Laure Manaudou - Internet Star Swimmer Beats Her Own World Record At French Short Course Nationals

Remember Laure Manaudou, who famously quit this year's Summer Olympics because of the stress of making a comeback after the tripple story of the breakup with Luca Martin, her boyfriend who may have posted nude photos of her on the Internet, then the appearance of Martin at the Olympics with Italian swimming star Frederica Pellegrini, and the added need to break the World records she set in 2006, has broke her record in the women's 50 backstroke at the French Short Course Nationals, posting a time of 27:30, which just shaved her previous time of 27:46, a meet record set in 2006.

This is a sort of comeback for Manaudou, as her Olympic trip was a total disaster. Here's my video explaining what happened:

Laure Manaudou v. Federica Pellegrini - Laure Manaudou Skips Finals

The latest twist in the Laure Manaudou v. Federica Pellegrini 2008 Olympics story is that Laure did not compete in the Wednesday finals of the 200 meter. It was kept in relative silence, but Manaudor had said she was thinking of quitting the day before.



Personally I feel sorry for Laure because she was in the perfect position to make a dramatic comeback on the World stage, and yet she gave up. Plus, in doing so, she allowed her nemesis Federica Pellegrini to win -- which she did -- and take the spotlight.

I hope we've not heard the last of Laure.

Click For Video Of The Story here.

Laure Manaudou Failed to Qualify for 200 Metres Freestyle for Beijing

Laure Manaudou Failed to Qualify for 200 Metres Freestyle for Beijing

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO HERE

Laure Manaudou's naked photo scandal placed her squarely in the focus of the World last year. Now, with the Olympics in Beijing upon us and the related Torch protests, what she does is of even greater importance in the Zeitgeist.

Thus, her failure to Qualify for the 200 Metres Freestyle for the Beijing Olympics.

Did this happen due to her scandal with Luca Martin, the Italian swimmer? Or was it the media attention? Whatever the case, Laure Manaudou finds herself with an uphill climb and a new problem to deal with: getting into the Olympics.

Laure Manaudou's Website Down - Nude Photos Still A Hot Topic

I can't understand why Laure Manaudou's nude photos are so popular, but they are, and the issue has stayed "hot" for several weeks now. Acccording to this blog, the website was placed offline because "she had outdated information (still pictures of her and her italian boyfriend, and the whole thing wasn’t updated since november 2006) and her blog is getting lots of comments that her lawyer or herself probably doesn’t want others to see."

As to who placed the pictures, that question remains unanswered.

First Noelia, Then Laure Manadou's Nude Photos, Now Chua Soi Lek Sex Tape Scandal - He Says It's Him

Wow. I'm wondering what the whole Sex Tape/ Photo scandal craze is about! First we have Noelia , then Laure Manadou's Nude Photos , and now Chua Soi Lek's sex tape scandal. I'm wondering if Ron Paul's got one out there, considering his Internet following. But today we have Chua Soi Lek.

Who?

Chua Soi Lek is the Malaysia’s Minister of Health, and according to the New York Times, Lek has a racy tape that has been sold on the streets of Malaysia and is now in the Internet -- no link here.

According to the Times,

It seems the ministerial sex romp in question was captured on tape — from four different angles — and then edited into not one but two full-length DVDs, which were peddled on streetcorners and even seemed to reach some people as junk mail, according to the New Straits Times, a major Malay daily controlled by the ruling party.

As you might guess, the tapes have produced one helluva political scandal, which Malaysian officials initially addressed with several creative versions of “no comment.”

So I checked the newspaper "New Straights Times and found...

"Johor police chief Datuk Hussin Ismail said police were investigating the matter under Section 292 of the Penal Code for distribution of obscene materials.

The discs were reportedly dropped into the postboxes of selected houses and shops in Muar and Batu Pahat. Residents found the discs on Sunday morning.
The name of the minister involved is said to have been written on the DVD cover.

"We have reason to suspect that the discs contain pornographic material and, as such, it is an offence to either possess or distribute them," Hussin said.

Those found guilty under Section 292 may face a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.

Seems like he did this and was set up as the distributor of the tape. I know a politician understanding the law against distribution of obsence material in that country would not then do that. Makes no logic.

And now, Dr. Lek has admitted to being the man in the tapes. His wife -- poor lady -- has stated she would stand by her man.

Sports Business Simulations Turns Five Years Old

In 2002, a former aide to The Mayor of Oakland met the head of the University of San Francisco Sport Management department to discuss stadium financing, and the need for a new stadium for the Oakland Baseball. In that meeting, USF Professor Dr. Dan Rascher, PhD, took note of Zenophon "Zennie" Abraham’s web-based simulation game The XFL Simworld, and said "I need that for my class."

