UFC Legend Ronda Rousey defends Simone Biles from harsh critics 

It takes an athlete to understand the pressure felt  by another athlete and not by some petty keyboard warriors and a racist college dropout

By Edward Era Barbacena

UFC legend Ronda Rousey has jumped to the defence of Simone Biles after the gymnastics queen was forced to withdraw from the women's team final in Tokyo.

Biles - who is arguably the greatest gymnast of all-time - pulled out of the main event after her very first vault, citing mental health concerns.

The 24-year-old admits she didn't "trust herself as much" as she used to and therefore made the decision to withdraw.

Unfortunately, Biles' tough call was viciously scorned  with a barrage of vile abuse from fans who slammed her for 'turning her back on the team' and 'giving up'.

The worst among the worse In particular, is the college dropout Charlie Kirk called her a "selfish sociopath" and a "shame to the country".

Consevative activist and a college dropout Charlie Kirk

"We are raising a generation of weak people like Simone Biles," he said on his radio station as a commentator.  

Former UFC champion Rousey wasn't onboard with the idea of kicking her compatriot while she was down and immediately fired back at the harsh critics.

"Everyone judging Simone Biles doesn't know their foot from their a**hole when it comes to being in her position," Rousey wrote on Twitter.

"She's on the Olympic team while you're on Twitter. Whatever is going on cannot be grasped from outside. She's doing the absolute best she can given the situation she's in."

Others were also quick to chime in, condemning the keyboard warriors for bombarding Biles with abuse on social media.

But while some went to town on the sleuths, others took to the time to praise Biles for her brave decision - a call that could ultimately impact Biles' ambitions of equalling Larisa Latynina's all-time women's record of nine Olympic golds.

"I can't imagine the pressure Simone has been feeling," retired figure skater Adam Rippon said.

"Sending her SO much love. It easy to forget she's still human. WE LOVE YOU."

The United States quartet ended up losing the team event to the Russians, who clinched gold for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

As for Biles, she's yet to confirm whether she's officially withdrawing from the rest of the Games too.

"I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardise my health and my wellbeing," Biles said.

"I just don't trust myself as much as I used to, and I don't know if it's age. I'm a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics," she admitted.

"I feel like I'm also not having as much fun, and I know that this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself," she said, as she began to cry, and she was comforted by her teammates.

"It just sucks that it happens here at the Olympics Games. With the year that it's been, I'm really not surprised the way it played out."

Michael Andrew would not wear a mask while speaking with the media in Tokyo.

 

Unvaccinated American swimmer Michael Andrew refused to wear his mask, but USOPC says he didn't violate rules

By Edward Era Barbacena

TOKYO —  Even though Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel and every other U.S. swimmer has worn a mask while doing interviews with journalists at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, and Tokyo is in a state of emergency due to the pandemic, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has decided to allow unvaccinated swimmer Michael Andrew to not wear a mask.

Citing the Tokyo playbook of COVID-19 protocols released in June, the USOPC said that athletes can remove their masks for interviews. But every U.S. swimmer other than Andrew has worn a mask in mixed zone interviews and press conferences throughout the Olympic competition, which has gone on for seven days. 

Andrew, the highest profile unvaccinated American Olympian, refused to wear a mask in the mixed zone after finishing a disappointing fifth in the men’s 200-meter individual medley Friday morning. 

USA TODAY Sports shared the news and a photo of Andrew on Twitter soon afterward, then received this comment from the USOPC:

“Not wearing a mask is a violation of the COVID mitigation protocols put in place by both the USOPC and TOCOG (the Tokyo Olympic organizers) – protocols we have been adamant in following as a delegation. We are currently reviewing this matter with the National Governing Body and will take action as needed.”

But the USOPC reversed course several hours later, saying that while Andrew “has been reminded of the Games policy and established COVID mitigation protocols,” he is allowed to be maskless during interviews.

Swimmer Michael Andrew (USA), the highest profile unvaccinated American Olympian, refused to wear a mask in the mixed zone.

  

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, USA TODAY SPORTS

When asked by USA TODAY Sports why he was not wearing a mask like all his U.S. teammates, Andrew said, “For me it’s pretty hard to breathe in after kind of sacrificing my body in the water, so I feel like my health is a little more tied to being able to breathe than protecting what’s coming out of my mouth.”

