NYTimes: International Olympic Committee - "elitist, domineering, and crassly commercial at its core"

Fri Jul 6 13:44:26 CEST 2012

Hi -

I don't know if I am opening a can of worms here, but the term "non-profit"
has different meanings in different contexts and jurisdictions. I am,
therefore, curious if there is a ICANN approved definition of what
'non-profit' is... Does anyone know?

Kind regards,

Mark Leiser

145 Kilmarnock Road
Suite 612
Glasgow G41 3JA
Tel: +44 (0)845 299-7248
Email: markleiser at gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/markleiser
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mleiser
Fax: +44 0141-404-2633

On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 10:25 AM, Alex Gakuru <gakuru at gmail.com> wrote:

> Joly,
>
> I am trying really hard to avoid being slammed with a MOPO-like kind
> of subsequent accusations, here.
>
> Thanks for understanding,
>
> Alex
>
> On 7/6/12, Joly MacFie <joly at punkcast.com> wrote:
> > Which forced marriage do you have in mind, Alex?
> >
> > j
> >
> > On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 5:03 AM, Alex Gakuru <gakuru at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> 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 <ngarcia at ngarcia.net> 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 <joly at punkcast.com> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> But you are not disputing their facts, I take it.
> >> >>
> >> >> j
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 5:58 PM, Michael Carson
> >> >> <mcarson029 at comcast.net>wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>> Alain,
> >> >>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>> I agree.  This op-ed is just that - the opinion of two individuals.
> >> >>>
> >> >>>   Michael Carson
> >> >>>
> >> >>> YMCA of the USA
> >> >>>
> >> >>> ------------------------------
> >> >>> *From: *"Alain Berranger" <alain.berranger at GMAIL.COM>
> >> >>> *To: *NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> >> >>> *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
> >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >> -
> >> >>
> >> >
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
> > 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
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > -
> >
>
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