When Mr. Abraham finished his second simulator in late October 2002, the Oakland Baseball Simworld, he met again with Mr. Rascher, and Sports Business Simulations (SBS) was born. On January 24th of 2003, SBS became a Delaware Corporation, with seed capital, and based in Oakland.

Now, SBS is about to turn five-years-old.

SBS is the first company who's products are built around the Forio Macro Language (FML) programming language developed by San Francisco-based Forio Business Simulations. "Forio's partners, Michael Bean and Will Glass have been our friends and advisers over the last five years," said Zenophon "Zennie" Abraham, SBS's Co-Founder and CEO.

Abraham says that SBS is an entity unique to the San Francisco Bay Area. "I mean only here can one easily meet people who have the resources, talent, and skill to start an online business like this. The Bay Area culture made SBS possible."

Sports Business Simulation's charge is to build online business Simulations of sports teams and leagues for use in the classroom. For just $15, a student has unlimited use of SBS' simulators for an entire class semester or quarter. SBS products are not designed to replace textbooks, they are developed to enhance the classroom experience.

SBS has two simulators: the XFL Simworld and the Oakland Baseball Simworld, but has plans to add a new simulator based around the fitness industry in one month.

The SBS website itself has expanded dramatically during its five years of growth. In 2003, there were just the simulations. Now, the "sims" as they're called are joined by a network of over 40 blogs, over 100 message boards, a Facebook-style social network, video shows, and pages with links to the offerings of affilate partners, like StubHub.com," said Abraham.

SBS now has an online marketing division because Abraham said too many of his friends wanted articles and videos for their business. "It got so bad I started what we call "SBS-ON" at http://sbson.com. We now have clients in the transportation and real estate industries and are looking to expand. It actually helps us promote our sims."

The SBS sims have been used by many high schools and colleges in America. The Oakland Baseball Simworld has been the focus of numerous academic papers. "What's happened over five years is that the Oakland Sim has developed a kind of cult following. It's a complex online game with over 100 decisions and asks one to run a numerical copy of the behavior of the Oakland Athletics Baseball Organization. It's kind of a sports business fantasy game."


For more information:

510-387-9809
http://www.sportsbusinesssims.com

Zed Shaw Lets Loose On New Year's Eve - Programmers Need A Union

Zed Shaw's a person not know to the general public, but is considered a star in the programming community. Zed's the creator of a kind of server called Mongrel that hosts Ruby applications. But his extensive development experience and advanced-for-a-programmer-age, combined with what seems to be a long string of experiences with bad men have caused him to let loose with a rant that would please Ron Paul and give Laure Manadou nude photo seekers a reason to turn their heads for a day.

Zed's website contains a blistering account of communications with other program managers and developers that left me howing. By design, it's not made a lot of people happy. Take this commenter over at Ruby Inside:

I don't mind a good rant, but this is way over the top.

He's done well for the Ruby community and for that I have a lot of respect for the guy.

Granted all in that post were wrong.

First off, if he thinks he is moving to a different language and going to command anywhere near the same respect that he had a few days ago, then he's got a fucking huge mountain to climb. No one is going to look at that post and say "he's not a backstabber, our community is fine."

Secondly, His complaints are more with Rails than Ruby and to quit a whole scene because of one framework is ridiculous. There are others around. If he doesn't like the way DHH codes Rails, easily he could just port to Merb. Secondly, the public-facing people of a scene does not equal the quality of a product in itself. He did mention it but mostly it was "fuck it, i'm leaving, this community sucks because everyone else is at fault and I've had too many bad experiences with it.'

He also seems to be very immature. All the way he threatens with violence to the point you wonder if he's truly grown up. He was even a protagonist in the IRC chat. Granted he didn't get what he deserved, but he didn't exactly act numinous.

Or this:

The guy's not doing himself any favors with his rant; he comes off sounding like a narcissistic psycho. He may be smart [although really, how hard is it to build a web server that's faster than WeBrick? It's like building a sort function that's faster than bubblesort] ... but face it, the software field is chock full of smart loners who can't get along with others. Despite the evidence he musters up against a host of other people, he's the one I'd be backing away the quickest from.

I'm not sure if this is going to help Zed's chances at future employment, but it could make him a star in the entertainment community. But his rant is a good view at how terribly screwed up the programming culture is.

In reading the comments, what many -- and I mean many people -- are missing is that this is a person who's been treated terribly in his pocketbook. Doing work and not getting paid for it, and being "effectively homeless for six months" as he put it would upset anyone.

