HAMILTON UPDATE: RACIST WEBSITE OWNED BY TWBA MEDIA
HAMILTON UPDATE: RACIST WEBSITE OWNED BY TWBA MEDIA
“The Spanish government cannot allow this organized and systematic racism to continue. These people must be widely condemned and the websites they use shut down immediately.”
Wow…the website used to target Lewis Hamilton with racists remarks and hatred has thankfully been shut down, but the most disturbing fact is that the site is owned and operated by New-York-based advertising agency, TWBA, which is part of the world’s largest media services group, Omnicom. And the kicker? The site belongs to the Spanish branch of the advertising firm.
Last night, the site was yanked and spanked after after hundreds of abusive messages were posted…and I don’t need to elaborate on what the messages said. We have British cabinet minister Andy Burnham to thank for the shut-down, as he led calls for action against the abuse. “This is a crucial race and the whole country will be behind him. I’m very concerned to hear reports of sites potentially fueling racist abuse. The authorities must take the toughest possible action against racism in sport.” Another one to thank is Keith Vaz, chairman of Labour’s ethnic minority taskforce, who urged foreign secretary David Miliband to lodge a formal protest:: “The Spanish government cannot allow this organized and systematic racism to continue. These people must be widely condemned and the websites they use shut down immediately.”
TBWA operates in 77 countries with 12,000 staff in 258 offices. Its clients include Absolut Vodka, Apple, Adidas, McDonald’s, Michelin, Sony PlayStation, and Singapore Airlines. Last year, Omnicom’s revenue was $12.7 B.
A spokesman in the New York office played dumb, saying they did not know why the site, designed and owned by its interactive marketing branch in Spain had not been monitored to stop racists using it to abuse Hamilton, but would take “appropriate action” once they identified the idiot who was responsible for the website.
Renault’s Fernando Alonso last night condemned the racist supporters. “If it’s true, obviously this is not possible [acceptable],” the Spaniard told reporters at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “In 2008 we cannot have these kind of people in our world. It’s not only formula one, not only sport, it’s normal life as well.”
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Delinda Lombardo
Lewis Hamilton is Again Targeted by Racists
Lewis Hamilton is Again Targeted by Racists
In London, things are good for Lewis Hamilton-so good in fact, that he’s a piece of art…British artist Ian Cook unveiled his latest work of genius…a massive Lewis Hamilton painting he created by using remote controlled cars instead of paint brushes…this Sunday, Hamilton will go head-to-head with Felipe Massa for the Formula One world title. Hamilton currently holds a seven-point lead over Massa going into the final race of the season in Brazil…kinda like Obama over McCain…and of course, racists morons are not happy about their homeboy Massa being outperformed by a –oh-god-no! Black man.
I was literally sick to my stomach reading some of this shit. (Excuse my language kids but this fires me up). A new website has emerged-which I do NOT recommend you visit, especially if you have a weak stomach for hatred and racism. Massa fans can’t handle the fact that their pug-faced hero is about to lose the World Championships to yet another squeaky-voiced uber-sexy British beast. The website asks visitors to place pins, nails and porcupines on the ‘interactive map of the track’ to try and “stop Formula One’s first black driver from finishing Sundays race.”
The website has done nothing more than give cowardly racists a platform to voice their sub-par thoughts. More than 16,000 racist messages have been left so far….many taunting him about the color of his skin in a vile campaign that reprised the abuse he received at the start of the year in Barcelona. One coward wrote: “Conguito, you are going to die.” (conguito is a type of chocolate with racist overtones.) Other cowards wrote messages like: “Half-breed, kill yourself in your car,” and “I hope you run over your dad in the first pit stop, Hamilton.” And these are the nicer comments.
Formula One’s governing body condemned the Web site, according to Brazilian media, saying that it is against any act of ‘discrimination and prejudice.’ Earlier this year, FIA even launched an anti-racism campaign after Spanish fans taunted Hamilton during testing in Spain.
Now, while I do kinda believe in voodoo, I’m not too concerned about a lame website aimed at those with an IQ of less than 20. Hamilton-with his seven-point advantage over the Brazilian pug Massa, need only finish the race fifth or better. This he will do. He WILL win his first title and become F1’s youngest champion at age 23. And that my Brazilian haters, is a cold hard fact that you best put in your racist pipes and smoke it all to hell.