He continued: “I think it’s great that there’s procedures, but at the end of the day, all of us here have been under quarantine and in the same testing protocol, so there’s a level of safety (that's) comfortable when we’re racing.” 

When asked again why he is the only American not masked up, Andrew, 22, said, “No reason. I’ll throw it on when I’m done here, but to speak, it’s difficult, probably people can hear me.”

In dozens of interviews in the mixed zone over the last week, American swimmers have dutifully worn their masks and been heard clearly by journalists. 

Andrew, the American record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke who has failed to win a medal in two events at these Games, said three weeks ago that he didn’t want taking the COVID-19 vaccine to interfere with his training schedule.

 

DAMAGED. This photo released by the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office shows one of 10 heavy equipment torched by New People’s Army rebels in Las Navas town on Thursday (July 29, 2021). The incident will cause delay in the construction of a new highway that will connect the towns of Jipapad in Eastern Samar and Las Navas. (Photo courtesy of NSPPO)

Communist rebels in the Philippines, the New People's Army (NPA) set construction equipments on ablaze in Las Navas, Northern Samar delaying government's road project.

All in all, a total of 10 heavy equipments worth of P32 million were torched 

By Edward Era Barbacena

The burning of heavy equipment used to build a road by the New People’s Army (NPA) is a clear indication that communist terrorist groups (CTGs) are against development in Northern Samar.

Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said on Friday that the incident derails the completion of the vital road project that forms part of a road link that will connect Northern and Eastern Samar provinces.

“The recent burning in Las Navas, Northern Samar of construction equipment used for road projects clearly shows that the NPA is anti-development and anti-people,” Diñoso told the Philippine News Agency.

On Thursday, 20 NPA members burned 10 heavy equipment in San Francisco village, owned by CDU Construction based in Catarman town.

The PHP32-million worth of equipment torched by rebels include two backhoes, a bulldozer, loader, dump truck, self-loading truck prime mover, crane, grader, welding generator set, and road roller.

“There could only be one reason for this arson. Their demand for money or more money has not been met as contractors have had enough of these terrorists' extortion. Nonetheless, the contractors will not be cowed and have pledged to not give in to terrorists' demands,” Diñoso said.

The road under construction is part of the new highway that connects the towns of Jipapad in Eastern Samar and Las Navas in Northern Samar.

Work includes the opening of 1.8 kilometers roadway, concrete paving of 2.4 kilometers carriageway, drainage canal, construction of a bridge and its approaches, and installation of road safety devices.

Las Navas, a fourth-class town in Northern Samar with a population of 36,621, has been the center of propaganda by several organizations linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA.

 

Asian-American gymnast Sunisa Lee 

Asian-American Sunisa Lee Wins the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics All-Around Gold

Her coronation came at the conclusion of three surreal days that saw the greatest ever gymnast withdraw and completely upend expectations of how the event would unfold

By Edward Era Barbacena

TOKYO - Sunisa Lee stepped into the tiny/huge footsteps of the great Simone Biles to capture the all-around title at the Tokyo Games on her Olympic debut. The 18-year-old becomes the first Hmong American to win an Olympic medal with a performance that was cheered to the rafters by friends and family back home in St. Paul, Minnesota.

U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee won a gold medal for women’s individual all-around gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.

The Brazilian Rebecca Andrade took the lead after the opening vault but a confident performance in her favorite event, the uneven bars, put Lee ahead and despite showing a few nerves on the beam she closed it out with a technically demanding floor routine starting with a double-twisting double back. Andrade, who twice landed out of bounds on the floor, took the silver with Russian Angelina Melnikova claiming bronze. It is the fifth straight American victory in the women’s all-around. Biles, who won the title in Rio, pulled out on Wednesday because of mental-health issues.

Lee, an 18-year-old Hmong-American  became the highest-qualifying U.S. gymnast for the all-around final after Simone Biles, considered by many to be the world’s greatest gymnast, dropped out of the competition this week. Biles cited mental health concerns in explaining her decision.

Lee is the fifth straight American to claim victory in the all-around Olympic final. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won silver and Angelina Melnikova of Russia took home the bronze.

