Samsung giveaway phones spark controversy at Pyeongchang Olympics 2018

Snowboarder Redmond Gerard — more commonly known as simply "Red" —  won the first U.S. medal in Pyeongchang, taking a gold medal at the Winter Olympics with a stunning comeback win in the men's slopestyle final.  Gerard, who at 17 was the youngest competitor in the field, had been sitting in last place after his first two runs. He needed a phenomenal final run to reach the podium — and the Colorado native delivered, posting a best score of 87.16 to rewrite the leader board and vault past Canadians Max Parrot (86.00) and Mark McMorris (85.20), who won silver and bronze.   Gerard is the youngest American male athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics since 1928.

Winter Olympics is on at Pyeongchang ~  nearly 3,000 of the world’s best athletes took to the slopes, rinks, and half pipes in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the Winter Olympics. The images beamed to televisions in the 92 countries with athletes competing and beyond will create new sporting heroes for hundreds of millions of children of the World.  The Olympic stories written over the next weeks will inspire many of those kids to put on their first pair of skates or skis.

Whatever you see these days on Television are always interrupted every other minute by advertisements from official sponsors like Coca-Cola and partners like McDonalds, the very companies that provide the food products that could be the biggest obstacle not only to becoming an Olympic athlete, but also to living a healthy and happy life. According to a 2014 McKinsey study, the cost of obesity on GDP was a whopping $2tn and at the heart of the problem are Olympic sponsors like Coca-Cola and McDonalds. Only smoking and war negatively impacted the world’s finances more.  There were times when Cigarette and tobacco advertisements ruled the roost, now they are banned in most events; yet many other Companies including Food companies that can alarm a   major risk factor are the sponsors and hog the limelight. 

A very popular and most unlikely one in the list of harming (though millions get addicted) is phone !!  ~ the  company’s association with the Olympics started as a local sponsor of the Games in Seoul back in 1988. It extended its commitment as the Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment category beginning with the Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998. It has been providing its proprietary wireless communications platform and mobile devices since then.  It Samsung, which is set to  deliver more than 4,000 units of  limited edition device to the entire PyeongChang 2018 Olympic family, including the International Olympic Committee and the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. The company will also provide a Galaxy Note 8 to all Paralympians at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018  ~ and the Samsung smartphones became the centre of a diplomatic spat between Iran and South Korea that erupted ahead of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The Iranian Olympic Committee said its athletes were initially excluded from a giveaway of special edition Galaxy Note 8 phones that was arranged by the organizers of the games. "The athletes didn't receive phones when they arrived in [South] Korea. The reason given was because of sanctions," said   spokesman for the Iranian Olympic Committee. Iran reportedly summoned South Korea's ambassador over the incident and demanded an apology, Iranian state media reported. ISNA, a semi-official Iranian news agency, said the South Korean official was warned that the episode could have "dire negative consequences" for Samsung's (SSNLF)business in Iran ~ subsequent reports confirm that Iran’s four athletes were later handed the gifts,  which made their spokesperson state that  Iranian athletes were not treated equally and this goes against the spirit of the games !

Samsung Electronics had offered approximately 4,000 units of the Galaxy Note 8 Olympic Edition to athletes and International Olympic Committee officials visiting PyeongChang. The phones cost around $1000 each.  The 22 North Korean and four Iranian athletes missed out as organisers believe that could “violate United Nations’ sanctions that ban providing the countries with luxury goods and products that can potentially be used for military purposes,” the committee said.  Now the head of the Pyeongchang Olympics' organising committee has apologised to Iran after a diplomatic row broke out over commemorative Olympic smartphones.  Reports of the snub have resulted in the South Korean ambassador to Tehran being summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry. The Iranian prosecutor-general has also ordered that Samsung's boss in Iran be summoned for questioning, and on social media many tech-loving Iranians are now calling for a boycott of Samsung products.   It was also widely reported in the Iranian media that Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, was considering changing his own Samsung Galaxy S8 handset for a different model.