If you can stomach the hate, go to the Telegraph to read more and follow the link back to the site. Ain’t no way I was linking that crap up here.
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Delinda Lombardo
Rafael Nadal: Prince of Asturias Award
TAPA NOW A PRINCE?
Well, maybe not really a prince, but on Wednesday, Rafael Nadal won the prestigious Prince of Asturias sports award.
The first hottie since Bjorn Borg to win two back-to-back majors, bring home a gold from Beijing, and dethrone Roger Federer, has followed up his French Open title with a bit-o-royal-love. “Rafael Nadal is an exemplary athlete,” the Prince of Asturias jury said. “Both in victory and in the very few times in which he tastes defeat, he behaves like a great athlete.” And we all know how sexy it is when Rafael tastes victory by nibbling on those wonderful trophies. Nadal won the award because the jury feels, as do I, that Nadal always has a kind word for his opponents, and because he’s created a charity foundation- (which I cant seem to fin any info on so if anyone of you know about it please hit me up). The award goes to a person, persons or organization deemed to have excelled in their field and worked to promote sports in general…fittingly enough, our beast was nominated alongside Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the Spanish National Football Team.
- At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sport…has decided to bestow the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sport on the tennis player Rafael Nadal. The Jury has prized the merits of the sportsman: in Grand Slam competitions, his fourth French Open title and his first Wimbledon victory, thereby becoming the number one tennis player in the world and, in this Olympic year, also obtaining the gold medal in Beijing. Rafael Nadal is an example to follow. Both in his victories and in the very few occasions when he is defeated, he shows great sportsmanship. The way he reacts after a victory and the way he highlights the merits of his opponents is particularly admirable. He has also recently established a charitable foundation bearing his name, which focuses on social work among disadvantaged groups and cooperation for development.The Prince of Asturias Award laureate for Sport was one of the major figures at the Beijing Olympic Games, along with Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Yelena Isinbayeva, three of the final candidates for said Award. The Jury has valued Rafael Nadal’s contribution to the excellent year that Spanish Sport has enjoyed in 2008, achieving three major international prizes in different disciplines.
Congratulations to Rafael Nadal and his royal nod….he is make right choice, no?
This time I really am taking a few days off…I’ll be back after Peter Windsor wakes me up bright and early Sunday morning to work the grid from the Belgian F1 Grand Prix.
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Delinda Lombardo
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Golden Boys: Rafael Nadal and Michael Phelps
GOLDEN TAPA
Tomorrow, Rafael Nadal will officially be declared the Worlds Number One and he’s backing it up with a delicious gold medal hanging round his neck. Nadal won a gold medal Sunday after serving Fernando Gonzalez a major dose of karma in the form of a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 beating. This is Spain’s first gold medal in tennis and considering Nadal’s phenomenal year, are we really surprised to see the Gold adorning Spain’s most precious commodity? Nadal has won 38 of his past 39 matches.
“Nowhere in my best dreams I can imagine something like what I did this year,” Nadal said. “I know how difficult it is to win these things, and especially here, because you only have one chance every four years.” Indeed, but I did imagine something like this in one of my best dreams and your medal ended dangling from the tip of my toes…
GOLDEN SENSATION: MICHAEL PHELPS
What can I possibly say about Michael Phelps that hasn’t been said? That he’s the Lance Armstrong of water sports? That his body is sick? That his smile is infectious? That he’s class act? Did I mention that body? Dear god…if only the games were broadcast live on the West Coast I’m sure most of you would have heard me screaming during the events. I assure you kids that I haven’t been turning a blind eye to the hot male Olympic swimmers. I’ve been so awestruck with some of the abs diving into the pool that I actually burned out my DVR by rewinding-pausing-rewinding-pausing the action and had to call a cable technician specialist to get it up and running again.
Without a doubt- we now have two Olympics that will remain in the forefront of our memories. Beijing 2008, which gave us a chance to bear witness to one of the most phenomenal athletes in the world earn 8 gold medals while smashing world records, and the 1972 Munich games where Mark Spitz brought home 7. I’ll never forget watching Spitz as a kid, a time when the Olympics were at their purest. It was all about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Today, on the West Coast anyway, its about trying to avoid turning on the news because you know they are gonna spoil the games. And it sucks. I would have loved nothing more than to hear Phelps “live” after his win…I would have loved to see him “live” run into the stands to hug his mother and sisters. “I don’t even know what to feel right now,” Phelps said. “There’s so much emotion going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom.”