With a total of 57.433 points, Lee edged out Andrade, who became the first Latin American athlete to earn a gymnastics all-around medal. Lee’s spectacular uneven bars set ― the hardest one executed in the competition so far ― secured her lead in the final, according to The Associated Press.

 

 

College dropout calls multi-medalist Simone Biles "sociopath" because of her withdrawal from the team finals in Tokyo Olympics

By Edward Barbacena

College dropout and activist conservative Charlie Kirk has launched a stinging attack on American gymnast Simone Biles after she withdrew from the women's team final at the Tokyo Olympics.

The conservative activist branded the four-time Olympic gold medalist a "sociopath" and a "shame to the country" after she withdrew from the event, citing mental health issues.

"This Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself. I came in and I felt like I was still doing it for other people," a tearful Biles told reporters.

"That just hurts my heart that doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me to please other people."

Biles has received widespread support, but Kirk, a Newsweek columnist, was unmoved by her comments.

"We are raising a generation of weak people like Simone Biles," he told listeners to his podcast The Charlie Kirk Show. "If she's got all these mental health problems: don't show up."

He continued: "She's an incredible athlete, of course she's an incredible athlete, I'm not saying that—she's probably the greatest gymnast of all time. She's also very selfish, she's immature and she's a shame to the country."

Kirk also branded Biles a sociopath over her decision.

"She's totally a sociopath," he said. "What kind of person skips the gold medal match? Who does that? It's a shame to the nation. You just gave a gift to the Russians."

Speaking about sociopath it is a term used to describe someone who has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). People with ASPD can’t understand others’ feelings. They’ll often break rules or make impulsive decisions without feeling guilty for the harm they cause.  

As we have seen the behavior of biles showing support and boosting the morale of her team mates doesn't make her an anti-social which a common trait of a sociopath.  Having an emotional breakdown doesn't make her an anti-social. We have all seen that Biles showed a profound empathy towards her team mates during the final of the team competition. 

For someone to be diagnosed as a sociopath, the subject must undergo a serious of psychological or psychiatric evaluation and a certified psychiatrist or psychologist is the only one who is trained and has the skills to tell if someone is a sociopath and not a college dropout like Kirk. He is just an activist whose beliefs are based on conspiracy theory. " HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A DEGREE!"

He continued: "If you're not ready for the big time, we've got thousands of young gymnasts that would love to take your place. Thousands. Simone Biles just showed the rest of the nation that when things get tough, you shatter into a million pieces."

Even before there were athletes in the global sports events who withdrew from the game due to a certain pressures and mental health issues and Biles was not the first one.  

Gymnast Elena Mukhina was under pressure before the 1980 Olympics and broke her neck trying to live up to that pressure. She was left a quadriplegic. 

American Julissa Gomez also became quadriplegic in 1988, pushed by coaches to add a difficult vault she wasn’t comfortable with for the Olympics. She died of complications. Gymnasts must be able to listen to their own minds and bodies.

And Kerri Strug's career ended at 19 years old following her ill fated 2nd vault try while she was injured.  Biles was protecting herself from potentially disastrous injury, and she was ensuring she didn’t hold her team back.

It is really absurd that Kirk being a radio commentator and a mere activist, slammed Biles for exiting the game and branded her as "shameful to the nation."   If he only made a thorough research about the reason why well trained athletes quits the game because of the pressures placed on their shoulders as the world watches, he'd be tactful with his opinions towards Biles. In addition, he never became an athlete competing in a major sports events, he'll never get it. "HE IS JUST A COLLEGE DROPOUT!" 

Before the Tokyo Games, Biles had won a total of 30 Olympic and world championship medals, including 23 golds—making her the most decorated American gymnast of all time.

"We're human beings, nobody is perfect. It's OK to not be OK. It's OK to go through ups and downs and emotional rollercoasters."

Since Kirk's comments, Biles has also withdrawn from the individual all-round final.

 

South Australian man indicted with murder after allegedly killing his Filipino wife

A former army officer has been charged with murder after allegedly attacking his wife in what police claim was an alleged domestic violence incident.

