Monthly Archives: July 2012

Corporate torchbearers in Dorset revealed

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Corporate Olympic torchbearers investigated in Dorset

The Bournemouth Echo has picked up the baton in investigating the Olympic torch relay, and found more unusual choices for the honour of carrying the torch. Among torchbearers in Dorset they identify:

“Four Olympic staff members – a venue health and safety officer from Epping and three people who work for the Olympic Broadcasting Service.

• A Basingstoke councillor, who is also a senior manager at Lloyds Banking Group.

• A Belgian, nominated for having an eco-home and driving an eco-friendly car.

• A Vodafone account manager, who says on an online profile that he was nominated to carry the Olympic Torch because of his strong sales performance.

• A man from Ballymena in Newport, who has no nomination story but does appear to have a profile on a website called British Sex Dating.

• A Met Police constable.” Continue reading →

Get the data: Coca Cola’s US torchbearers for “health, community, environment”

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23 of the places that Coca Cola allocated through public nomination went to these US citizens through the Live Positively campaign. As part of our investigation into how places were allocated, we’ve re-presented the data in a more usable format.

The Live Positively site provides nutritional information on Coca Cola products to medical professionals, including information for patients on low-calorie sweeteners (PDF). Continue reading →

Useful Olympic links for June 30th through July 2nd

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Here are the Olympic-related links we’ve been looking at over the last week from June 30th through July 2nd:

  • Parents spend less on their children’s sport | The Sun |News|Sun City|Cashflow – She said the London Games would be a giant “missed opportunity” to inspire young Brits. And she blasted Education Secretary Michael Gove for slashing funding for the Schools Sports Partnerships from £162million to £35million. Schemes shown the red card include free swimming for the under-16s, proposed cycling routes in 18 cities, and plans to fund 1,300 new playgrounds.
  • The Strongest Woman In America Lives In Poverty – BuzzFeed Mobile – “You can get that sponsorship if you’re a super-built guy or a girl who looks good in a bikini. But not if you’re a girl who’s built like a guy,” she says. The 23-year-old from California became the highest ranked weightlifter in the country last year after placing 11th at the world championships, beating out every male and female American on the roster. On her best day, she can lift more than 568 pounds — that’s roughly five IKEA couches, 65 gallons of milk, or one large adult male lion.
  • The London Olympics As Creative Destruction | EcoHustler – In 2007, the UN-funded Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) released a report detailing the effects of the Olympics between 1988 and 2008. Beginning with the 1988 Seoul games, which witnessed the ‘redevelopment’ of 48,000 buildings and the eviction of 720,000 people, where it was used to accelerate the process of neoliberalism, leading to a ‘drastic rise in housing prices’, transforming Seoul from a city maintained by ordinary people to one that most efficiently entices and reproduces capital.
  • London 2012: Olympic boom turns to bust – Olympics – Sport – The Independent – Tom Jenkins of the European Tour Operators Association said the Olympics were scaring people away. "It's too early for a post-mortem, but it looks like the opposite of a boom," he said. London estate agents are also disappointed. Eric Walker of the lettings agent Bushells, said: "Landlords jumped on the bandwagon, but people seem to be staying with friends or relatives."
  • The Great Olympic Tax Swindle –