timtufuga's Journal in September 2007
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| Its that time of the year folks, its Ironman triathlon season. Current mood: excited Category: Sports The Gold Coast Half Ironman, or the 70.3 ironman triathlon is on this weekend and man, oh man, is it going to be fun. It is a must see if you want to view the Australian and New Zealand contingent to take on the world in the Hawaiian Ironman in three weeks time. The top placings in this event will go on to take on the best ironman triathletes the world has to offer in the Hawaiian Ironman 2007. Chris McCormack, from Cronulla, South Sydney, was the 2006 champion, and he went on to become the runner up to Normann Stadler from Germany, the current Hawaiian IM champion. If you want to see the very best IM in the world competing then come to see it in Coomera Village, Gold Coast, on the 30th September, 2007. I was competing last year and did very poorly due to nutrition intake failure. I had the cramps and almost dnf, but, I did cross the finish chute ahead of almost half the field. I will be amongst the spectators this year, due to other commitments in my triathlon season schedule. You want to get some hint on Hawaiian Ironman favouritism? then come to the Coomera, GC Half IM, and see the very best in action. See you there budgie smuggler, et al!!! Tim Tufuga. ps. if you are unsure whether you have seen me in the Gold Coast half IM, or of Chris McCormack being there, then log onto http://www.usmevents.com.au and see who is on the acceptance list as well as past results. Pictures simply go to Gold Coast Half Ironman Triathlon archives on http://www.sportingimages.com.au If you are still in denial then there is Noosa Triathlon in a month's time where you can see some of us appearing. I'll be there!!!! while you're on the internet, make sure that you look up the Hawaiian Ironman results from 2006, and you will notice some familiar names from the Gold Coast half IM listed there as well. So lets jiggy with it now!! |
Tag: Gold, coast, half, Ironman, 2007, by, timtufuga | 50 Views | Add Comments |
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OK it is earlier than usual but it is Magpie season once again and Cyclists beware. The following areas is Magpie zones. Crestmead Park, Crestmead. Third Avenue, Marsden. Second Avenue, Marsden. Kingston Road, just past the Paradise Road T-junction. Logan Central. Castile Crescent, Edens Landing. Beenleigh cemetery, bar be cue area, Eagleby. Beaudesert Road, Compton Rd, just past the Calamvale Hotel. So road cyclists within these areas be well aware, this is an early season for some vicious Maggies baying for cyclist blood. Cheers Tim Tufuga your sympathetic road user on a pushy. |
Tag: Logan, city, Magpie, season, attack, Areas, 2007, by, timtufuga | 65 Views | Add Comments |
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| Samoa rugby Tim Tufuga’s perspective. Current mood: bouncy Category: Sports OK, I have heard about the Tongan Samoa game and realise that even thrteen players could outplay Samoans. It is good to see that the Tongans can keep the Samoans on their toes. It is the first time the Samoans and Tongans have ever clashed in a world cup encounter and it was the first time Samoa has lost a game in seven years to Tonga this is according to the report I read. However, I heard that the Tongans have beaten the Samoans much more recently than in 2000. But, I might be mistaken, one thing is for certain is that Samoa has been responsible for their own misfortune during the 2007 world cup. South Pacific Rugby is looking very healthy indeed. The Fijians are up against a more formidable opponent through the Wallabies and we will see the razzle dazzle from the bullocking Tongan Palu, the formidible Fijian George Smith and Lote Toquiri showing some more Pacific Islander magic with the oval ball. The Samoans will front up once again aginst the Scottish side in white uniform so that you can distinguish them in your black and white tv sets in yulkal redneck land. I mean the Samoans in the All Blacks but wearing white unifroms, you know the seven of the ABs who would have been wearing the Samoan blue if they weren't wooed by the lure of contractual money and higher quality of life in NZ playing in the NPC etc. The Samoans would have been much more formidible if So'oialo, Jerry Collins, Mealamu, Mils Muliania, Chris Masoe, etc etc etc were not contracted to the ABs and their NPC teams in NZ type story. You know bro!!! So the rest of the world watches on and scoff at the Samoans as they get thumped from pillar to post from the South Africans, Wallabies, the Poms, the Scots, Welsh, the French and Irish, until the see the same variety, the brown skinned Samoans, doing the Maori warcry, and stomping meancingly at their national jersies as they cross over the tryline and claim yet another AB victory for NZ and not for their respective South Pacific nations. Samoa and Tonga are very small nations, they have populations of 180,000 and 130,000 respectively, of which 90% of the male popualtion play rugby union or rugby league at some time in their lives. The 10% left over play soccer and the rest of the leftover sporting interests. Yes, they are very small nations. It is clear then why it is in the interets of South Pacific Nations to impress the rest of the world in what seems to come natural to them, contact