For Samsung, this was clearly worrying news.  Iran, which has a huge population of young people, is the biggest smartphone market in the Middle East. It is estimated that some 48 million people in Iran own the devices. And crucially, it's a market that is still growing. Possibly sensing a business opportunity, Samsung's South Korean rival, LG, was quick to intervene in the row, announcing it would give every Iranian athlete competing in the Winter Olympics a top-end smartphone as well as a 55-inch (140cm) TV.  There is more to be read as North Korea's Olympic athletes have refused to accept special edition Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphones that have been handed out to competitors from other countries.  While there were concerns that the free phones could   violate strict UN Security Council sanctions punishing Kim Jong-un's regime for his nuclear weapons programme, there is a  ban on exporting luxury goods to the North and on goods that could be used for military purposes too.

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

12^th Feb 2018.

Indian challenge in luge ends ~ Loch loses and Gleirscher takes Gold

Its’ all happening in Winter Olympics - Loch does not make it three in a row and that costly error will undoubtedly dominate the fallout of day two. Loch’s father raced on to the course to console his son, who looks absolutely devastated. ~ not sure whether many would be following this result in Luge !!

Luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics is being  held at the Alpensia Sliding Centre near Pyeongchang, South Korea. The events are held between 10 and 15 February 2018. A total of four luge events are to be  held.  The qualification is based on the cumulative world ranking points from the first five world cup events of the 2017–18 season. In Winter Olympics, a  total of 110 quota spots are available to athletes to compete at the games. A maximum 37 men, 27 women, and 17 doubles teams will initially qualify. Each NOC can enter a maximum of three men, three women, and two doubles. The host then has the right to enter a competitor in the men's, doubles, and women's competitions provided they meet minimum standards. Then eight athletes will be added, first to fill the highest ranked relay teams who did not qualify individuals in all three disciplines, then the remaining quotas will be distributed equally among the three disciplines.

The breaking news is that ~ Felix Loch has blown it on his final run! A solitary mistake saw him finish not even on the podium after three previous flawless runs. The German was reduced to tears and there will be no third title for the two-time champion. Instead, Loch has to settle for fifth, behind Italy’s Domink Fischnaller.

It is Gleirscher, the Austrian who impressed ultimately taking the top prize. United States earned their first ever medal in the men’s singles luge. USA’s Chris Mazdzer took  silver and Johannes Ludwig, also of Germany took  bronze.   David Gleirscher struggled to make Austria’s Olympic team and Chris Mazdzer’s season hit rock-bottom less than a month ago. In the end it didn’t matter: they finished with gold and silver medals respectively as the Olympic reign of Germany’s Felix Loch came to a stunning and sudden end.

Gleirscher was the surprise first-run leader and a bigger surprise as the leader when it was all over. He finished his four runs at the Alpensia Sliding Center in 3 minutes, 10.702 seconds for the gold, Austria’s first in men’s luge in 50 years. Mazdzer made history for the US, giving the Americans their first men’s singles medal by finishing second in 3:10.728. Germany’s Johannes Ludwig took third in 3:10.932.

Loch was supposed to be the champion, the one who would tie Georg Hackl’s record as only the second person to win Olympic luge gold three consecutive times. But as snow began to fall, his reign came to an end when he skidded during his final run and lost time. He crossed the finish line fifth, sitting for several seconds on his sled in disbelief and anguish as Gleirscher celebrated his upset win. Gleirscher has never finished better than fourth in a World Cup event. On the biggest stage, he delivered the race of his life. And Mazdzer did the same.

