From: evansg@uproar.enet.dec.com (Gwyn Evans @ IME)
Subject: VNS: Thu 23-Jul-1992
Organization: Digital Equipment Service Industries Solutions Company Ltd
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 14:32:40 GMT


Sorry about the delay but it didn't get to me 'till just now

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2625             Thursday 23-Jul-1992            Circulation :  7856

        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................   46 Lines
        VNS UK SPORTS REPORT ..............................  182   "


VNS MAIN NEWS:                                    [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                    [Reading, England           ]

    Here is the News at 07:00 BST on Thursday 23-July-1992
    ------------------------------------------------------
        
    UK News
    -------
    FT-SE = 2387.9
    Exchange Rate for UK pound = $ 1.9025  = Dm 2.8310

    The Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, flew to New York yesterday to meet
    with the UN Secretary General, Mr Boutros-Ghani to assure him that the
    EC will cooperate more closely with the UN in seeking to end the
    fighting in Yugoslavia.

    The Cabinet yesterday decided not to change public spending controls.
    Labour say this will force the government to go back on election
    promises.

    There were again disturbances last night in towns in the north west. In
    Burnley groups of youths clashed with police while in Blackburn there
    were clashes between rival groups of asian youths.

    European News
    -------------

    A survey by the Consumers Association says that 1 in 3 cars hired at
    mediterrean resorts are not safe to be on the road. The chief culprits
    are those cars hired from local firms.

    World News
    ----------

    A jury in New York has awarded damages of over $9M to the family of a
    businessman who was killed when Pan Am flight 101 was bombed over
    Lockerbie.

    There are reports that one of the main Columbian drug barons has escaped
    from prison in Columbia.


    {News courtesy of the BBC}


    Local Weather
    -------------

    A bright start but possiblity of showers later. High 24C/75F. 


VNS UK SPORTS REPORT:                            [Ken Merrick, VNS Sports Desk]
=====================                            [Valbonne, France            ]

||| CYCLING
    Tour of France
    17th stage, La Bourboule - Montlucon

    1. Jean Claude Colotti  4h 34' 55"
    2. Frans Maassen        +3'31"
    3. Marc Sergeant        +3'31"

    Overall
    1. Miguel Inurain       84h 49' 10"
    2. Claudio Chiappucci   +    1' 42"
    3. Andy Hampsten        +    8' 07"

||| MOTOR SPORT
    Didier Auriol (Lancia) had a 5second lead over Carlos Sainz after the first
    stage of the Argentina Rally.

||| OLYMPICS
    Paul Ahlgren looks back at past olympics and presents his Olympic Preview.

	It starts this weekend, the biggest most spectacular show on Earth.
	Not any show in Las Vegas, but the 25th summer olympics of the
	modern era. But the olympics goes all the way back to ancient
	Greece. They started in 776 B.C in the town Olympia (Home of
	the Gods), and the spectators complained about the seating, prices
	and the flies (nothing much has happened since, right?). The
	Olympics ran for about a thousand years, before the Romans
	finally did away with them in 393 A.D.

	It took a little more than 15 centuries until the next olympics
	were to be held. In 1896 Athens hosted the first olympics of the
	modern era. Baron Pierre de Coubertin's ideal were "The important
	thing is not to win, but to participate", maybe something to
	embrace for today's athletes. Thirteen nations attended and
	the american James Connolly wins the triple jump and becomes the
	first olympic champion of the modern era.

	The next two olympics are held as parts of exhibitions held in 
	the host cities, and are both close to fiascos. In St Louis in
	1904 the competition was held during a period of several months
	and Paris 1900 should maybe only be remembered for the fact the
	women participated for the first time.

	The next olympiad in London is mostly remembered for the marathon
	where Pietri of Italy collapses repeatedly near the marathon finish
	ans is carried across the line by officials. He is declared the
	winner but is disqualified after an american protest.

	The first successful olympics is the one held in Stockholm in
	1912. Jim Thorpe wins the decathlon and pentathlon and is declared
	the world's greatest athlete. In 1913, Thorpe is stripped of his 
	medals for professionalism in one of Olympic movements most dark
	moments. It will take 70 years before he is reinstated as a 
	champion (many years after his death). In 6th place in the
	pentathlon is Avery Brundage, who will later become an IOC 
	president. In 5th place in the modern pentathlon, we find an
	American lieutenant named George Patton, his worst score in the
	five-sport event is shooting.

	After an eight-year break for World War I, the next olympic takes
	place in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920. The Games most memorable moments
	maybe the debut of running great Paavo Nurmi, the "Flying Finn."

	In 1924 Paris is once again host of the olympics and this time
	delivers a well-attended olympics. Paavo Nurmi is the dominant,
	setting Olympic records at 1500 and 5000 meters even though the 
	races being only an hour apart.

	In Amsterdam in 1928, women joins the track and field program for
	the first time. The swimming is dominated by Johnny Weismuller
	who will later become THE Tarzan of the Apes. In the triple jump
	Mikio Oda of Japan becomes Asia's first Olympic gold medalist.

	In Los Angeles 1932, we see the debute of the olympic village.
	Prohibition is lifted for the French team, which deems wine 
	essential to its diet.

	1936 in Berlin, the olympics becomes a festival glorifying 
	Hitler's Nazi state. The notion of Aryan supremacy is is
	destroyed however by Jesse Owens that wins no less than four
	golds in the 100m,200m,100m relay and the long jump. These games
	are the first to feature the torch relay.

	The World War II stops the olympics for twelve years until the
	next one can be held in London in 1948. Dutch track star Fanny
	Blankers-Koen captures four golds and is the Games' premier athlete.

	Helsinki hosts the 1952 olympics that marks the debute of the
	Soviet union. The running star is Czechoslovakia's Emil Zatopek,
	who wins three gold medals (5000,10000 and Marathon). His wife
	Dana wins the javelin.

	In 1956 the olympics were splitted between Stockholm, Sweden
	and Melbourne. Due to quaranteen rules the equestrian games
	were held in Stockholm while the "real" olympics were held
	in Australia. The Suez Canal crisis and the Soviet invasion of
	Hungary causes several nations to stay away in protest.

	Rome hosted the 1960 olympic which marked the entrance of TV
	as an olympic force. Wilma Rudolph wins three golds and Cassius
	Clay (Muhammed Ali) takes the light heavyweight boxing title.
	Abebe Bikila, the barefooted Ethiopian, wins the marathon.

	Asia holds its first Olympics in Tokyo 1964 and they prove a 
	coming-out party for Japan, and will be the last relatively 
	free of political bad blood.

	Mexico hosts the the 1968 olympics. Bob Beamon jumps 8.90 meters,
	a record that will stand for 23 years. Al Oerter wins his 4th
	straight discus gold. The lasting imprint is left on the American
	victory stand with black-power salutes. The IOC, who didn't care
	about the government killing hundreds of students just weeks before
	the games is outraged and orders the removal of John Carlos and
	Tommie Smith.

	Munich hosts the 1972 games that will be remembered mostly because
	of the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists during
	the games. Swimmer Mark Spitz wins 7 gold medals, Olga Korbut marks
	the start of a new era in gymnastics and Finn Lasse Virin wins two
	golds on 5000 and 10000 meters.

	In 1976 in Montrial 33 African nations walk out in protest over
	New Zealand's sports ties with South Africa. Edwin Moses wins his
	first 400 meter hurdles gold, Nadia Comaneci is the gymnastic star
	and Sugar Ray Leonard glitters as welterweight champ. Montreal
	organizers were not good at economics and the city is still paying
	for the games 16 years afterwards.

	The games in Moscow 1980 is boycotted by USA and several western
	countries in protest over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 
	The Soviet Union and East Germany captures almost two-thirds of the
	gold medals. Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson wins his third
	consecutive gold.

	The eastern countries returns the boycott in 1984. The olympic 
	games in Los Angeles are heavily dominated by the USA now when
	the east block countries are missing. Carl Lewis matches Jesse
	Owens' four gold medals. These games are also the turning point
	for the IOC, they turn into a huge profit and IOC which has always
	had a bad economy will now grow under the leadership of Samaranch
	to the most powerful sport organization in the world.

	Drugs was the lasting memory of the 1988 olympics in Seoul. Canada's
	Ben Johnson tests positive for steroids after his record-breaking 
	100 meters. He is stripped of his gold and hustled out of Seoul 
	in the biggest scandal in Olympic history. Florence Griffith 
	Joyner is dazzling in winning the 100 and 200. Diver Greg Louganis 
	and swimmer Kristin Otto (six golds) rule the pool. 

	This much for history, what will happen in Barcelona during the
	upcoming weeks? There will be 270 gold medals awarded for instance.
	East Germany and the Soviet Union is no more. The Yugoslavians
	are not allowed to compete in team sports and South Africa makes
	its' comeback in the olympics after 36 years of absence.

	Are there any sure winners in the olympics? Of course not but there
	are a few that absolutely should win gold medals. The "Dream
	Team" for instance. The best basketball team to ever assemble, the
	US team consists of players like Michael Jordan, "Magic" Johnson,
	Scott Pippen, Karl Malone, Larry Bird and the rest is as good. In
	the qualification round they won their games with an AVERAGE margin
	of 51 points. If these men don't win the gold they will probably
	have to move to another country. 

	Another sure gold winner will be Sergej Bubka from Ukraine. In my
	opinion the world's greatest athlete and the best pole vaulter ever.
	He has won almost everything that's possible to win for the last
	8 years and has jumped 10 centimeters higher than anybody else.

	I also think that Jim Courier will win the tennis tournament, that
	Stefan Edberg/Anders Jdrryd will win the doubles, that Steve
	Backley will win the Javelin, that Alexander Karelin will win a
	wrestling gold. The Kenyans will dominate the longer distances
	in the track competitions.

	Many people consider the 100 meters men competition to be the
	the highlight of the olympics, but what I look forward to is 
	the men's long jump, where the two best long jumpers ever will
	compete for the gold. Will Carl Lewis crown his career with a
	seventh olympic gold or will Mike Powers win as he did in
	Tokyo last year? Anyway, I think if the conditions are good that
	the winner will be the first man over 9 meters...


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2625    Thursday 23-Jul-1992   <><><><><><><><>
--
+======================================================================+
| Gwyn Evans  | evansg@uproar.enet.dec.com |  Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK  |
| DESISCo - Digital Equipment Service Industries Solutions Company Ltd |
|  Views expressed and statements made are mine and not those of DEC   |
+======================================================================+
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.war