UN middleman's Oil-For-Food payoff cheque.
You want to see somebody scream? If you ever are unfortunate enough to meet an IOC creature, mention to them that you think it would be a good idea that the athletes should get a piece of the media money. They are the point of the whole affair and its pictures of them on the TV, shouldn't they get a piece of the action, after IOC expenses are covered? Hell no, of course not! It isn't about athletics, its about sleazy deals between scummy bureaucrats.
The kids competing are being taken for the biggest sleighride on Earth. Empty stadiums the whole first week shows I'm not the only one who thinks so.
And by the way, you can all thank God for those Eeeevile Corporations (TM) because they are the ONLY people who actually -pay- the kids for services rendered. Nike and Rebock et al have put many an otherwise pennyless jock through school and bought them a nice wee starter house and a second hand car when nobody else would give them a nickel. Sportswear companies look like Mother Teresa next to the frickin' IOC.
You corporation haters think about that one for a minute or two before you turn the flame thrower my way.
As someone who worked through the hell that was the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA, I can say that the IOC is the biggest bunch of back-asswards, money-grubbing IDIOTS evar. I mean seriously, I can remember them trying to sue the Varsity for their "5 onion rings in the form of the olympic rings" marketing graphics. They think they have rights to anything that has even remote ties to anything "olympic".
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
And I thought the single-channel coverage of the games was bad enough... this is ludicrous. Sad. And wrong.. What is this world coming to?!...
I live in Washington State (USA). Here we have the state capital of Olympia, Olympic mountain range, and not to mention America's finest piss water, Olympia Beer. A few years back, the Olympic Committee sued several businesses in Olympia and around the Olympic mountains for using "Olympia" in their name. I can only suspect that Miller Brewing, which owns Olympia Beer, paid them off, but the rest went to court and more or less lost.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
I was going to make a case for the Goodwill Games, but I then noticed two things:
1) They no longer exist.
2) I noticed a small line of text at the bottom of the logo: An AOL Time Warner Company.
I can't say that I understand that at all.
What ever happened to free speech? Don't these athletes deserve some respect? Without athletes, the Olympics and the IOC wouldn't exist, so their number one priority should be the athletes, not corperate sponsors.
"Software is like sex... it's better when it's free"
everywhere the Olympics come to town.
Tm
Support TBI Research: http://www.raisinhope.org
This is why I am not watching, reading, or listening to ANYTHING related to the Olympics. It's no longer about international goodwill and peaceful athletic competition, but about making money. This change makes the entire event in all of its forms worthless.
I don't think so (It still had the same name when
I went past their office on Syngrou Ave. (Athens GR))
ten minutes ago...
(Olympic airways is the national airline here in Greece).
No, but the IOC is threatening to disqualify an athlete that posts photos of himself before the games are over.
Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me
Each athlete signs an agreement to abide by the Olympic committee's code of conduct. That code includes these clauses:
Reading that I would argue that posting on a blog is not acting in the capacity of a journalist. Nor in a 'media capacity'
I would also argue that that posting photos of myself or my medals is not for the 'purpose of trade'.
Then I'd ensure that those photos were taken by friends and family, and not me.
And then the USOC will not 'reasonably withhold' permission for me using those images.
Anyway, it'd be fun to see one of the athletes test this. 'Course, it's not my medal on the line ;)
--
Gold Medal Winning Linux VPS Hosting
I know other parts of the world don't respect free speach as we 'try' to in the US but this is horrible.
You could have used another country as an example for the respect for freedom of speech and of press.
A current index places the US in place 17.
The answer is simple the athletes should post to slash as anonymouse olympic cowards, the IOC would not be able to touch them then. Isn't anybody in Athens reading slash? Come on all you jocks in Athens post to slash and give us the low down. Slash should set up a special category only usable from Greek IPs. The answer is simple and called rebellion. Remember Spartacus :)
All of the athletes should strike. :)
Show the IOC who is in charge. I bet the IOC would change their minds in a hurry
How DARE they take away the athletes freedom to WRITE?
Perhaps a strike, and the inevitable reversal by the IOC's position, would bring the Olympics, and the -ATHLETES- back into our hearts...
...how this is even legal? Under what law can the IOC ban free speech? I realize they're an international organization, but do they really hav the right, under international law, to ban free speech?
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
... the Olympics are all about money - nothing else, never forget that kids.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
"Gay Games" is a much better-sounding name. Guess the IOC's grinching is the Gay Games' gain (say that 5 times fast).