But it shed light on just how the younger generations of people, or at least the tech people, don't pay attention to politics and by not starting a union of any kind have allowed this terrible "slave climate" to develop and fester.

I think Zed's rant's good for bring attention to the cultural issues that the industry faces, but I'm not certain it will spark real change at all. But I'm waiting for his follow-up. Maybe that will be the prod that gets things going.

Miley Cyrus Kissing Photos Latest Internet Voyeur Craze

As we close out 2007. we do so with this report on singer Miley Cyrus, who has photos of her being friendly with her female friend. To that, I say, so what.

I mean it is really nothing to get excited about in my view. I just can't see what all the fuss is about. Can you? I think too many Laure Manadou posts have left me chilled.

You can go over to Perez Hilton's website to see the picts, but to me the photo I have here is much better and plus, she's a teenager! Geez, people. What's wrong with you???

Laure Manaudou Nude Photos Scandal Still Tops Technorati List

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO HERE

After over a week, the Laure Manadou Nude Photos scandal continues to rank as the number one search on Technorati and has captured the conversation of sports journalists around the World.



Meanwhile, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the swimmer has barely eaten or slept since the posting of the photos. Plus, she now points the finger at Luca Martin, who has denied responsibility for putting them up for view online. But you woud think she'd know who took the photos as the person was aiming the camera while she was posing!



Without the scandal, Manadou is under a level of pressure not known to swimmers in the U.S. It seems as if every part of her life is under a microscope. Take this translated account:



In one season when are frays sporting life and private life for better and for worse, Laure Manaudou decided to keep it… worse. During a maintenance diffused Sunday December 23 on Stage 2, the champion it even qualified her year of catastrophic. For its last competition of the season (Interclubs of Montpellier) it appeared tired carrying out average times. She has also to undergo the pressure of the photographers, obliging it to cover her head with a towel when she had patience at the edge of the basin. ANTOINE BOURIAT/DSS



Stll, it seems that even after over a week, there's still considerable hunger for her image. The reasons for this are worth careful study.

"Leave Laure Manaudou Alone" A YouTube Video Plea From chauffeurdebuzz

This YouTubeer issues a plea in French and dressed in drag for the World to leave Laure Manaudou alone:



But not to be outdone, we have Chris Croker getting into the act..Well, someone dubbed his video:



I'm not sure the World's stopped searching for her photos. Wow.

Lakota Nation Cedes From US As We Seek Laure Manaudou Nude Photos

Yep. As most of the World, it seems, is looking for Any Laure Manaudou nude photo set it can find, and we're supporitng either Barack Obama or Ron Paul for President, the Lakota Indian Nation , which is based in the United States, has annouced that it's quitting America and establishing its own nation. Before you laugh, remember that long ago Indian tribes established treaties with the U.S. Government when America was but a wee idea of a country.

Not any more.

But America's growth does not invalidate the treaties, I would think. This is a story to watch.

Lakota withdraw from treaties, declare independence from U.S.

The Lakota Sioux Indians, whose ancestors include Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from all treaties their forefathers signed with the U.S. government and have declared their independence. A delegation delivered the news to the State Department earlier this week.

Portions of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming comprise Lakota country, and the tribe says that if the federal government doesn't begin diplomatic discussions promptly, liens will be filed on property in the five-state region. Here's the news release.

"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," said Russell Means, a longtime Indian rights activist. "This is according to the laws of the United States, specifically Article 6 of the Constitution," which states that treaties are the supreme law of the land.

"It is also within the laws on treaties passed at the Vienna Convention and put into effect by the U.S. and the rest of the international community in 1980. We are legally within our rights to be free and independent," he added during a press conference yesterday in Washington.

The new country would issue its own passports and driver licenses, and living there would be tax-free, provided residents renounce their U.S. citizenship, he said, according to a report from Agence France-Presse.

The Lakota say the United States has never honored the pacts, signed with the Great Sioux Nation in 1851 and 1868 at Fort Laramie, Wyo.

"We have 33 treaties with the United States that they have not lived by. They continue to take our land, our water, our children," said Phyllis Young, who helped organize the first international conference on indigenous rights in Geneva in 1977.

Means said the "annexation" of native American land had turned the Lakota into "facsimiles of white people."

In 1974, the Lakota drafted a declaration of continuing independence. Their cause got a boost in September, when the United Nations adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Bush administration opposed the measure.

NY Times Says Obama Was "Present" In Illinois For Vote - But THREE PERCENT OF THE TIME

The NY TImes and by extension the Huff Post, are trying to make a big deal out of Barack Obama's Illinois record but seem almost silly doing so.