Over the years, I’ve seen several great athletes profiled in reference to their genetics and how it makes them exceptional athletes. Some, like –cold-water’ swimmer Lewis Pugh, actually has an internal thermometer that automatically adjusts his core body temperature to adapt to freezing water temperatures. (There might be about four people in the world that can do this) Others, like Lance Armstrong, also have the ability to smash what-we-thought-we-knew about the genetic code of some athletes. Some are just gifted in the genetics department. I even saw a special on Tom Brady and his ability to throw a perfect pass. Not sure if its Brady’s genetics or not, but it was more than a pleasure to watch the slow-mo cam as it focused in on his arm and explained the split second timing it takes to complete a pass…but I digress. Back to Michael Phelps’ Perfect Body.
I have been trying to find this video in color but its only available on YouTube in black and white. (You can view the original video on NBC) It’s a mouthwatering explanation of Phelps size 14 feet, big hands, height, weight, and body shape which make him a cut above the rest when it comes to the water….
“Nothing is impossible,” Phelps said. “With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that’s something I learned and something that helped me…Without the help of my teammates this isn’t possible. I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit. For the three Olympics I’ve been a part of, this is by far the closest men’s team that we’ve ever had. I didn’t know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference.”
And I’m off to enjoy the rest of this day….
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Delinda Lombardo
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Spain’s Tennis Team Also Posed Slant Eyed, Racism in Europe, James Blake Stirs Up Some Trouble and Rafael Nadal Gets His Medal
STIRRING THINGS UP
James Blake, Ara Abrahamian, the Spanish National Basketball teams, the under aged Chinese gymnasts…what the hell is going on? Yes, where there are games there is controversy. Surprisingly, most controversy lately isnt about freeing Tibet or the Chinese government supplying weapons to rebels who are slaughtering people and displacing them from their homes in the Darfur region of the Sudan, its all about the fairness and spirit of the games. While athletes are being yanked and spanked for doping, it’s the unruly and perhaps racist athletes that are making the headlines.
The good peeps at the Telegraph have discovered the latest photo in a series of embarrassing images to emerge from Spain. The latest “slant eyed” pose comes from members of the Spanish Tennis Federations female players and support staff. Allegedly shot back in February, the original photo caption reads: “Estamos preparados para China”, which translates as “We are prepared for China.” Why should we care? Because its all part of the larger picture. Aside from the fact that if any of our athletes here posed ala ‘slant-eyed’ they would have been fined and most likely kicked off the team. These ‘Chinese slant eyed’ photos are not funny. Sorry.
Watch this video from Spain…its disturbing on so many levels…the actions of the guy and the fact that no one came to the aid of this Ecudorian girl make me sick to my stomach.
And no, racism is not limited to Spain. Racism is rampant in Europe. There’s a fantastic expose from ESPN on the subject that I urge you to watch. The video is from 2006, but as we’ve seen lately, racism is timeless.
Now, all this Spainsh racism is throwing quite a kink in my adoration of one certain Spainsh treat. Yes, Im talking about Rafael Nadal. While I believe there is inherenat racism in Spain and most European countries, (as well as here) I have no reason to suspect Nadal is in any way, shape or form a racist. I am not labeling all people from Spain racist, I’m simply stating that the country as a whole needs to check itself…
But Rafa need not check himself…precious has clinched (at a minimum) his first Olympic medal-a silver-after spanking Novak Djovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the semifinals. On Sunday, Nadal will face Fernando ‘the cheater’ Gonzalez who won his match against James Blake…and caused a bit of an uproar for the ungentlemanly manner in which he won. I gotta give James ‘Booty’ Blake props for his reaction to the 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 loss to Gonzalez during the real-fake-live coverage of the match.