Freedom: "I won't!"
This like that spam auto-takedown that we read about yesterday. Post a picture of your favorite athlete and watch him get DQ'd. Yay! Thanks for preserving the Spirit of the Games, you assholes.
At least this is one case where the corporate überlords are getting fucked... nobody watches the Games anymore. What do they like better, I wonder: The day-long delays in footage, or the fact that we only see events where the US "rocks".
My other car is first.
you not-getting-the-joke lamers...
Since that link will eventually change, I'll also post this:
End of Line.
This shouldn't be a surprise. The Olympics are a business - And a really lucrative one - Well, at least for the owners of the Olympics and for the transmitters of the events. I.e. NBC, et al.
Of course country leaders would like us to believe it is all about pratiotism, however, the reality comes through to let us know that it is all about the money. How else would anyone explain such ludricous gag orders: No personal accounts.
There are extremist views on the matter. For example Alan Sillitoe writes in his essay "Sport And Nationalism": "The Olympic torch is a flame of enslavement." At the time, we weren't as connected as we are now, and I doubt he forsaw the gag orders from "The Man" towards it's side show stars. His views are a bit extremist in the matter, as I think there is merit in competition. But, I don't believe it should be a matter of Nationalism nor Money.
When and athlete wins at any competition, it is his or her achievement and no one elses (Minus the steroids or enhancing drugs). Regardless of where the athletes come from, there shouldn't be any restrictions to their personal points of view. I mean, if they are letting themselves used as sideshows for the world to watch, they should have certain rights to their own thoughts and own oppinions. Blogs are just another form of comunication - What's next? No word of mouth accounts of the big race/fight/game/etc. until the games are over? What is this, reality TV or something?
Esta es una firma en Espanol.
The only way that excluding women from the games might have caused a national conflict would be if the Amazon warrior women hadn't been mythical.
The use of the term "2010" is banned in all uses referring to the upcoming Winter Olympics. That includes complaining about it. Now pipe down.
If your response includes the letter "H" or the number "5", you will find additional charges brought against you.
Laws are for people with no friends.
It's just about money.
Fuck the people!
Not to knock your US-centric veiwpoint or anything, but the Olympics never had anything to do with the cold war. The modern Olympics began LONG before the cold war existed, and is basically a Euro-centric event having little to do with the US; US political issues have no bearing on the Olympics, nor on its focus, and certainly not its existence. Even if every person in the US lost interest in the games, the games would continue almost unchanged.
will not use or authorize the use of the following items for the purpose of trade, without the prior written consent of the USOC ... (1) photographs, films or videos of myself in the apparel or equipment provided by the USOC for the Games;
Ok, pose for photographs nude. Put it on your blog
and "Here are my experience at the events CENSORED"
nice bad publicity
(Oh, I forgot, they're suing Playboy for nudity...)
I can't remember the last time I actually watched any of the Olympics. There's too damn much commentary and fluff pieces by the network broadcasting them, probably more than the actual events.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
jim thorpe.
jesse owens.
this olympic® brand altruism seems inferior to even a generic altruism brand.
Serenity now, insanity later.
Since I don't have cable and watch about an hour of broadcast TV per week during summer rerun season, AND SINCE NOBODY ELSE IS ALLOWED TO REPORT ON THE OLYMPICS, that could help explain why I haven't built up the interest to watch a minute of it, eh?
Just wait until the day when an athlete's medal is revoked and barred from further competition - not for cheating by drugs or otherwise - for sharing their experiences with others. The public outcry for reasons of either nationalism or 'simple' human decency will not allow it! On that day there shall be such an outcry that no one will ever again strive to participate under the Olympic's current administration.
It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.
- Jerome Klapka Jerome
I wish a big-name American athlete (such as CJ Hunter) came up behind Twitter as he was bending over and shoved his massive cock into Twitter's anus.
They don't seem to be able to think of much other than that. Must be something about liking or working for M$. Cut, paste and dream of penis, anus and shit, what a life they must lead.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Look though at 36 USC 220506 or here at Cornell - this statute gives certain exclusive word rights to the US Olympic Committee for various terms including Olympics, Olympiad, and among other things Pan-American. See (a)(4). Not only Olympics et al. but Pan-American? How outrageous is that?
There are however some exceptions in subsection (d) for prior use and limited other uses.