India's winter sports poster boy Shiva Keshavan on Sunday brought the curtains down to his Olympic career with a 34th-place finish in the men's luge singles event of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.  Taking part in his sixth and last Olympics, the 36-year-old Keshavan produced the best timing of his campaign as he covered the 1,344 metre track at the Olympic Sliding Center in 48.900 seconds in his third round heat. The effort put him at 30th in the third heat among 40 competitors and 34th overall after three rounds. Since Keshavan finished outside the top 20 after three runs, he did not get to compete in the fourth and final run, which decided the medals.

As soon as Keshavan crossed the finishing line, he made a broad smile towards the seizable Indian supporters, including his family members. He lifted his sled over his head and waved to the crowd for one last time. The Indian supporters were holding the national flags and placards which had 'Go Shiva' and 'Nothing can stop the fire' written on them. The man from Vashisht near Manali has been the face of winter sports in the country for more than two decades, and had said just before the Pyeongchang Games that this Winter Olympics will be the last international event of his career. This was not though his best ever performance in a Winter Olympics. His best was the 25th place finish in the 2006 edition in Turin, Italy.

He is the reigning Asian champion in luge and the speed record holder. He has won Asian Luge Championships in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

12^th Feb 2018.

Pyeongchang Weather troubles ! ~ first Gold in Winter Olympics 2018

Pyeongchang has already carved out a name with the ongoing Winter Olympics 2018.  At the opening ceremony, one thousand residents of Gangwon Province entered the stage, before standing in the formation in dove, holding lit candles. The enthusiasm of these particular individuals  was very impressive.  One of the biggest surprises of the night was the identity of the roster of famous faces that would sing in the centre of the Dove ~ who would alight the cauldron was also kept a secret.

As the games progressed, Lim Hyo-jun gave hosts South Korea their first gold at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics with victory in the 1500m short-track speed skating event. The 21-year-old went to the head of the field halfway through and stayed out of trouble in the closing stages. He finished 0.070 seconds clear of Dutch world record holder Sjinkie Knegt.  The Olympic Athletes from Russia earned their first medal when Semen Elistratov took bronze.

Proverbially, it is always the first that matters most and the first gold went to Sweden.  Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla upset a record-breaking Marit Bjoergen as she won the first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the women’s 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon  In the first medal event of the Winter Olympics on Saturday, Kalla won the women's 15-kilometer skiathlon by more than seven seconds. Later in the day, Lim crossed the finish line first in the men's 1,500-meter short-track speedskating event, setting off a huge roar from a capacity crowd at Gangneung Ice Arena.

Then there was the  most highly anticipated hockey match in the nation’s history – the first time an ‘All Korean’ team  competing in an international event.  Made up of players from the pariah communist North and the Olympic-host South, the women of the ‘unified’ team took their places in the record books as they stepped out on to the ice.  The rink roared as the All Korea team took to the ice. Glamorous North Korean cheer-leaders packed the front row of the stand and chanted in unison as the game against firm favourites Switzerland began.

unified Korean flag

They shouted: ‘Win, win, our players win!’ Families with children filled the other seats, with kids waving ‘All Korea’ flags and bursting into raptures whenever the ‘national’ team took possession of the puck.  While Olympic organisers have tried to separate politics from sport over the years, the team has been put together under the ‘All Korea’ flag between the rival states to promote peace and reconciliation. South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in had invited North Korea’s ceremonial leader Kim Yong-nam to watch the match together, following a landmark meeting.  In return North Korea’s dear leader invited President Moon to talks in Pyongyang, in a hand-written leader delivered by his sister. This would be the first summit between the two Koreas in over a decade. Kim Yo-jung, the North Korean leader’s sister, sat with the South Korean president, in the stand to watch the match. The powerful pair watched intently throughout the game – rising from their seats when it appeared the All Korean team had a chance on goal.   Unfortunately for the team, Switzerland beat them 8-0.