Out of over 3,000 votes he made, he was only present, but didn't cast a vote three percent of the time.

So where's the story?

No story.

Laure Manaudou Nude Photos Search Dominates Technorati - Six Of Top 15 Searches

The hunger to read about Laure Manadou and see her in the flesh is arguably a World-wide phenomenon. Today, six of the tope 15 searches on the blog directory Technorati are for Laure Manaudou , using tags that have her name spelled in different ways. The photo I included shows this tag breakdown.



What's interesting is that with all of this, U.S. Presidential Ron Paul is still one of the top searches, and I can't remember a day when his name as a tag has not appeared on Technorati. So he has something in common with the "French Mermaid."



As for Laure, I think her standing will continue at least until the matter of who posted the pictures is resolved.



Olympics Video Update:

Laure Manaudou Nude Photos and Video Story - Laure Manaudou Feels "Violated" But Source Of Picts Still Not Known

The unfortunate story of Laure Manaudou and the nude photos, which have been made into several kinds of videos like the one below, continues.



It's captured the attention of Europe as people from hundreds of countries have sought online content on the matter of Laure Manaudou's photos. "The French Mermaid" -- once known to a few in Europe -- is now known to manu around the World.

At first, her now ex-lover Luca Martin claimed that the apperance of the photos was not his doing, and that may be, but Canada.com has an account that would certainly seem to set the scene for that kind of behavior on his part:

Italian swimmer Luca Marin has denied putting explicit pictures of his former lover Laure Manaudou on the Internet following their spat at the European short-course swimming championships in Hungary. France's Manaudou, who took gold in the 100m backstroke and 400 metres freestyle in Debrecen, threw away a ring given to her by Marin before arguing with him in front of other swimmers and the camera in the changing rooms on Sunday.
Nude photos and a video of Manaudou have now appeared on the web.

And dontmiss.fr has this translated account:

More is known today about the big clash, which took place between Laure Manaudou and her ex-boyfriend Luca Marin this weekend in Hungary at the European Championships. This one would not have appreciated how Laure would have returned the engagement ring he had given with much love a few weeks ago ... So, Luca has burst into the call room where Laure Manaudou patientait before disputing his women's 200 meters freestyle, in the morning. "He verbally assaulted. She returned," said Patricia Quint, coach of the French national team women.

In other words, Laure Manaudou embarassed Luca Martin in front of "other swimmers" (read: friends) in the changing rooms last Sunday -- just before the photos surfaced online.

But it appears that Luca Martin may not be the only person with an axe to grind against Laure Manaudou. Look at this bio of Laure I got over at RightFielders Women Sports Celebrities:

Laure Manaudou Biography

As a biography, Laure Manaudou was born on October 9, 1986 in Villeurbanne. She has had a stellar career in swimming, which started in the 400 m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where she won the gold medal. She became a hero in her native France, as it was the first time France had ever won a gold medal in women’s swimming. Manaudou also won the silver medal in the women’s 800 m freestyle and a bronze in the women’s 100 m backstroke while at Athens as well.

During the 2005 World Aquatics Championship in Montreal, Canada, Manaudou won the women’s 400 m freestyle.

While at the 2006 European Swimming Championship in Budapest, she would win the 800 m freestyle, 400 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke, and the 200 m medley.

During the 2007 World Championship in Melbourne, she took the gold in the 400 m freestyle, silver in 800 m freestyle and 100 m backstroke, and a bronze in the 200 m medley.

She had been coached by Philippe Lucas from 2001 through 2007, and announced in May 2007 that she was leaving him to train with Lapresse Nuoto, a swim club in Turin, Italy. She did state that she would still swim for France.

In August 2007, she was kicked off Lapresse Nuoto and it was rumored that Manaudou and chief executive of LaPresse Nuoto club, Paola Penso, had a falling out. Evidently he did not like Manaudou’s attitude during training.

So it seems Paola Penso may also have a reason to spready nude photos of Laure around, but if true that opens up a new can of worms, like how did he get them?

At this point, it's hard, ir not impossble to find more information on Penso as connected with Laure, but it's not a stretch to think they had a relationship that could have gone toward the romantic. But first is first and he was a coach who considered her "difficult."

Here's what other news outlets are reporting:

Swimming star Laure Manaudou says she feels ‘violated’ by online ... Times Online, UK - 1 hour ago France rushed to defend Laure Manaudou, a swimming star and national heroine, yesterday after Italian rivals were blamed for circulating sexually explicit ...

