Tag: Olympics

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Irresponsible reporting? Are we being tricked on what is really happening in Russia?

Last week I shared some links to photos and stories about happenings in Russia as reporters and others arrived for the Olympics.

Many of the photos I shared were of reporters letting us all know the hardships they were having in their hotels and other places at the Olympics. Were some true? I think so. Just look at what happened to U.S. Bobsledder Johnny Quinn, he was trapped in his bathroom this weekend and Tuesday he was trapped in an elevator.

Were some false? I think so too, people capitalizing on the interest to spread rumors and falsehoods. Take a look at several photos that are circulating the internet as coming from Sochi, they are all fake.

Here is a story of how one photo became a story and it wasn’t even taken in Sochi.

But it didn’t get any better for the Russians when the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the games got in trouble defending the preparedness of Sochi implied that they had surveillance cameras in the hotel rooms saying they saw people turn on the showers and leave their rooms for the day.

But one of the biggest wrongs came from NBC’s Richard Engel who worked with a security expert to test whether a new Mac, Windows machine and an Android device could be hacked. You can watch the video story here.

The security expert was from Trend Micro. In a detailed blog post he explains what and how this happened. If you watch the video again, you will see that they opened a Microsoft Word document that then executed malware. They downloaded “recommended” security software from hackers, they changed security settings on the android device and installed and let open Flash and Java on the Macbook Air. 

As the expert points out in a second post about the story, all the hacks required user interaction. There is no doubt about this. You don’t run Java or Flash on a Mac unless you restrict it to specific sites you need to use it on. You don’t run attachments or recommended software people email you, you are just asking for trouble. And you don’t completely open the security settings on your Android device.

Take a look at this story from Rene Richie of iMore and how NBC’s credibility has taken a hit.

The story was edited to look like there was no interaction from the user. But that is just not the case as the security expert has shown. What he did add is this type of hacking could take place any where. They went to websites that you can get to from the United States, anywhere in the world.

It is time that the media takes a serious look at itself and get back to its roots of reporting quality, true stories and stop trying to be sensational. Good reporting wins out every time.

Sorry for sharing those incorrect stories with you. I still think the Sochi Olympics were as ready as they should have been, but it is still great to see all the Olympic Sports and its spirit in all the Olympians.

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NHL players should play in the Olympics

The NHL is making waves and statements at this Olympics that they may not allow their players to play in the next Olympics in Sochi.
Excuse me? The NHL players in these Olympics has made it one of the best hockey tournaments ever and has turned on a bunch of people to hockey.

When has NBC ever got over 10 million people to watch a hockey game and that is when they buried it on MSNBC? The answer is never.

Brian Burke, the GM of the USA Team and GM of the Toronto Maple Leaves seems to be against having NHL players represent their countries.

Imagine some of our markets where we’re challenged attendance wise. You get into a situation in Atlanta or Florida that are fighting for a playoff spot, actually generating interest and people are following their teams in the standings and then close their doors for 2 ½ weeks and say, ‘Thanks for your patronage but come back in 2 ½ weeks.’

I would have to argue that watching the best play in the Olympics generates more interest that having monotonous NHL games on. The world’s focus is on the Olympics and this hockey tournament. You will get more exposure and people interested in the sport and that will help the NHL in the long-term.

Growing up in northern California, we only were able to watch hockey once every four years when the Olympics were on. Watching the 1980 hockey team win in Lake Placid peaked my interest and I became a hockey fan.

The best of the world were playing then except for the U.S and probably Canada because the NHL didn’t play. But the best of the world should play and that includes the NHL players.

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President Bush getting out with the American Athletes at the Olympics

President Bush is enjoying the Olympics. He has met with the American Team, he was in the stands at the opening ceremonies, and then visited various venues today including the beach volleyball duo of May-Treanor/Walsh.
After a good play, May-Treanor offered her behind to President Bush to slap like any other athlete does. But President Bush choose to brush her backside.  Good job President Bush.

With every camera trained on him, he did the right thing.

Let’s see what else happens during the Olympics…

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IOC’s Rogge employing ‘silent diplomacy’ with China-Tibet protests

ESPN – IOC’s Rogge employing ‘silent diplomacy’ with China-Tibet protests – Olympics
The pressure is beginning to build on China, but they are not relenting and are again telling lies to the world and their citizens.

“Beijing’s official death toll from the rioting is 22, but the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile has said 99 Tibetans have been killed.” To me, China does not want to admit that they are the reason for this problem. The are trying to blame the Dalai Lama for this problem, but it is China’s intolerance to anything that challenges their belief.

This is why they Olympics should never had been awarded to them until they clean up their human rights abuses. They do not tolerate any dissent in their country, they jail and kidnap anyone who disagrees with them, and they encourage genocide in other countries (see Sudan and Darfur).

Even the Olympic organization was putting down protests today by not allowing protesters at the lighting of the Olympic Flame today in Greece.

Protestor stopped at Olympic Flame Lighting for Beijing Games.

China should get their act together soon or the games won’t go as smoothly as they want. The world will see that it is not all roses in a country that will see more dissent and controversy as the years go by.