There are many aspirants hoping for medals ~ racing at 35mph on blades 1mm thick, Britain's best hope for gold will begin her bid for Winter Olympic glory  in a blur of flying blonde hair and Lycra-clad limbs.  Elise Christie, 27, the triple world champion at short-track speed skating, is a star in the most adrenaline-fuelled events of the Games, which opened in South Korea yesterday.  She has a big point to prove, after crashing out of all her three disciplines the last time around in 2014.  That disaster led to online death threats, but there is steel in the 5ft 3in Scot, who says: 'You have to be odd to be number one.' Elise won the 1,000m, 1,500m and overall world titles last year, and is the world record holder over 500m.

It is not tough for the athletes alone ~ the harsh temperatures at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics have left BBC presenters struggling to talk as make-up freezes to their faces. As the mercury dipped down to -23C in South Korea the broadcaster's electronic equipment has also been packing in. The freezing conditions prompted BBC presenter Amy Williams, the former skeleton racer and Olympic gold medallist, to tweet: 'So anyone know of good make up that is oil based?  The BBC have presenters Eilidh Barbour, 35, and Radzi Chinyanganya, 31, to report live from the action at the side of slopes and tracks.

Barbour too complained about the conditions, tweeting: 'Will PyeongChang be too cold even for a Winter Olympics? It's not just me looking for the blankets. 'Even the skis are struggling to cope. My Samsung dies too. And my wireless headphones. It's a clear indication we should be inside rather than outside.' It is reported that  make-up artists have struggled dealing with the extreme cold and have been frantically searching for alternative make-up solutions so the talent can still look good on camera as well as getting their words out without their teeth chattering.

Interesting challenges ~  ~  however, that  freezing temperatures proved no obstacle to Tongan cross country skier Pita Taufatofua. He appeared topless in his national costume at the opening ceremony with just oil on his torso to keep out the cold, waving the flag of his tiny Polynesian nation. Nor did the conditions stop Team Bermuda from wearing their country's namesake shorts at the ceremony.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

10^th Feb 2018.

Fire ~ fire fighting ~ Sand buckets ~ and usage of atta !!! as extinguisher

A very general statement is : South Indians are fond of rice ~ North Indians – of wheat (atta).  

                Atta is wheat flour, used to make food items like chapathi, roti, puri .. then there is ‘maida’ finely milled flour without bran, refined and used to make naan, paratha,  bread and other food items.  In making  atta,  whole grains are ground to convert it into flour – this flour  is further refined to separate the husk and the bran to leave behind a very fine flour, maida. 

                 While atta would be brown, maida is white - the endosperm part of the wheat grain.  Maida is also chemically bleached to leave it super white and very smooth.  I need to stop trying to describe something which is not my domain .. .. ..

Sadly, there are fire accidents – arising out of various causes, most commonly electrical short-circuit.  What be the cause, a fire accident can reduce a property to rubbles in hours  ~ it can cause damage to property, goods and sometimes-   fatalities and bodily injuries to humans too.  A Fire Insurance Policy provides financial compensation for loss or damage arising out of fire.  Negligence and indifference too contribute a big way and there are potential physical hazards of fire.

While elimination of fire hazard entirely may not be possible, fire safety would reduce to a large extent, the potential hazard of loss caused by fire.  Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent ignition of an uncontrolled fire, and those that are used to limit the development and effects of a fire after it starts.   Insurers analyse and rate the risks based on risk potential, probability of occurrence, severity of damage and many other factors.  The method of rating special hazards is more complex.  For better managed risks, they do offer discounts and one of the primary questions in any proposal is about the – fire fighting equipments available and the proximity to a Fire station.

forest fire in Portugal - pic credit : dailymail.co,uk

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)in USA  classifies fires into five general categories (U.S.):

Class A fires :   ordinary materials like burning paper, lumber, cardboard, plastics etc.

Class B fires  :   involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, and common organic solvents used in the laboratory.

Class C fires :   involve energized electrical equipment, such as appliances, switches, panel boxes, power tools, hot plates and stirrers. Water can be a dangerous extinguishing medium for class C fires because of the risk of electrical shock unless a specialized water mist extinguisher is used.

