Deep down here in Africa many NGOs champion against forced marriages. But when forced marriages happen up there at ICANN who speaks against the practice? On 7/6/12, Nuno Garcia <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I have said this once: The Olympic Committee has a budget that is bigger > than many nations' budgets. They can afford not to be for-profit. The same > goes for other organizations. > > And some statements are pure intellectual arrogance. > > Best, > > Nuno Garcia > > On 5 July 2012 23:16, Joly MacFie <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> But you are not disputing their facts, I take it. >> >> j >> >> >> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 5:58 PM, Michael Carson >> <[log in to unmask]>wrote: >> >>> Alain, >>> >>> >>> >>> I agree. This op-ed is just that - the opinion of two individuals. >>> >>> Michael Carson >>> >>> YMCA of the USA >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From: *"Alain Berranger" <[log in to unmask]> >>> *To: *[log in to unmask] >>> *Sent: *Thursday, July 5, 2012 3:55:09 PM >>> *Subject: *Re: NYTimes: International Olympic Committee - "elitist, >>> domineering, and crassly commercial at its core" >>> >>> >>> NPOC really welcomes national Olympic committees as Members because >>> they >>> are true notforprofit organizations... >>> >>> Alain >>> >>> On Thursday, July 5, 2012, Robin Gross wrote: >>> >>>> As a commercial organization that tried to join NCSG, very relevant… >>>> >>>> No Medal for the International Olympic Committee says the New York >>>> Times….. >>>> >>>> >>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/opinion/no-medal-for-the-international-olympic-committee.html?_r=3&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print >>>> >>>> >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> July 4, 2012 >>>> **Olympian Arrogance**** By JULES BOYKOFF and ALAN TOMLINSON**** >>>> **** >>>> >>>> Brighton, England >>>> >>>> WHILE Europe roils in economic turmoil, London is preparing for a >>>> lavish >>>> jamboree of international good will: in a few weeks, the city will host >>>> the >>>> 2012 Summer Olympics. >>>> >>>> But behind the spectacle of athletic prowess and global harmony, >>>> brass-knuckle politics and brute economics reign. At this nexus sits >>>> theInternational >>>> Olympic Committee <http://www.olympic.org/>, which promotes the games >>>> and decides where they will be held. Though the I.O.C. has been >>>> periodically tarnished by scandal — usually involving the bribing and >>>> illegitimate wooing of delegates — those embarrassments divert us from >>>> a >>>> deeper problem: the organization is elitist, domineering and crassly >>>> commercial at its core. >>>> >>>> The I.O.C., which champions itself as a democratic “catalyst for >>>> collaboration between all parties of the Olympic family,” is >>>> nonetheless >>>> run by a privileged sliver of the global 1 percent. This has always >>>> been >>>> the case: when Baron Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympics in the >>>> 1890s, >>>> he assembled a hodgepodge of princes, barons, counts and lords to >>>> coordinate the games. Eventually the I.O.C. opened its hallowed halls >>>> to >>>> wealthy business leaders and former Olympians. Not until 1981 were >>>> women >>>> allowed in. >>>> >>>> Even today, royalty make up a disproportionate share of the body; among >>>> the 105 I.O.C. >>>> members<http://www.olympic.org/content/the-ioc/the-ioc-institution1/ioc-members-list/> >>>> are >>>> the likes of Princess Nora of Liechtenstein, Crown Prince Frederik of >>>> Denmark and Prince Nawaf Faisal Fahd Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia. The >>>> United >>>> States has only three representatives, two of them former Olympic >>>> athletes. >>>> >>>> Then there are the excessive demands that the I.O.C. makes on host >>>> cities. For instance, the host cities have had to change their laws to >>>> comply with the Olympic >>>> Charter<http://www.olympic.org/Documents/olympic_charter_en.pdf>, >>>> which states that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or >>>> racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other >>>> areas.” When Vancouver, British Columbia, hosted the Winter Games in >>>> 2010, >>>> the city passed a bylaw that outlawed signs and banners that did not >>>> “celebrate” the Olympics. Placards that criticized the Olympics were >>>> forbidden, and the law even empowered Canadian authorities to remove >>>> such >>>> signs from private property. >>>> >>>> The I.O.C. also makes host cities police Olympics-related intellectual >>>> property rights. So Parliament adopted the London Olympic Games and >>>> Paralympic Games Act of >>>> 2006<http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/12/contents>, >>>> which defines as a trademark infringement the commercial use of words >>>> like >>>> “games,” “2012” and “London” in proximity. >>>> >>>> Such monomaniacal brand micromanagement points to another problem: the >>>> I.O.C. has turned the Olympics into a commercial bonanza. In London, >>>> more >>>> than 250 miles of V.I.P. traffic lanes are reserved not just for >>>> athletes >>>> and I.O.C. luminaries but also for corporate sponsors. Even the >>>> signature >>>> torch relay has been commercialized: the I.O.C. and its corporate >>>> partners >>>> snapped up 10 percent of the torchbearer slots for I.O.C. stakeholders >>>> and >>>> members of the commercial sponsors’ information technology and >>>> marketing >>>> staffs. Michael R. Payne, a former marketing director for the >>>> committee, >>>> has called the Olympics “the world’s longest commercial.” >>>> >>>> Most worrisome, perhaps, is that the I.O.C. creates perverse incentives >>>> for security officials in host cities to overspend and to militarize >>>> public >>>> space. The I.O.C. tends to look kindly on bids that assure security, >>>> and >>>> host cities too often use the games as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity >>>> to >>>> stock police warehouses with the best weapons money can buy. >>>> >>>> Visitors to London, where the games are scheduled to run from July 27 >>>> to >>>> Aug. 12, would be forgiven for thinking they had dropped in on a >>>> military >>>> hardware convention. Helicopters, fighter jets and bomb-disposal units >>>> will >>>> be at the ready. About 13,500 British military personnel will be on >>>> patrol >>>> — 4,000 more than are currently serving in Afghanistan. Security >>>> officials >>>> have acquired Starstreak and Rapier surface-to-air missiles. Even the >>>> Olympic mascots look like two-legged surveillance cameras. >>>> >>>> Let us be clear: the concern about ensuring a terror-free Olympics is >>>> tragically warranted. In 1972, members of the Palestinian militant >>>> group >>>> Black September killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the Olympics >>>> in >>>> Munich — after which the I.O.C. president notoriously insisted that >>>> “the >>>> games must go on” — and in 1996, a bomb at the Atlanta Olympics killed >>>> a >>>> spectator and injured more than 100 other people. Yet there is such a >>>> thing >>>> as excess — and surveillance and weaponry are not a panacea. >>>> >>>> Security measures can also be counterproductive: London residents who >>>> learned that the Ministry of Defense was attaching missile launchers to >>>> the >>>> roofs of their apartment buildings can’t be blamed for wondering if >>>> they’ve >>>> unwillingly become a prime target for terrorists. And, symbolically, at >>>> a >>>> certain point it gets hard to square the image of the militarized state >>>> with the Olympic ideals of peace and understanding. >>>> >>>> What can be done? The I.O.C. has acknowledged that the escalating scale >>>> of the games — “gigantism” — is a real issue. Competitions drenched in >>>> privilege, like the equestrian events, should be ditched (with apologies >>>> to >>>> Ann Romney’s horse Rafalca, who will be competing in dressage in >>>> London). >>>> Pseudo-historical events like Greco-Roman wrestling, concocted in the >>>> 19th >>>> century, could also go. Events with high start-up costs could be >>>> swapped >>>> for those requiring fewer resources. Why not bring back tug-of-war (a >>>> hotly >>>> contested event in the early 20th century) and add more running events, >>>> like trail running and cross-country? >>>> >>>> Governance is another challenge. After the bribery scandal surrounding >>>> the selection of Salt Lake City to host the 2002 Winter Olympics, and >>>> under >>>> pressure from Congress, the I.O.C. created an ethics commission to >>>> monitor >>>> the bid process — but it reports to the I.O.C.’s executive board, which >>>> still has the final say. >>>> >>>> Other measures worth considering are to streamline committee membership >>>> and to provide greater representation for the international sports >>>> federations that administer athletic competitions — though either >>>> approach >>>> would continue to pose accountability problems. >>>> >>>> In these bleak economic times, the world could use a little athletic >>>> transcendence. Sadly, the arrogance and aloofness of the organization >>>> behind the spectacle are all too ordinary. >>>> ** >>>> Jules >>>> Boykoff<http://www.pacificu.edu/as/politics/faculty/jules-boykoff.cfm/>, >>>> an associate professor of political science at Pacific University, is >>>> writing a book on dissent and the Olympics. Alan >>>> Tomlinson<http://alantomlinson.typepad.com/> is >>>> a professor of leisure studies at the University of Brighton. >>>> **** >>>> ****** >>>> ** >>>> MORE IN OPINION (2 OF 19 ARTICLES) Op-Ed Columnist: Doughnuts >>>> Defeating >>>> Poverty<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/opinion/doughnuts-defeating-poverty.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fopinion%2Findex.jsonp> >>>> >>>> Read More >>>> »<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/opinion/doughnuts-defeating-poverty.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fopinion%2Findex.jsonp> >>>> Close >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Alain Berranger, B.Eng, MBA >>> Member, Board of Directors, CECI, >>> http://www.ceci.ca<http://www.ceci.ca/en/about-ceci/team/board-of-directors/> >>> Executive-in-residence, Schulich School of Business, >>> www.schulich.yorku.ca >>> Treasurer, Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation, >>> www.gkpfoundation.org >>> NA representative, Chasquinet Foundation, www.chasquinet.org >>> Chair, NPOC, NCSG, ICANN, http://npoc.org/ >>> O:+1 514 484 7824; M:+1 514 704 7824 >>> Skype: alain.berranger >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> --------------------------------------------------------------- >> Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast >> WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com >> http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com >> VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org >> -------------------------------------------------------------- >> - >> >