On the first point of the 18th game of the final set, with Gonzalez serving at 8-9, Blake tried to pass a charging Gonzalez by hitting it right at him. Gonzalez swerved, the ball landed long and Blake quickly realized the point had been put up for Gonzalez. He walked to the umpire’s chair and a long discussion ensued. Soon, it became obvious that Blake thought the ball had nicked Gonzalez’s racket on its way out, and if so, should have been his point. Unable to get any satisfaction from the chair umpire, who claimed not to have seen the ball touch Gonzalez’s racket, and by the rules, could not call for a replay on this, Blake eventually turned and looked at Gonzalez, back on his baseline, then walked slowly back to receive the next serve. (LA Times)
Blake waited until the news conference before calling out Gonzalez. He said his shot hit Gonzalez’s racket. “In what’s supposed to be a gentleman’s sport, that’s a time when you call it on yourself. Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn’t call it. I’ve spoken all week about how much I’ve enjoyed my Olympic experience, how much I love the other athletes,” he said. “These guys go out and compete their hardest. Win fair and square. Lose fair and square. So this is a disappointing way to exit the tournament, when you not only lose the match, but lose a little faith in your fellow competitor.”
“I’ll still have fond memories of the Olympic experience,” Blake said. “I still have a chance to get a bronze medal. But . . . it is a little disappointing. It disappoints me a little more in my competition, than the whole Olympic spirit, because I haven’t seen anything like that in these Olympics…We know when [the ball] touches us. And he knew that. You call it yourself because it is the right thing to do. Should I expect him to do that? Maybe not. Maybe I shouldn’t expect people to hold themselves to high standards of sportsmanship. But yes, I did expect a little more in the Olympics. We are competing under the banner of this event, to promote sportsmanship, to promote goodwill amongst countries.” I back ya up James, as do most people who were watching…sucks that Gonzalez advances to the gold-medal match Sunday and Blake will play for the bronze…but props to Blake for speaking up. I hope Gonzalez chokes on the gold…come on Karma, we need you this Sunday.
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Delinda Lombardo
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Spain’s Women’s Basketball Team Also Posed ‘Slant Eyed’
SPAIN BASKETBALL TEAM ADS: MEN’S and WOMEN’S
“We’re surprised by the remarks of racism,” said Juan Antonio Villanueva, the communications director for the city’s 2016 Olympic bid. “Spain is not a racist country — quite the opposite.”
Players on Spain’s Olympic basketball team are stepping up to defend the ad showing them using their fingers to apparently make their eyes look more Chinese. “It was something like supposed to be funny or something but never offensive in any way,” said Spain center Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers). “I’m sorry if anybody thought or took it the wrong way and thought that it was offensive.” Point guard Jose Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors) said the team was responding to a request from the photographer. “We felt it was something appropriate, and that it would be interpreted as an affectionate gesture,” Calderon said, “Without a doubt, some … press didn’t see it that way.”
SPAINS WOMENS BASKETBALL TEAM PHOTO: ON YES THEY DID
And now, we’ll have to wait and see how the world responds to the newly surfaced “ad” of Spain’s Women’s Basketball Team in the same pose.
Spain, as we know, has a bit of a racist reputation…Lewis Hamilton bore the brunt of it in Barcelona last February, as did Thierry Henry, and England’s ‘black’ players during a friendly in 2004 against Spain when Spanish fans taunted the players with “monkey sounds”.
Now, I’d like to think that something is lost in translation here. Advertising in Europe is a bit edgier than here in the States. Ever heard of ‘P*ssy’ Water? Pretty sure there would be a bit of controversy if it were released in the States. Most Euro advertising falls well outside our comfort zone. Most adverts outside of Spain are not so much ‘racist’ as they are ‘shocking’ to some. However, regardless of what Spain’s’ ‘intentions’ were with their basketball ads, I think with their history of offending some of the world’s top athletes, as well as most people living outside of their ‘culture’, that its entirely fair to label them as “racist’…
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Delinda Lombardo
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Spain’s Olympic Basketball Team Slant Eyes
Spain continues to maintain its racist image via a photo of their Olympic Basketball team slating their eyes…the ad, which was shot prior to the Games, originally appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca and now is circling the Internet with alarming speed. The NY Times reports that the team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear, a Chinese company founded by Li Ning- the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. The ad is reportedly about the Spanish teams recent contract extension with the footwear giant and their ability to offend just about everyone who looks at this picture. (Telegraph)
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Delinda Lombardo
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