Class D fires :   involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium as well as pyrophoric organometallic reagents such as alkyllithiums, Grignards and diethylzinc. These materials burn at high temperatures and will react violently with water, air, and/or other chemicals. Handle with care!!

Class K fires :   are kitchen fires. This class was added to the NFPA portable extinguishers Standard 10 in 1998.

A fire extinguisher, is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. As we all know, Fire needs  “oxygen, heat and fuel” and primarily fire extinguishers put out fire by taking away  one or more elements of the fire triangle.  As stated above, there are  various types of fire – say of wood, cloth, plastics; oil, gas, flammable liquids; electrical and the like.  Depending on the type of fire, the extinguishers also vary – there are : water and foam fire extinguishers; equipments using Carbon Dioxide; dry chemicals; wet chemicals; dry powders and many other agents.

In some industries, hydrant systems are installed, but more simpler are hand appliances.  As a measure of safety, the primary requirement would be at least  two extinguishers in every area/ room, distributed over the entire floor that they are available within 15 meters. One 9 litre water / sand bucket is to be provided for every 100 square meter of floor area and one 9 litre water type extinguisher is to be provided for every six buckets or part thereof with a minimum of one extinguisher and two buckets per compartment of the building.

In old theatres, one would have observed bright  red coloured buckets containing sand and water.  .  a fire bucket is a bucket filled with water or sand which is used to prevent or extinguish fires.  Often they have a convex, protruding bottom. The rounded bottom results in a strong, directed stream of water when the material inside  is thrown at the fire.  Fire buckets are a low-technology method of fighting small fires. Although largely superseded by more modern forms of firefighting equipment, they retain some distinct advantages and remain the preferred method for fighting small fires in certain situations. The main advantages of fire buckets are that they are cheap, reliable, easy to use and can be quickly refilled and reinstated. The fundamental thing is to keep them in reach – and more importantly keep them filled with sand (or water) – with 4 of them hanging in a row, one should remain empty and at a given periodicity, the sand from should be transferred to the next – to ensure that sand is free flowing and is not clogged !

When the sand in the bucket is dumped on the fire to starve it of the oxygen it needs to stay alight.  The sand from a fire bucket can also be used to absorb spills of flammable liquids and render them less dangerous, by reducing the risk of ignition and explosion. Fire buckets are often provided at petrol filling stations to absorb any small fuel spills.  Now read this interesting type of fire extinguisher !

Following a major fire at a restaurant in Kamala Mills last December, Mumbai’s hotels have been under pressure from municipal authorities to get their act together with regard to fire safety norms. The Hindu reports that the Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association (AHAR)  requested that it be allowed to use ‘roti atta’ (flour) instead of sand to tackle the initial stages of a kitchen fire.

The Fire Brigade requires restaurants to stock sand in their kitchens to help quell any incidents of fire. But the hoteliers have pointed out that keeping sand in the kitchen is a violation of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) norms. In a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, on January 31, AHAR has requested that they be allowed to use ‘roti atta’ within the kitchen since, under FSSAI rules, sand cannot be stored in the cooking area, ostensibly to avoid food contamination. Also, restaurant kitchens stock up on flour anyway.   The letter states that they have been following the guidelines issued by the civic body, but would like to make certain suggestions with regard to fire safety. AHAR president Santosh Shetty said: “Old methods are okay and we are not against using sand. It is already there. But keeping sand in the kitchen is in violation of food contamination rules. What we are suggesting is an alternative source, since ‘atta’ is available in every kitchen.”

“Using flour to fight a fire is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” said a professor from IIT-Bombay. “Flour becomes a combustible gas.”  However, Sunil Keswani, a plastic surgeon and medical director of the National Burns Center in Airoli, said flour might be a good substitute for sand for curbing kitchen fires induced by oil.

Interesting !!  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

10^th Feb 2018.