I was watching the US women's soccer match against Australia the other morning, and the stands were quite honestly emptier than any stands I've ever seen for any sporting event, ever. The Whitbread across the ocean yacht race had more spectators. Mile 143 of the Iditarod had more spectators.
There were no spectators on the far side of the stadium from the cameras. There were no spectators in the stands at either end zone. Not figuratively; literally: zero. And while I know that there must have been some spectators on the near side, because I heard one or two "USA!" cheers and, I think, an "Aussie Aussie Aussie!" cheer (also, the announcers mentioned that some of the players had family in attendance), they were invisible to the high stadium camera.
Presumably, they were all clustered low, near the center line or behind the benches; but with the exception of one suspiciously close-cropped shot of a couple of cheering fans used as B-roll footage on a return from commercial, there was no visual evidence that anyone was in attendance.
Now, I understand that women's socccer is not exactly as popular in Greece as it is in America, or even, say, Germany or Mexico; but I live in Atlanta and, you know, we sold out Archery -- not exactly a sport designed for thrilling live audiences -- in 1996. We sold out Field Hockey. We sold out the Modern Pentathlon. We sold out Team Handball, fer chrissakes, and it's hard to imagine a more obscure or unpopular sport in America (my wife and I went to it, too, and it was great fun to watch).
As I said to King Kaufman at Salon.com, "2004 in Athens marks the first Olympics to ever be boycotted by its host country."
Twitter, you're a petulant cock-gobbling sycophant to Linux Torvaldyos! Quit taking DP from ESR's and RMS's feculent cocks and why don't you try to stop sucking quite so much? Get out of your parents' basement and see the real world - maybe then you'll see how pathetic you sound, with your neverending stream of bullshit about how Microsoft is stalking you. Wasn't it you who said that Microsoft believes your insane ranting is actually a threat to them, so they PAY PEOPLE to reply to you on Slashdot? No sir, I don't get any money. I do it for the love. Someone has to go up against your paranoid whining. So get back in your cage and shut the fuck up already.
This never used to happen in the Canadian coverage, and it sickens me to see it happen now. But then you realize that there are weird non-linearities behind the scenes in what the IOC mandates, and in the cost structure, which has never been a strong point of Canadian television.
The entire Olympic movement sickens me. It's a bunch of ugly and corrupt old men and women to profit from the mechandising of beautiful young bodies with strict dress codes and turf boundaries.
The whole thing has become a giant pimpathon.
Before I read anyone's comment on this, I just want to say that this is really messed. Maybe even more than the advertising shit that the IOC made regulations on. I can sorta understand the "during the Olympics" part but the banning of vids, audios, and pics afterwards, that's just wrong. If I was ever in the Olympics (wishful thinking only), I would tell them to F off if they threatened me with that bullshit. Anyways just a piece of my mind although I'm sure someone else has said something similar.
Ok, I couldn't resist, but this really is a duplicate post, from 2000!
/ 15 41210&tid=153
/ /w ww.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18187,00 .html
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/09/02
That links to an article on The Standard that is no longer available, except through archive.org:
http://web.archive.org/web/20001018100120/http:
This policy is NOT new. And nobody should be surprised at this move by the IOC. Not after sucking on teet of NBC's billions.
In Soviet Russia...michael would be rotting in Siberia!
I'm sure the IOC just loves Tivo's ability to let subscribers share there shows with 9 other friends. I wonder if the IOC would like these photos on the web? http://www.carlypatterson.com/
... and that's why the IOC will never see a cent from me!
The athletes, whether it is their first time or they have had the chance to compete before, I wish nothing but the best, I hope they have a great time and have life lasting memories. I love sports, even competed myself when I was younger, although not on this level. But the increasing money-grabbing attitude from the IOC has pissed me off enough over the last few games that I really don't care anymore. I might check the medal tally online or see how a specific athlete has performed, but I refuse to pay one single cent to any "Official Olympic Product or Service", purely on principal.
I certainly hope that their increased focus, especially with these games, with barring participants on generating grassroots support is responsible for the lower ticket sales. I hope they make a huge loss, and then maybe one day these money-grabbing bastards (and their cronies) from the IOC will piss and the Olympics will have a chance to return to the principals for which they were founded.
In closing all I can say...
To the athletes... good luck and all the best.
To the IOC... Get stuffed!
At Boston University when students graduate they are prevented from taking their pictures while getting a diploma handed to you. You can pay the "BU professional photographer $10 a snap" later though.
