Pool & Court

Just a few screencaps of a few Paralympics hotties, including Andre Brazil, from Brazil, who won gold in the men's swimming 50meter.

The men's basketball game between Germany and Great Britain was the most violent, er, action-packed b-ball game I've seen in a while. It rivals wheelchair rugby in its suspense. The newer chairs make it easy for the competitors to flip back upright like gymnasts. amazing stuff, and you can watch hours of action, un-edited, with no Bob Costas (yay!).

Broadcast this, NBC.

The Paralympics in London start up next week, August 29. I wish a U.S. network would dare to broadcast what millions of people in other countries can see. 46 million disabled Americans, and they're robbed of this significant event of pure uplifting visibility. Here are some promo videos:

Into the Streets, on TV

Protests, broadcasts, injustice and more. That's how August's looking. Pussy Riot is the name on most activists' lips, and even post-activists. The band has been served a two-year sentence for "hooliganism" after their protest in a church. The increasingly fascistic Russian regime has also banned Gay Pride events "for 100 years." Wow. WTF are you so afraid of, Putin and your thug minions? Protests in support of the women continue around the world. Even the White House condemned the 'disproportionate sentencing' in what has become a global cause.

In New York City, protestors took to the streets and Gracie Mansion to try to convince their snobbish Mayor Bloomberg that accessible taxi cabs are a must.

"On August 8, demonstrators gathered in front of Gracie Mansion to protest the annual Mayor Bloomberg-sponsored event “celebrating” the Americans with Disabilities Act. The protest was focused on the mayor’s ferocious opposition to making the New York City taxi fleet accessible, as has been done in London and elsewhere. Bloomberg has stated publicly that he does not think that wheelchair users should be out on the street hailing cabs, and has publicly voiced sympathy for taxi drivers who, despite the law, choose not to stop for people with wheelchairs."

Oscar: winner

[Note: This essay was written well before Pastorius' arrest and sentencing for the shooting death of his girlfriend.]

The 30th Olympics in London continue at a fast pace, including the Men's 10,000-meter, which I just watched (congrats to Mo Farra!). Cute American gymnasts won in various levels, and Michael Phelps made even more swimming history with his multiple medal wins.

But what really excited me was Oscar Pistorius' historic placing in the 400m men's track race. The South African runner, nicknamed 'Blade Runner,' has already made history with his accomplishments in prior Paralympics competitions. But this year, the double amputee qualified in the Olympics, having broken through barriers and biases in the TAB (Temporarily Able-Bodied) events. The use of high-tech prosthetics were judged to not be an unfair advantage for the runner.

Here's a little bootleg video of Pistorius' qualifying race.