By Edward Era Barbacena

Husband who allegedly assaulted wife charged with murder over fatal head injuries. Anthony Ogar was arrested for alleged domestic violence has now been charged with murder after his wife succumbed to her head injuries in hospital. 

Cherry Gerente Ogar, 37, from Port Hughes. She succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday.

Cherry Gerente Ogar, 37, from Port Hughes on SA's Yorke Peninsula, was rushed to the Wallaroo Hospital on Monday and then transferred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with life-threatening head injuries.

SA Police issued a short statement yesterday afternoon, confirming she had died in hospital earlier on Wednesday.

Ms Gerente Ogar's husband, 58-year-old Antony Ogar, was arrested over the incident and charged with assault causing serious harm.

Antony Ogar, 58, is accused of murdering Cherry Ogar in Port Hughes, near Adelaide

Antony Ogar, 58, was originally charged with aggravated assault causing serious harm, but that charge has now been upgraded to murder, SA Police, said.

Mr Ogar told police his 37-year-old wife was drunk and fell backwards, the court heard during his earlier hearing, but prosecutors said his version of events was "chilling and inconsistent".

Police yesterday said that charge would likely be upgraded to murder and today confirmed that was now the case.

"He has been remanded to reappear in the Kadina Magistrates Court in 2022," police said

Mr Ogar had already appeared in court on Tuesday, where he denied the assault charge and made an application for bail, which was refused.

The court heard Ms Gerente Ogar's injuries were sustained between July 24 and 27 at the couple's house.

The Port Hughes home of Cherry Gerente Ogar and Antony Ogar.(ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)

Flowers were laid for Ms Gerente Ogar outside her Port Hughes home, and tributes have continued to flow, including from her daughter.

"Fly high Ma. Guide me from above until we meet again," her daughter wrote on Facebook.

"I will look for you. And keep my heart and mind in peace."

Detectives from the Port Pirie Criminal Investigation Branch are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ms Gerente Ogar's death.

The court heard there were allegedly many domestic assaults for a number of years at the home the couple shared with some occurring on a daily basis. 

The daughter of the victim says she will fight for her mother's justice, describing her mother as an “angel”.

 

Than Htwe died Wednesday morning, 11 days after being left in a coma when a mugger pulled her down subway station steps in New York City's Chinatown

58 year old NY woman who was a victim of Asian hate crime passes away after brain surgery

Suspect still at large and NYPD are looking for him

By Edward Era Barbacena

A 58-year-old Asian-American  woman and her son were dragged down the stairs of a New York City subway station a couple weekends ago on a Saturday morning.

Htwe (left) 58, and her son, Kyaw Zaw Hein, 22 were rushed to Bellevue Hospital on the  morning of July 17, when Htwe underwent brain surgery. She died this morning from her injuries

The 58-year-old Asian woman who fell into a coma after being attacked on the New York City subway on July 17 has died from her injuries 11 days later.  

The thief attempted to steal Htwe's son's backpack, sending him and his mother tumbling backward and causing Htwe to hit her head

Both were knocked unconscious in the fall. When Zaw Hein awoke, he said his mother was 'lying on the floor with blood everywhere. The motive of the crime was either robbery or  a hate crime.  NYPD is not certain if the victim was racially targeted.

The mother underwent brain surgery after hitting her head as she fell down the stairs and according to the New York Post, she has passed away. 

The victim of unprovoked hate crime died on Wednesday, one day after her family said on their GoFundMe page that she would not survive after undergoing brain surgery — and that they planned to donate her organs.

The page had raised more than $48,000 for the family before it was shut down this week.

“I just want to tell everyone who’s reading this to always cherish the moments you have with your mother,” her son, Kyaw Saw Hein, wrote on the fundraising site.

According to law enforcement, the mother and her son were walking up the steps at Canal Street station in lower Manhattan two Saturdays ago around 9:40 when a man grabbed the son’s backpack.

The son grabbed onto his mother as he got dragged and they both tumbled down the steps.

Police identified David Robinson, 52, as the suspected mugger who on July 17 attacked 58-Than Htwe in a Chinatown subway stop, placing her in a coma. She died 11 days later

NYPD identified 52-year-old David Robinson as the man who killed Than Htwe during the botched robbery and released a photo (below) of him asking the public’s help in finding him.