sport. Rugby union and rugby league is truly a natural sport for Pacific Islander warriors. If the boxing from the south Pacific games is any indication of thie bellicose spirit of the Samoans then the gold medals in all weight divisions seem to be indicative of the respect the other Pacific Islanders have for the Samoans. The Tongans only claimed four gold medals to Samoa's 43 most came from weight lifting and, yes, boxing! Yes, not only David Tua is good at boxing there is a legion of boxing fanatics amongst the Samoans, it is a national obsession, second only to rugby. It is true they laugh at martial arts except they do respect kickboxing. As Ray Sefo former K1 super heavyweight world champion would attest to this respect. Then there is Mighty Mo and Mark Hunt which make the world realise what a nation full of real life warriors are made of. The local police service officers would have a field day with potential assault charges for these Pacific Islander natural fighters. It always happens it is in the genes bro! Scary stuff I know but you do like them doing the big hits in rugby and throwing those massive hooks to the temples that puts many opponents to sleep in the ring. It is just not fun when it happens in the car park, and in the pub, thats all, right?!! Then it is a 'crim for life' type thing, and all of a sudden no one wants to know you because you're a THUG! No going up to face the rugby league tribunal for this one, matey, it is straight to the magistrate, or district court, and a prison sentence and time to reflect and amend your offending behaviour in prison, no one week suspension from playing for striking an opponent matey, its crim for life with a crim record forever Bro!!! It gets like that in the funny world of justice. It is what is suitable for society to accept violence and infringements such as violence on the paddock, but, in another world it is abhored and criminally culpable. It is strange seeing handcuffs on a striking charge for a bloke who strikes a bloke on the street and when he would say I saw it on rugby sir and they got a session in the tribunal for it sir! One weeks suspension for striking was what he copped, sir! What is this? one year in the pen with an assault conviction recorded for striking a bloke who provoked me, sir? Thats strange sir?!! Who do you follow in the NRL, your worship? You haven't been watching any of it ever?!!! So this anecdotal story is not unusual but it happens and every one in the pen who has copped something quite severe similar to what has been legitimised on contact sports will attest to the double standards of people's perception to violence in society. Some cultures throughout the world thrive on this warriorlike conditioning process and the Samoans are certainly not an exception, the New Zealand Maori are proud of this warlike tradition and would be ashamed if they were considered remotely pacified by white rulers or any other cultural group period. The world of rugby is a world of legitimised violence within a controlled environment, it has accepted the right for a soccer player, bored with simply kicking the pill around, to pick it up and run with it forcing all others to try and stop him by tackling him as he would run to the opposition goal post and place the ball within the net. The fact that the physical contact of tackling made rugby a contact sport, but, more so, because it was what made the sport interestingly primordially predatory and violently pleasing. Rugby is suitable to all cultures who have the same acceptance of legitimised levels of violence within a controlled environment similar to the rules of pugilism. It will be innate within man to be instinctively physical and so contact sport has been created to vent out this violence within us all. He who is more desperate and much more hungrier to overwhelm their adversary will win. The world of global commercial interests in sport, on the other hand, will consider the more connivance aspect of money and sport. Certainly, for small economies such as the South Pacific nations, their vested economic interests wrests in their globally defined assets in these modern day warriors. The fact that they are diefied in their respective island nations would be pale in significance to the commercial lure of these warriors, as assets on contract, in Japan, Italy or elsewhere in Europe, within the NPC, in NZ; and, if they are viable enough, within Qld, ACT, and NSW rugby club and state contractual arrangements. Not ot mention the commercial lure of rugby fraternity networking in potential and nascent rugby nations in europe such as Portugal, Spain and the the big appeal to Germany and Russian rugby development, which has been very unpopular still. The Pacific Islanders have been wary of their reputation as rugby players and have considered that rugby needs to have much more economic viable lures that could emulate the dizzing heights of FIFA in soccer. It is important to have a reputation but it is important also to consider the right formula of attracting more nations into the sport of rugby. Perhaps the right formula would come through the 'Mano a Mano' physical Machismo reputation and lure that Soccer lacks which may tempt the fate of Europeans and other Latin Americans, apart from Argentina, and Uruguay, who are well learned in Machismo culture of rugby. Rugby will never fade in the South Pacific this is a fact what it needs to do is to thrive and flourish elsewhere so it is in this instance will Pacific Islander concede to the needs for commerce and promotion of their sport in places where it is least noticeable in soccer mad nations. So enjoy the rest of the non-soccer world cup of rugby, it is what we, the machismo, but not so numerous or wealthy Pacific Islanders respect and enjoy like sado-masochists but would like to give a positive impression of the sport to the less attuned audiences out there. The internet is one outlet to spread the word. Wow, I might just consider that hmmmm? What if???!!!! Ia soifua Tim Tufuga. |