I know cause I have attended numerous relatives graduation. I sneaked a few pics on my camcorder and cameras, and people looked at me like I was on acid.
I think we should all link to it with the text miserable failure.
New reality show: e-Trump
Every week, four possible violators of company policies or laws are shown. At the end of the show, Donald Trump delivers the news of which ones are fired.
Tried to post this a few hours ago but they must have cut off my internet connection to stop me.
The Olympics are not about sport. They are about money and jingoism. The why of this rule coming into place is easy. As to how they can legally enforce silence on thousands of athletes whose own first hand accounts are far more interesting than the talking head commentary on "ennnnn bee see" is mostly due to how copyright laws have been twisted to the point where it would probably be better for the vast majority of us, who don't own TV stations, if there was no such thing as copyright.
The difference between news and entertainment blurred and now it is no surprise that the entertainment conglomerates tell the news organizations (mostly owned by those same conglomerates) that they have to pay to report the score of a football (or any other pro sport) game played in a stadium that taxpayers paid for.
Aside from a once or twice a year trip to Camden Yards to get a Boog's barbecue sandwich I really have no interest in Professional or College athletics because it has nothing to do with sport or competition and everything to do with making a ton of money by controling every aspect of perception of a publicly funded event.
The IOC, the MLB, the NBA, and NFL and all the others can keep their steroid chomping illiterate super-athletes because if I want to have fun I am gonna go play my own game until they sue me for kicking a ball around without a license.
Not to knock your stupid, but the parent was pointing out that the interest in olympic really boomed during the cold war. It was like "We're fighting them damn ruskies, if we can't do it with a gun, we'll do it with a basketball!". etc.
when we have http://www.hotolympians.com/?
Wouldn't it be great publicity for future prospects to have them come after you and sue you?
Wouldn't you get a lot of sympathy being the athlete who was attacked for publishing your account or your own photos?
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
Her blog has been republished (with her permission) in her hometown paper, just below the Athens 2004 and Olympic logos. She doesn't compete until Aug 25, but she's been talking about her experiences as a spectator. She's publishing pictures, too.
I'd love to see some "event" come up where the CO$ and the IOC's lawyers were forced to do battle. Can you imagine the fallout of two of the largest abusers of the legal systems in countries all over the world colliding? It would be one intimidation lawsuit after another... Back and forth, back and forth, over and over again... That would be worth some broadcast rights!
Unfortunately this is not happening. Since 1980 and 1984 when Games was used as cold war weapon, no spirit of fair sport exist in Olympics.
I think that athletes shoud refuse to participate on such conditions.
They ought to demonstrate that they are those who matter, not silly buerocrates in Olympic Committee.
The IOC is shooting themselves in the foot here, killing excitement, stifling voices, etc. They're incredibley stupid!
Professor of Astronomy, Author of Spider Star & Star Dragon (Tor)
When I initially read about the coverage and NBC using 5 channels for the coverage this year, I thought "well it's about time we get to seem some benefit of all the media consolidation." I had no idea how wrong I would be. Still not enough live events, the primetime coverage is so edited and packaged that it drives me nuts. I realize gymnastics is popular, but do we really need to see it every night? I'm pretty sure they're going to start replaying & repackaging yet more gymnastics or bios of the gymnasts now that they're completely done.
Vote Quimby.
This is their rules. This does not necessarily correspond to various national law. Do they really sign binding NDAs to be in the Olympics? Is THAT legal? The IOC needs a few more scandals I think...
Professor of Astronomy, Author of Spider Star & Star Dragon (Tor)
The main problem with banning professionals would be defining just what a professional is. All those Russian hockey players who collect paychecks from the Army would be considered non-professional athletes, while their counterparts who are above board in how they make a living would be ineligible.
A level playing field for amateurs was a nice idea, but in many economic systems it was just far too easy to cheat by finding other ways to pay athletes. The only way to close the loophole was to let the more honest countries do the same.
I will say that I'm quite glad to see the old East German women's 4x200 relay record finally fall, and it seems the entire swimming world feels likewise, even if they would rather have done it themselves.
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
We are at war with Eastasia. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
*I* was paid by Microsoft to astroturf. ;-)
Someone who won at /least/ a gold medal, more likely multiple medals to do it and then yes, those conditions would get ripped out. But anyone less would get steamrollered without that much fuss I think.
Someday we'll all be negroes
I guess we won't be seeing any "Olympians go wild" videos anytime soon then.
