:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Thursday, February 14, 2008 ::

Olympics

China feels heat as activists take their cue from Spielberg. 'Focus on Darfur as human rights campaigners salute film director and vow to target main sponsors of the games'

"The director stepped down from his role as artistic adviser to Beijing late on Tuesday, citing his opposition to China's support for the Sudanese regime responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. He accused China of not doing enough to press Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled region. China imports two-thirds of Sudan's oil and in return is said to be the African country's biggest arms supplier."

Well, it's been a long time coming. It's a shame that it took the Darfur situation to prompt it rather than an objection to China's human rights record in general and the crack down on free-speech and peaceful protest that is directly related to the games themselves. However, it's a step in the right direction and he should be applauded for that. [2006 Amnesty report: China: The Olympics Countdown - Failing to keep human rights promises. There are plenty more up to date sources on specific issues if you search.]

Athletes too are raising awareness

"For the last 20 years team members have been obliged to sign a contract as a condition of taking part in the Games. But for the first time a clause had been inserted into the Team Members Agreement stating athletes must not comment on politically-sensitive issues during the event in Beijing." [BBC news]

The IOA deny this is a problem, as the events should be "about sport" and nothing else. But shouldn't sport be about something? Isn't it about bringing people together? Former British Olymipic swimmer Duncan Goodhew made a good point about how pivotal the Moscow Olympics was in bringing about change in Russia [I think the comment has been edited out of the above article since] but that doesn't mean we should take a back seat and just wait for things to change. Putting on more pressure will speed up the process and now is the perfect opportunity.

Labels: Amnesty, China, News, Politics, Sport

:: Dan 14.2.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Philip Oltermann meets the fanatical football squads you rarely hear about | News | Guardian Unlimited Football

The Metaphysical Philosophers

Scottish universities traditionally divide their philosophy faculties into two different departments: Logic and Metaphysics, and Moral Philosophy. At St Andrews University, the two compete at the annual Edgecliffe Cup. Moral Philosophy used to come out top in these matches but, spurred on by provocative banners asking, "What is logic anyway?", Logic and Metaphysics last summer chalked up their first win in five years...

Real Goth FC

The Real Goth FC is a team of goth musicians. Twice a year, they play against a team of locals in Whitby, North Yorkshire, host to Europe's largest biannual goth festival and, according to Bram Stoker's novel, the place in which Dracula first set foot on British soil.

Naturally, the team play in all-black shirts and shorts. The club crest is inspired by the Sisters Of Mercy logo, and they currently carry the logo of a gothic-themed lingerie label on their chests. Make-up is usually removed before matches and long hair tied in ponytails, even though Matt Helm remembers sporting dreadlocks one year and being able to take out "up to three opponents at a time". ...

In April 2004, however, relations between goths and locals suffered a minor setback. Jim Moyle remembers: "One of our players, Geoff, went for a high ball and clashed heads with the Whitby player. He left two teeth in his opponent's forehead. Given Whitby's Dracula connection, you can imagine the headlines."

Labels: Sport

:: Dan 10.9.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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It's been a long time since I posted a good alt.sport link, but I couldn't let Swamp Soccer pass by!
Swamp Soccer UK National Championship 16th-17th June 2007 Dunoon
There isn't an England team yet, who's up for it?

Labels: Sport

:: Dan 14.4.07 [Arc] [1 comments] [links to this post] ::
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It appears that stories about Chess Boxing have been kicking around the bizarre columns for a while but it escaped my notice until I found it in that pinnacle of out of date journalism, the in flight magazine.



The Guardian covers it in much more depth here.

Now, I play chess. Badly. I've been playing postcard chess with my brother-in-law on and off for years and I've never won a game. However, I don't think bringing a physical fighting element into it is likely to help at all. Despite there being an official body, the WCBO, it is just a novelty set up by performance artist afterall. But an amusing one.

Labels: Sport

:: Dan 4.5.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Following the Alt.Olympics post last week I've got some more strange sport links for you:
World Eskimo Indian Olympics
Cheese Rolling
Bog Snorkeling
Belt Sander Racing (Seems to be down at the moment, so try this one)
Endurance Lawn Mower Racing
Drag Queen Racing (10 MB wmv)
Wool Sack Racing
Hot Under the Collar – Racing
Oil Wrestling
Sand Boarding
And finaly, one I made up just because I'd like to see it:
Cyber-Goth Gymnastics:

(Sorry about the poor 5min photoshop job. I'd like to see someone do a better job of it. Perhaps somethingawful should do it?)

Labels: Sport

:: Dan 30.8.04 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Much as I've been enjoying the Olympics over the past fortnight, it's always fun to have a look at some alternatives. So I started compiling links to sites dedicated to other, more bizarre, sports. Unfortuantly, Channel 5 beat me to it and broadcast a programme all about it last week, which I've recorded but haven't watched yet. With that in mind, this is very much a work in progress, but here it is, the alternate Olympics:
Mind Sports Olympiad
Tough Guy
World Toe Wrestling Organisation
Hip Sumo (Scroll down. Not a lot of information but it's basically Sumo but with hip only contact, for the ladies)
Mountain Bike Bog Snorkeling (as posted previously)
Horseless Badminton

The real Olympics medal table is here btw.

Labels: Sport

:: Dan 26.8.04 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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