Tag: Samoa, AND, tongan, rugby, the, big, picture, by, timtufuga | 67 Views | Add Comments |
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| The APEC summit has been and gone with very little to show for it in terms of real political economic trade agreement, apart from Australia increasing uranium contractual exports to Russia and China, and a token consideration on an innovative emission trade agreement, and adjunct to a quasi-Kyoto agreement. Then, the Prime Minister of Australia with his henchmen in tow the minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer, and the Deputy Prime Minister Peter Costello, were the triumvarite public hosts for the 2007, APEC summit held in Sydney, Australia.The world leaders converged into Sydney, Australia, and whilst channel surfing on SBS channel, Australia was on all SBS world news broadcasts, where subtitles captions in exotic languages accompanied Australian political leaders speeches shaking hands and signing documents before the global media.Meanwhile, the Australian political opposition were given their share of the political spotlight with the impressive polyglot elocutional skills of the Labout Party leader impressing the Chinese President, and others, with his Mandarin. Meanwhile, the Australian Prime Minister looked on like the uncultured Australian awaiting the translation from a Chinese interpreter over his earphones. It was an impressive political PR for the opposition.On the more pressing issues adjunctly discussed was the insipid Iraq-Afghanistan resolution quagmire, which was animatedly postered, in seemingly dismissive and detractable worn out and cliched statements by the US President, ensuring the laity, that the 'staying the cause' obstinence remains as much a NEO-CON tradition that would embellish the foreign policy designs for the present Republic Administration until a democratic President steps into the Oval Office in a quasi-President Ford de ja vue for 'bringing back the troops' policy.The consideration of the Iraq exit strategy consideration, amongst other contingencies being considered, was the Baker-Hamilton exit strategy, which has been discussed openly by the Australia leader for the opposition Kevin Rudd. This would be aired on ABC in the 730 report whilst the APEC Summit world leaders were behind closed doors brokering a deal for the revitalisation of the joint intelligence organisation members and to be wary of other APEC mates not involved in the miltary and defence alliance considerations, the most obvious excluded members were the Chinese, and Russian world leaders. Still, the most important deal that would diminish the anti-Russian and anti-Chinese stance would obviously be prominent with the $35 billion dollar contract secured by the handshake and a ratified deal by the Chinese President Hu and the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, for Australian U235 yellow cake, destined for Russian and Chinese power reactors and other nuclear programmes.Finally, the overreaction policy by the $127 million dollar security blanket around the APEC summit, in Sydney, signalled the end of public trust and the ascendency of the totalitarian police and law enforcement measures so as to ensure the protection and security of the APEC world leaders. This was nececessary so as to avoid the potential terrorists from doing harm.This also signalled the fear and overt xenophobia for strangers which has emphasised the sociological and pyschological victory for the ultra paranoid amongst us and the legitimisation for over-reactionary responses from the ultra right elements through out society to ascend the political and social mainstream of western liberal democracies, the purported free world, at the expense of the nice, hospitable, friendly and trusting people.The touching of flesh exercise and the intimacy by political world leaders would be considered as the be all and end all objective for the APEC summit like any other organised political and economic gathering, whereby world leaders would converge and to get to feel the atmospheric realm of human contact, and giving the human side, it is hoped? and humanity aspect, from the most powerful individuals in the world. This has been achieved as well for one year until they do it all over again in the next APEC forum and then it is repeated in other world forum, ie WTO, NAFTA, ASEAN, World Economic Forum, SPF, OPEC, etc. No doubt the political groupies will follow, the usual rabble rousers, GreenPeace, Socialists, Anarchists, etc, to give the world leaders their loyal hangers on groupies, like veritable rock stars and the enforcement agencies their reason for being paid by the taxpayers. Ia manuia tatou Tim Tufuga |
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