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
One. The IOC not allowing athletes to post to blogs during competition is, IMO, not such a bad idea. Take the Greek sprinter duo who may well have faked a motorcycle accident in order to avoid doping. Their case has caused outrage amongst both Greek supporters and people who believe they should be banned and will probably go on for a long time (The Greeks, in typical fashion believe themselves to be the victims of an American lead conspiracy). Can you imagine the sheer amount of verbiage flying around if each and every athlete that didn't make Gold started accusing other athletes and the IOC etc for their own failures.
Two. The IOC making rules about posting athletes private images and videos after the events is a strange one and I'm not too sure that it would in fact hold up in court, especially in countries with freedom of speech laws. If the images and videos are not sold commercially, I'm not too sure that there is much the IOC can do about it (Athletes signatures on IOC contracts however, may hold precedence however). On a side note, I was trying to purchase a Sydney Olympic swimming video last night as a motivational aid for my own swimming, only to discover that not only is the video not available on a DVD, but's it's also out of stock and only available in NTSC, which sucks here in Europe. Fine coverage there, commercial companies, eh?
Three. The tickets not selling well this year probably has a lot to do with the fear of terrorism and the general global recession going on. The Madrid attacks were in March this year, and the Greeks are not known for their organisational strengths. I am not surprised that not all that mayn tickets have been sold. You can OBL, GW, the war in Iraq and all those wonderful companies sending jobs to India and China for that.
The Olympics have been all about money, power and greed for a long time now. Why watch it at all when you can have fun doing sports yourself?
Just because somebody can run a little faster than you, jump a little longer and throw a little further, doesn't mean you can't have fun improving yourself, just have fun and enjoy better health to boot.
Much better than wearing jog-pants, have a beer on the big belly and being fed an event about everything but sports and true sportsmanship.
I'm not sure you'd be too happy with the BBC's coverage of the Olympics, though. They're not the perfect do-gooder organization you seem to think they are. Their Olympic coverage, like all the other national broadcasters, centres on their home country - Great Britain. Rarely are atheletes from other countries covered.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
.... because you are too young or too uninformed.
The games in Mexico City were part of a cultural event during which a Cultural Olympiad took place. It was also the first time atheletes came all together to the stadium during the closing ceremony. Which was not staged.
Yes, there were politics (the famous Black Panthers incident) but there is no way you can dissociate politics from the games (heck, the old Greeks stopped wars for the duration of the games, you can't get more politic than that).
What has spoiled irredemebly the games is the IOC unrelentelss pursuit of profit. They are trying to steal a human legacy for the personal benefit of the members of the IOC and their cronies.
This will not stop until two groups of people, the spectators and the athletes, send a clear messsage to these basstards by boycotting the games. Unlikely to happen in China the next games, since weknow the Chinese goverment will not let anything get on the way of the "sucessful" staging of the games.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
The modern-day so-called "Olympics" are nothing but
a scam, allowing a small group of insiders to get rich. IT'S A CON GAME, folks!
On national TV (TELEFE Channel, Argentina) the day of the openning ceremony, there was a footage of the openning ceremony seen from inside, the shot was taken by our local basketball team. Since they are tall the film was very good.
Where should I report this flagant violation of the Olimpics spirit?
DNA in your Linux: DNALinux
ok, i got it. the IOC is doing this to be able to buy everyone the Olympic Spirit, apparently brewed first in Athens a few eons ago.....
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
...is exactly why the olympics leave a bad taste in my mouth.
"...the interests of broadcast rightsholders and accredited media come first."
they've made it very clear the only thing the IOC is concerned about is how much money they can rake in. Ever since they split up the winter and summer olympics, so the IOC can profit twice as often, I couldn't care less about the olympics.
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I take no responsibility for any spelling mistakes in the above post.
I don't really care about the olympics and I don't watch it.
Actually, I _hope_ there are others then me who has mentioned that they don't watch the olympics.
In 1994 when I was a child I thought the Olympics were about sportsmanship and having fun. Uniting the world during a few weeks of sports.. etc. At least that was what the guy who held the introduction speech said.. silly me.
2004, 10 years later, I'm not a child anymore, (I've tried to remain a child at heart) and I don't find the olympics interesting anymore. The olympics to me, aren't what the guy who hold the speech says. All I hear these days during the speech is "profit profit profit".
I'd rather go watch the local non-profit soccer club play at the local field.
No, they can only post blogs after the games. Still no pictures allowed, even if it's a picture an athlete took of themself. Maybe you're the asshat?