Rocky romance means stormy waters for French swim siren AFP - 2 hours ago PARIS (AFP) — With Beijing on the horizon, she could become one of the greatest Olympic swimmers of all time but French siren Laure Manaudou spent the year ...

Laure Manaudou's heartbreak at nude photos betrayal NEWS.com.au, Australia - 14 hours ago By Amy Dale THE Beijing Olympic preparations of France's gold medallist Laure Manaudou are in disarray with the swimming beauty an emotional wreck after ...

In roles not always best suited or served Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 20 hours ago NOW we know what Laure Manaudou's buttocks look like. If you're interested you can see her naked in the shower. Mark it up as another victory for the ...

Manaudou images posted on internet NEWS.com.au, Australia - Dec 18, 2007 NUDE photos and a video of Olympic and world championship gold medallist Laure Manaudou of France have been posted on the internet. ...

Nude photos posted of swimming glamour girl The Australian, Australia - Dec 18, 2007 NUDE photos of of international swimming's glamour girl Laure Manaudou and her ex-boyfriend Italian swimmer Luca Marin, is accused of posting them. ...

French swimmer in nude pics NEWS.com.au, Australia - Dec 18, 2007 Her Italian swimmer former boyfriend Luca Marin is accused of posting video and pictures of Manaudou, who is the Olympic and world 400m world champion. ...

Former lover Marin denies trying to discredit Manaudou Guardian Unlimited, UK - Dec 18, 2007 MILAN, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Italian swimmer Luca Marin has denied putting explicit pictures of his former lover Laure Manaudou on the internet following their ...

Lillhage stuns Manaudou in 200m freestyle final Malaysia Star, Malaysia - Dec 17, 2007 DEBRECEN (Hungary): Sweden’s Josefin Lillhage scored a surprise victory over France’s Laure Manaudou in the 200m freestyle at the European short course ...

Nude photos shatter swim star Ninemsn, Australia - 10 hours ago By WWOS staff The Olympic preparations of French gold medallist Laure Manaudou have been upset by the release of explicit photos of the champion swimmer. ...

Sports Ticker The Province, Canada - 23 hours ago MOSCOW -- Russia tennis player Anna Chakvetadze escaped unharmed after several men broke into her house in Moscow Tuesday. "Five to six unknown people ...

Laure Manaudou Nude Photos - More On Unfolding Story

Laure Manadou UPDATE

CLICK TO SEE NEW OLYMPICS VIDEO HERE

My French isn't what it used to be but I'm diving into this anyway. There's more on the matter of Laure Manaudou's nude photos being spread on the Internet. Reportedly there are 20 photos now. But even more, it seems that her ex-lover Luca Marin was not the person who spread the photos. Timedfinals reports...



Clearly not meant for the general public, when news of the pictures came out all eyes immediately turned to her former beau, Italian World Champs medalist Luca Marin, as the source. This was a natural conclusion, particularly since the French and Italian gossip columns were filled with stories of Marin and Manaudou’s verbal altercation at the European Short Course Championships. Apparently the fight was about Manaudou throwing away a ring that Marin had given her.







Marin responded almost immediately to these accusations, however, and told the Gazzetta della Sport, “I have never seen these photos. I saw these images of Laure with great pain on the Italian websites. People are saying that it was me that put them up. This isn’t true…If these absurd insinuations continue I will be forced to act to preserve my reputation.”



For her part, this just turns photogs back to the photogenic Manaudou, who earlier this year expressed her exasperation with the media: "I’ve decided not to talk about my personal life anymore, it doesn’t concern journalists. I would prefer to keep silent about this point."



But with these photos, they'll just keep asking.



And what of this video? What's up with the hotel? Does anyone know enough French to translate? It's time for me to brush up big time!

Laure Manaudou Nude Photos Posted Days After She Took Gold in 400M Freestyle

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO HERE

Laure Manaudou's a 20-year-old World Class swimmer from France who's so famous she's been knighted, and who took the 400 metres freestyle in Europe last weekend. But rather than bask in the sun of a victory Laure Manaudou has to deal with how nude pictures of her surfaced on the Internet.



Personally, I think the photos are from her ex-future husband Luca Martin, who was dumped by Laure Manaudou for Friench swimmer Benjamin Stasiulis. All of the accounts are in Italian, French, and Spanish, not English, so it takes some digging to determine if this is so.



But I think so. Look, Luca's about 20 years old, so it's not like he' used to getting dumped on a regular basis over decades. He's still new to the game. So I think he's scorned and this is his way of striking back.



More on the story here.



Olympics Video Update: