As Soccer Fans Worldwide Welcome Refugees, Israelis Chant Racist Threats

One of the most notable reactions to the growing refugee crisis has been the incredible response by soccer fans. But not in Israel, where racist chants and placards tell a different and more hostile story.

The world of sport, particularly soccer, has really made a huge welcome effort across Western and Northern Europe.

In Germany, several leading soccer teams came onto their pitches wielding banners that read: “Refugees Welcome.” Their fans followed suit, dropping banners across their stadiums that welcomes refugees. The same could be seen in England, where fans dropped banners, too. Premiership team Arsenal donated ticket sales to charities supporting refugees, and right down at local team level, fans were not only dropping banners in welcome, but preparing welcome packages of food, clothing and other essentials.

However, Israeli soccer fans took a quite different approach to the matter. Fans of the Tel Aviv team, the Maccabis, dropped a banner over the weekend which read: “Refugees Not Welcome.”

Israel is disintegrating under the weight of its own fascism, while the world is watching. It cannot be long until either the world takes action, or yet another breathtaking injustice is perpetrated.

Full article at Addicting Info

Violence Against Women and the Athletic Industrial Complex

Bradley Wiggins is king of the Mods

It's probably fair to say that Bradley Wiggins can't really experience all elements of authentic Mod culture. If he were to regularly stay up 'til 3am at the Twisted Wheel while dancing to Northern Soul and necking amphetamines, it's likely that the Chorley-based cyclist wouldn't be leading this year's Tour de France.

But when it comes to everything else, Wiggins is quintessentially Mod. The helmets, sunglasses and uniforms of road cycling can make it difficult for casual fans to tell cyclists in the peloton apart when they're flying past, but Wiggo's signature Paul Weller-style sideburns immediately mark him out in Sky's black and blue.

fredperry.com – Bradley Wiggins is king of the Mods on The Independent - The Guardian - Wiggo on Twitter

 

London 2012 Olympic photo ban 'unenforceable'

Olympic bosses have admitted their ban on spectators posting videos and images on websites will be unenforceable. In the terms and conditions of ticket purchases for the London 2012 Games it states ticket holders cannot publish images, video or sound online.

However, Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of organisers Locog, said "we live in an internet world... and there's not much we can do about it". He said a "common sense approach" would be used to protect media rights. Spectators will be able to watch many events, including the cycle road race, triathlon and marathon, without a ticket.

But the ticket conditions as they currently stand prohibit ticket holders from posting photos and personal footage of the Olympics on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

BBC News

Bloodshed feared as Bahrain Formula One grand prix given go-ahead

Human rights activists fear further bloodshed and a violent crackdown by authorities in Bahrain after race organisers gave the green light to next weekend's Formula One grand prix in the troubled Gulf kingdom.

As the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) said it was satisfied that all proper security measures were in place for the race on 22 April, Nabeel Rajab, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), said: "I'm afraid we might see local people who will be killed in the coming days because of the F1."

Anti-government protesters have called for the event to be cancelled, arguing that it lends legitimacy to a regime which continues to perpetrate human rights abuses.

The FIA, the sport's governing authority, confirmed that it would go ahead, with beefed-up security, after receiving reassurances. John Yates, the former assistant commissioner of the Met who is in Bahrain advising on police reform, wrote to the FIA president, Jean Todt, to say he felt safer living in Bahrain "than I have often felt in London".

The Guardian – BBC - Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Olympic VIPs take fast lane leaving English patients at risk

Sick and vulnerable NHS patients will be left stranded in ambulances in traffic jams while dignitaries and sponsors race past in a fleet of expensive cars on specially designated lanes during the Olympics, healthcare providers fear.

Games organisers have been accused of risking people's health by banning the routine use by ambulances of the "Games lanes" introduced to ensure that VIPs can travel quickly to events. The decision to reject a request for access from NHS London, the capital's strategic health authority, has led to a storm of anger. Medical Services, an independent business that transports patients for the health service, and whose clients include the hospitals closest to the Olympic stadium, says it fears that the ill, including those on dialysis, will be trapped in vehicles as London suffers unprecedented congestion, with traffic on key routes expected to slow to a crawl.

The Games lanes comprise 30 miles of road in central London on which only the "Olympic family" will be allowed to travel – athletes, officials and sponsors, including Coca-Cola and McDonald's. BMW has donated 4,000 3 and 5 series cars to be used during the Games. Following consultation with the NHS, ambulances will be allowed to use the lanes when they have their blue lights on, but critics say there are many urgent journeys that cannot justify the use of blue lights. They can only be employed in a genuine emergency and those entitled to use them generally require special training.

More on The Observer

IOC and Saudi Arabian Ban on Women in Sport

As the world prepares for the 2012 Olympics, the Saudi government is systematically discriminating against women in sports and physical education, and has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics, with no penalty from the international Olympic authorities, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make ending discrimination against women in sports in the kingdom a condition for Saudi Arabia’s participation in Olympic sporting events, including the 2012 London Games.

“‘No women allowed,’ is the kingdom’s message to Saudi women and girls who want to play sports,” said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The fact that women and girls cannot train to compete clearly violates the Olympic Charter’s pledge to equality and gives the Olympic movement itself a black eye.”