"To protect lucrative broadcast contracts, athletes and other participants are also prohibited from posting any video, audio or still photos they take themselves, even after the games, unless they get permission ahead of time."
I pray that some athlete or group of athletes are doing this right now with friends... filming and documenting everything they're doing for a independant film. Throw this little bit of information in there and see how the peopel of the world at large react to the crackdown.
To A) not have a job or B) own a dual tuner Tivo and have lots of free time. Because the average person who works 9 to 5 and finally settles into tv watching from say 7:30 to 10pm is seeing pretty much nothing but Swiming and Gymnastics. Prime Time Olympic coverage has pretty much sucked ass. I mean how much swimming and gymnastics can the average adult male watch? Sure rarely we've gotten to see other sports in prime time but for the most part its been nothing but the two sports listed above. The parent is right, going by what most people are seeing at night you'd think there are only like 3 sports in the Olympics. Oh and Bob Costas is realy annoying.
You can list all the program guides you like, it won't change the fact that US audiences are getting royally screwed by the coverage.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
Isn't it true that blogs on Olympics will bring more people to their TV/Web/paper whatever coverage?
goatse.
Huh? You take a picture of yourself, it's yours. This is pure threatening bullshit just said to try to scare them. They don't have a leg to stand on if some athlete, with their own camera, took photos of themselves at the game and then 6 months later they put them up on the web to say "look what I did with MY camera taking pictures of MY person".
My guess is the athletes probably signed a pile of papers before they were allowed to compete. Buried in that pile were little goodies like giving away all rights to stories or images of the games to the broadcasters. So yes, I'm sure the IOC covered their arses on this one. Unethical, yes. Illegal, probably not.
There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
With the way things are going, wouldn't they have problems with a couple of thousands years of prior art in Greece. In more modern times, isn't Greece's national airline named Olympic?
See my journal, I write things there
The cold war is over. The feeling of 'east versus west' is gone.
True, true.
Heay! I know! They should get some terrorists into the games to revive rivalry!
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
--this is from economist george ure's website
http://urbansurvival.com/week.htm
Friday
10:30 A Friday Special Update
Charley Cover-up
Just in from a very reliable source - more on the rumored cover-up of the Hurricane Charley death toll:
"A buddy of mine lives in ********, FL. He lives on the leeward side of a hill and had little more than a nice breeze when the 'cane went over.
To the point, though, is that he works in video/film and has a number of friends who work in news in and around Punta Gorda. He has viewed raw footage of the destruction that blows away anything we are getting on the feeds. He reports tractor-trailer reefers full of body bags. No counts, but he is told there are hundreds. Every time a cameraman gets near the bodies, they are firmly "dissuaded" from shooting. Most of the stuff he is seeing is shot from a distance using 2x and 4x extenders. I am working on getting him to send me a broadcast quality raw tape dub. If nothing else, I will be out there in October. More as I get it.
One reason for the hidden count might be that a large count would lessen the impact of the 2,800 lives at the WTC just before *** plans to exploit them at the RNC. Another would be to hide the severely depleted National Guard there in Florida.
Interesting: many calls to the region are being intercepted by FEMA recorded message. Look up a number in Punta Gorda and give it a call. See what you get..."
Hijacking phone calls to keep the lid on? "Dissuading" reporters & cameramen? Does this sound like the the America we love and its Constitution to you? All hail the Emperor's Brother!
If your response includes the letter "H" or the number "5", you will find additional charges brought against you.
Sincerely,
B. Bird, Esq.
Law Offices of Bird, Bert, Snuffy
Just goes to show, the Olympics are only about money, nothing else.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Ok, from the original phrasing, I thought they were saying that they were discontinuing shortwave broadcasts to the US, which from your link, may or may not be the case. However, shortwave is useful in that if you set your receiver up right, you can pull stuff in from just about anywhere in the world, depending on atmospheric conditions.
So if they still broadcast on shortwave in Europe, you'll be able to recieve it in the US. However, after this, you might just need a larger antenna to pull the signal in (if they shut down US-based transmitters).
Poorly written article (from a tech perspective).
I was referring to the "It's not like a ton of cash is exchanging hands anyway. Anyone even watching the games?"
This is my
No, since similar bodies like the NCAA, NBAPOA, etc are not considered governmental agencies under case law (the NCAA has lost antitrust cases, you can't sue the government for antitrust).
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you