Paralympics.......

Leslie said:
Things like this **** me off :bang:

Can I ask you a personal question? Do you consider yourself to have a disability? If you don't then why are you offended? If you do then I'd suggest you're probably a bit too sensitive.

There was a bit on The Last Leg with Adam Hills last night about what kind of things you can say during the Paralympics and the answer was that it has to be taken in context. Say what you want as long as you're not trying to be offensive.

When Lynton first said " "lightly disabled" (sorry if that is PC incorrect - and I have no idea as to what is low / med / high)" It was quite clear that he wasn't trying to offensive.
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If your allowed to be ****ed off then surely I'm allowed to be offended

Yes I'm disabled, I use a wheelchair. I had a car accident along time ago,

disability benefits are hard to get, to get motorbilitly allowance you have to be unable to walk anything but a few step, I'm not sure what it is but it's something like 100 yard, your mate was implying that dla is easy to get and thats not the case,
 
Alastair said:
I think the problem relates to the context within the overall post rather than the term.

The phrase "lightly disabled" was used in the context of DLA by someone who didn't understand the benefit system and in a manner that might be interpreted as being critical of disabled people entitlement to receiving state benefit. The internet is a blunt tool for expression and a genuine enquiry about the nature of disability benefits can be easily misinterpreted. Particularly at a time when a sponsor of the Paralympics is being paid by the state to remove benefits from disabled claimants.
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Thank you
 
People seem to have completely warped perspectives about the extent to which disability benefit in particular is claimed fraudulently. This is no doubt down to the 'exposure' of so called frauds by certain newspapers running undercover reports of recipients of said support doing physical jobs like putting the dustbins out and then allowing the reader to make the assumption that because they're disabled they're automatically physically impaired in a way that relates to that particular task. Of course they make no mention of what the disability is, it may well be something such as a visual impairment which would have almost no bearing on their ability to wheel bins out to the road.

Official statistics by the DWP put DLA fraud at 0.5%, compared to 1.5% of pension credit, 3.9% of carer's allowance, 3.4% jobseeker's allowance, 2.8% income support, and so on (Citation).

Hopefully we can get back on track now :thumbs:
 
I was going to add to this thread but decided to do something useful and I need to take my children out and take some cute pictures of them :thumbs:
 
Arwensarah said:
disability benefits are hard to get, to get motorbilitly allowance you have to be unable to walk anything but a few step, I'm not sure what it is but it's something like 100 yard, your mate was implying that dla is easy to get and thats not the case,
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I don't think he was implying that, I took it that he was asking the question if that was the case. The fact that he apologised if it was the wrong term surely shows that no offence was meant?

I think Alistair makes a good point thought that intent is hard to communicate on message boards so i'll get back to the sport!
 
Arwensarah said:
No your wrong, not all blue badge users get the mobility part of dla, but if you do get the higher award you automatically get it, but you can get a blue badge if you don't, you have to apply via your council or dr, depending on our loal rules, the dr will then assess your need ad if you meet the criteria then they give you a blue badge (which you have to pay for)

And as for being 'lightly disabled', the mind boggles, to be honest I think the terms really offensive
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Yes, of course you're right that you don't have to be in receipt of DLA to get a Blue Badge. I was referring to the assumption that you automatically get a blue badge when you get DLA and I was trying to say that it's only the case if you get the higher mobility rate. I probably could hae worded it better.

As for the term "lightly disabled" being offensve, I really can't see how it could be, especially in the context of Lynton's post and, for the record, I'm also disabled.

Anyway, this thread is supposed to be about the paralympics and not about disability benefits so I think we should allowe it to drift back on topic now. :thumbs:
 
hey chill pills guys - I in no way meant to be offensive..... as I mentioned not intended to be un PC.

OK lets go back to the swimming. Someone with a single below elbow amputation I would call "lightly disabled" but disabled none the less compared to say someone with one arm and one leg, or 2 legs no arms, 2 arms no legs...and yes I know they Yes all are obviously pretty inconvenient for varying reasons but to different degrees.

For info, before I posted that comment I looked at the direct.gov website and it quotes lowest middle and higher rates. I can easily interpret that as light, medium and severe... :thinking:

Some people seem to be just looking for a spat... :shrug:
 
Oh and for info - the example I used , was a colleague I used to work with....

She alledgedly had severe arthritis in her feet to the extent of operations, (and before you start on me doubting her disability read the whole post) and had the motorbility car and the blue badge, yet went on walking holidays in the Pyrenees. Work that one out!

However, it seems we are a huge way off topic now....
 
come back to the games, all i can say is inspiring, and last nights Basketball was one of the most entertaining pieces of sport i have seen on the box for a long time
 
lizzy23 said:
come back to the games, all i can say is inspiring, and last nights Basketball was one of the most entertaining pieces of sport i have seen on the box for a long time
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yes... was a fantastic game... I would struggle to hit the hoop from 5 ft standing....
 
Lynton said:
yes... was a fantastic game... I would struggle to hit the hoop from 5 ft standing....
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Me neither, and here we go again:D:D:D:D
 
Ozei said:
I thought C4's commentary team did a far better job in last night's ceremony than the Beeb's lot did on July 27th. There was no endless wittering from C4 - they knew when to shut up and let the pics & sound do all the talking.
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:plusone:

The BBC was woeful, as I posted at the time Huge Edwards can read the news from a TelePrompTer, but live he hasn't got a clue.
 
I don't like able-bodied basketball , but wheelchair is just fantastic to watch.

Hannah Cockcroft, WOW what a win, and she just lights up the stadium and TV with her enthusiasm, and personality.
 
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Damn those Canadians form Canadia. (Intentional) Though to be fair we were outclasse...

Watching "the last leg" - interesting to see some of the questions being asked via twitter, and the responses from the paralympians.... they seem to be quite happy to make light of their various disabilities.

Good luck to them all.
 
acetone said:
..... Huge Edwards can read the news from a TelePrompTer, but live he hasn't got a clue.
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God knows why they keep using him for major live events - he's got no sense of timing at all. He ruined the Olympics opening ceremony for me, especially the more subtle parts where the music* and sheer spectacle spoke volumes on their own.

(* e.g. this piece of magic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mec8GZkEpD4).
 
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It's a slight side note but is there a DVD or anything being released of the opening ceremony? I'd love something to look back on in years time and being reminded of these few weeks.
 
Had a cracking day at the Paralympics yesterday.. if anyone is going with a Day Pass like we did, make sure you see a little of everything.. there are some unusual sports, but they're all being played very competively. Goalball is definitely something a little different.. bulldog meets zen.

Check the session start times, sometimes an event says "no day passes" because they're cleaning/preparing between sessions, sometimes it's because the venue is full.. but sometimes it's preemptive crowd control and there are still seats. Arriving at a venue just before a session opens whilst it's still showing "no day passes" can get you in as soon as it does open. A friendly volunteer gave us that tip.
 
just been watching some of the tandem cycling.

Surely a lot of the success or failure is due to the pilot as opposed to the paralympian?
 
neil_g said:
youve never ridden a tandem then.. it takes a fair bit of teamwork..
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Never said it didn't, but given the size differential of the pilot and the guy at the back, i was just questioning whether a 50:50 effort in terms of power....

that is all
 
Lynton said:
Never said it didn't, but given the size differential of the pilot and the guy at the back, i was just questioning whether a 50:50 effort in terms of power....

that is all
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So you've never heard the saying "Your only as strong as the weakest link"



The BBC Sport Personality Of The Year is not going to be a cut and dry as many would have thought, with the prominence the paras are getting in the media there are going to be a few more names in the hat than normal. Ellie Simmonds is going to be hard to beat for anyone who saw her 400m swim, Hannah Cockcroft, Richard Whitehead and David Weir could easily be multi gold medalist, and there'll be a few more name that we'll all get to know over the next week or so.
 
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acetone said:
So you've never heard the saying "Your only as strong as the weakest link"
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many a time

neil_g said:
the front and rear chainrings are linked, if you have a differential in power on the front and rear cranks it will impead progress :)
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would it, if the guy at front was so strong, he was effectively pulling the other guys legs around on the pedals as well? :shrug:

I have no idea and not insinuating anything - was just surprised at the difference in physical size...
 
acetone said:
The BBC Sport Personality Of The Year is not going to be a cut and dry as many would have thought, with the prominence the paras are getting in the media there are going to be a few more names in the hat than normal. Ellie Simmonds is going to be hard to beat for anyone who saw her 400m swim, Hannah Cockcroft, Richard Whitehead and David Weir could easily be multi gold medalist, and there'll be a few more name that we'll all get to know over the next week or so.
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Could it finally be the case that this outdated reward can now be retired?

Give a final team award to the entire Olympic and Paralympic teams combined and then shelve the whole thing. It's always been a poodle contest.
 
Lynton said:
many a time

would it, if the guy at front was so strong, he was effectively pulling the other guys legs around on the pedals as well? :shrug:

I have no idea and not insinuating anything - was just surprised at the difference in physical size...
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If one person isnt putting in the same effort you'll feel it, you'll have extra resistance.
 
Old Oscar's grapes were a bit sour. He is entitled to longer blades but chose not to...
 
interestingly, just been looking it up, Oscar's semi final time would have got gold.. Oscar 46 strides, The Brazilian 49, so we can rule out stride length..

Sometimes, you are just not quick enough...

Mind you, doubt I could do 100 in that time!
 
forget Oscar last night, race of the night last night was David Weir, very exciting
 
Seems to be a few spats ... cycling, running!
 
Oscar knew exactly what he was doing last night. He knew that by airing his grievances straight after the race that it would get plenty of coverage and guess what? It worked.

The performances everyone should be talking about are Alan Oliviera in beating Oscar and David Weir's win in the 5k. What a great night of athletics.
 
Quick heads up guys, tomorrow Alex Zanardi will be competing in the handbike event, Alex is an absolute legend in motorracing being an ex f1 driver an IndyCar champion. He lost both his legs and the majority of his blood in a massive Indycar crash in 2001.

He's a hero of mine and I wholeheartedly recommend his autobiography.
 
whitewash said:
Quick heads up guys, tomorrow Alex Zanardi will be competing in the handbike event, Alex is an absolute legend in motorracing being an ex f1 driver an IndyCar champion. He lost both his legs and the majority of his blood in a massive Indycar crash in 2001.

He's a hero of mine and I wholeheartedly recommend his autobiography.
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When I heard that he was planning to compete this year was actually thinking about heading down to watch, couldn't get time off though. Remember watching that race and thought that was it, amzing he not only survived but has come back and won races.
 
Does anyone know if you can watch past events online (like you could with the Olympics)? Been on the page and I can find schedule and results but not video? I know all events are being filmed and only a few shown on TV so where can we see the rest?
 
Lynton said:
Watching "the last leg" - interesting to see some of the questions being asked via twitter, and the responses from the paralympians.... they seem to be quite happy to make light of their various disabilities.

Good luck to them all.
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When Jimmy Carr made the joke about the plus side of the injuries sustained by soldiers in the Middle East being we'd have a strong paralympic team, the only people that weren't calling for his head to roll were the injured soldiers!

By all accounts they found it amusing and fully agreed with him!

It's like a lot of things, people find comments about race/ability/religion offensive on behalf of those who might be affected ;)
 
I see Alessandro Zanardi (very well known to us motor-racing fans) has won a gold. The guy is a total inspiration.
 
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