Tag Archives: Winter Olympics

International, Law Enforcement, Politics, Sports, Travel

WORLD’S FIRST ‘GAYDAR’ TO DEBUT AT SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS

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The Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia
The Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia

Sochi, Russia – When the figure skating competitions begin a day before the actual Winter Olympics opening ceremonies, athletes and spectators will go through what may seem like security metal detectors. But lo and behold, they are actually ‘gaydars.”

These special detectors, the first if its kind in the world, will be installed at all entrances to the  Iceberg Skating Palace, the 12,000-seat venue of the ice skating competitions.

Everyone knows by now that Russia has strict anti-gay laws in place, prohibiting any public display of homosexuality.  While the Putin government has said that no foreigner will be arrested under these laws during the duration of the winter games, it is nevertheless taking extreme measures to discourage public display of homosexuality.

The gaydar technology, developed in China by Apple, will detect even the slightest trace of gayness by scanning the retina of the eyes and flagging any abnormal flickering of the fingers.

Russian officials said that any athlete or spectator who fails the high-tech test will be denied enty into the competitions.  It wasn’t clear if the figure skating competitors are exempted from the screening. “I think the skaters will be exempted,” said one official, “otherwise we might not have any competition to watch if  any of the skaters are banned from the skating arena.”

The men’s short program kicks off the figure skating competitions on February 6 and the Opening Ceremonies will be held February 7.

International, Sports

SCOTLAND, FIJI, AMERICAN SAMOA SHUT OUT OF SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONIES

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imageSochi, Russia – When contingents from participating nations march in for the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics on February 7  in Sochi, Russia, spectators will not see the athletes  from Scotland, Fiji and American Samoa.

The reason? Vladimir Putin’s government has banned male athletes from wearing skirts in public. The ban is consistent with Russia’s controversial law prohibiting any public display of homosexuality. image

The Scottish olympians were supposed to wear kilts, traditional attire for men and boys in Scotland, while the Fijians and Samoans were to wear the traditional lava lava, a male version of the female sarong. Fiji and American Samoa are among the few tropical nations that send a delegation to the quadrennial winter competitions.

“These attires closely resemble women’s skirts, and for men to be wearing women’s clothing in public is inconsistent with Russian law,” Putin said in a press conference yesterday at The Kremlin.

International, Politics, Sports

EDWARD SNOWDEN IS U.S. FLAG BEARER AT 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS

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flagbearerSochi, Russia – The 2014 Winter Olympics is just weeks away, and this spectacle to be hosted by Russia is gaining all the publicity plus a lot of controversy. Among other things, there have been numerous attempts to organize a boycott of the Sochi Olympics because of laws enacted by the government of Vladimir Putin criminalizing the public display of homosexuality within Russia.  And just last month, the White House announced that  the  official U.S. delegation won’t include a member of President Barack Obama’s family or an active cabinet secretary, but it will include openly gay athletes  including Billie Jean King, the tennis legend; and figure skater Brian Boitano.

Today, in a statement that stunned the sports and political world circles, the U.S. National Olympic Committee (USNOC) said that it has chosen the U.S. flag bearer for the February 7 Opening Ceremonies. It will be none other than Edward Snowden, the American accused of espionage in connection with leaks of top-secret information from the National Security Agency. Snowden is now living in Moscow and has been granted political asylum by the Putin government – another stickler in the hot and cold diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia.

Snowden
Snowden

In justifying its selection, the Olympic Committee said that regardless of the charges against him, Snowden represents the true spirit of strength, courage and perseverance which are among the prime ideals of Olympic sports.  The Committee also admitted that using a controversial and recognizable figure like Snowden would generate a lot of buzz and would add to the popularity of the U.S. Olympic team. It is also part of the USNOC’s continuing strategy at cost savings. “Since Snowden is already in Russia,” we won’t have to pay for any travel expenses,” a USNOC spokesperson said.