Human Rights Watch - HRW report ‘Steps of the Devil’: Denial of Women and Girls’ Right to Sport in Saudi Arabia

London 2012 Olympics To Be Protected By 13,500 Armed Forces Personnel

Around 13,500 armed forces personnel will deployed to defend the London Olympics, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said on Thursday that he expected 7,500 soldiers to be stationed around the Olympic venues in the capital itself, while the remainder provide security across the rest of the country at various events.

"This defence contribution is on a similar scale to that deployed at other recent Olympic Games and will contribute to ensuring a safe, secure and enjoyable 2012," he said. "Olympics. Defence will continue to be able to support current and contingent operations during the Games and my priority will remain the troops we have deployed on operations, including in Afghanistan, before, during and after the Olympics."

There are currently between 9,500 and 10,000 British armed forces personnel deployed in Afghanistan.

There will also be a 1,000 strong rapid-reaction force ready to respond to emergency situations. Hamond said the total venue guard-force would likely be around 23,700. The funding for security operations at London 2012 was recently doubled raising overall security costs for the 2012 games to more than 1 billion pounds

There is even more...- see Huf.Post

There is no racism in football…

Barmy FIFA president Sepp Blatter has claimed that there is no racism in football — and that if it ever should crop up then the players involved should settle matters with a HANDSHAKE!

The Football Association are currently investigating two incidents where a player has been accused of racially abusing an opponent. Chelsea's John Terry and Liverpool's Luis Suarez are awaiting the outcome of FA probes after separate claims against them from Anton Ferdinand and Patrice Evra respectively.

The Sun

Former England striker Les Ferdinand has waded into the Sepp Blatter racism row, saying the Fifa President should stand down. Mr Blatter caused fury when he said in two television interviews that racist incidents between footballers should be settled with a handshake.

Les Ferdinand - the older cousin of footballing brothers Anton and Rio - told Sky Sports News that it was "about time we stopped hearing from him". (SKY)

Chinese Sports Schools

See all pictures on avaxnews.com

The last day Eddy Merckx ever wore the yellow jersey

Classic Tour de France on Guardian.co.uk

Footballers arrested by Bahrain regime

Two Bahraini footballers have been arrested and more than 200 sportsmen suspended for taking part in anti-government protests that threaten the Gulf kingdom's ruling family. The move could leave Bahrain in breach of international rules separating politics and sport. All the men suspended are Shia Muslims. At least 28 people have died and hundreds have been injured in the Sunni regime's efforts to suppress the pro-democracy movement spearheaded by the country's Shia majority.

A'ala and Mohammed Hubail, stars of the national soccer team, were arrested during training with their club, al-Ahli, on Tuesday, local time, after state television broadcast footage of the brothers attending a pro-democracy rally in Pearl Square, in Manama.

A'ala Hubail, 28, was joint top scorer in the 2004 Asian Cup. A paramedic before he turned professional, he worked as a volunteer nurse during the protests.

The Australian

Dutch town uses €100 trick to 'discourage' Kenyan marathon runners

The organisers of the Utrecht marathon are offering prize money of just €100 to Kenyan nationals if they win the event, but a Dutch winner will get €10,000, the Volkskrant reports on Saturday. The aim is to discourage Kenyans from taking part in the 42 km race, nicknamed the Dutch Battle, on April 25, the organisers say.

Last year Kenyan runners won the Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Enschede and Leiden marathons. The Utrecht race has been won by a Kenyan for the past four years and the organisers hope to give top Dutch athletes a chance to win this year. The prize money trick had been worked out with the help of a lawyer. Banning Kenyans outright would break discrimination laws but discouraging them from taking part is legal.

DutchNews.nl

Iran threatens to boycott 2012 London Olympics because of logo

Iran is threatening to boycott the 2012 Olympic Games in London because of the Games' logo.

According to an Iranian official, the logo, with its blocky, abstract rendering of "2012," is racist because it appears to spell the word "Zion," a biblical term for Jerusalem, rather than 2012. Bahram Afsharzadeh, the secretary-general of Iran's National Olympic Committee, said via the official IRNA news agency that he sent a letter of complaint to International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

"There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the games, especially Iran, which abides by commitment to the values and principles," Afsharzadeh said in the letter to Rogge, according to the Associated Press, and urged other Muslim states to protest as well.

The International Olympic Committee and London's organizing committee disagree. "Our response is as follows: The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else," the IOC said.

Washington Post

Bangladesh city to pay beggars during cricket World Cup

The authorities in Bangladesh's city of Chittagong say they will pay beggars a daily wage to keep them off the streets during next month's Cricket World Cup.

Some 300 disabled beggars would be paid about $2 (£1.20) a day for three months to compensate them for their loss of earning, Mayor Mansur Alam said. He added that the beggars would also be given a chance to move into rehabilitation centres.

Bangladesh is co-hosting the World Cup along with India and Sri Lanka.

Despite the government's efforts to abolish begging, the practice is rampant in Bangladesh: every day beggars can be seen on the roadside, at traffic signals and outside commercial buildings in Dhaka and Chittagong.

There is no official figure on the number, but estimates suggest that there are more than 700,000 beggars across the country, many of them physically disabled.

BBC News

Unnecessary police violence backfires

Don't know if this video comes from Brazil or Portugal, because it seems to be in portuguese. LiveLeak.com