...A novelesque but verbacious rant, suitable for a masochists breakfast!..Or… this article misses the nail and hits the “male” on the head! … Or, this male can, canoe?

What a hodge-podge of interesting information and ideas, let me get this straight...

The male canoeists feel they are bloody lucky to be included in the Olympics at all seeing as how it's not a very popular sport, and don't want the rascally women highlighting the fact. Given this attitude it's not surprising they see the even less popular sport of women's canoeing probably shouldn't be included either.

I'm inclined to agree with them. I think there is a very real case to consider that a gold medal is worth less if there is FA participation in the sport around the world. Why should a swimming gold medal = a running gold medal? They shouldn't! Athletics gold medals are devalued by fringe sports getting more events.

As for Australian women bringing home the gold medal bacon, you'd have to concede that the three primary sports for Australian men; Cricket, AFL and both codes of rugby, are not Olympic sports. As is netball not an Olympic sport admittedly. What chance canoeing? LMFAO! Canoeing? Seriously? Then again we do have synchronised swimming!

So you want Olympic validation to grow your sport so it can actually be included in the Olympics with some legitimacy. That's putting the cart before the horse.

My verdict is drop canoeing form the Olympics altogether.

'ignores the aeons of struggle by women to gain even a modicum of social, economic, cultural or political 'equality', including in sport, recreation and leisure.'

So in every area of life, whenever a woman wants something, it must always be considered in this context. Sounds like the Jews and their sympathy card, god knows when that will expire. There comes a time when the very insistence of this context is a major factor in holding women back I reckon.

Anyway, lets look at the

' Ligue du Droit International des Femmes and Coordination Francaise pour le Lobby Europeen des Femmes'

'demands' (Not very diplomatic)

Parity in all sports and Olympic events;

Not a fan at all. If more men play rugby, and more women play netball, I'd like to see no mens netball and no women's rugby. Anything else is just dumb. It degrades the value of the medals for minority sports like men's netball to have a gold medal equal in value to the 100m.

Parity in the decision-making bodies beginning with the immediate application of at least 20 per cent women as determined by the IOC in 1996;

Fine, if they can find enough women actually applying.

Same recognition to women as to men champions (beginning by the conferring of the Gold Medal on the female winner of the Marathon by the President of the IOC as well as to the male winner);

Fine. Petty. Who even notices whos handing medals out.

Exclusion of all male-only delegations and of countries forbidding women to freely play sport;

What are your measuring criteria? Ah politics and sport, what about 'human rights' abuses, spose they'll be next. Hell lets just can the whole thing.

Exclusion of all delegations wearing political and/or religious symbols;

Like the Aboriginal flag? I like it better.

No more IOC support of the International segregated games for women organised by Teheran;

What? They give women their own games and you object? Ok then lets have no segregated events!

Combatting gender stereotypes and violence;

WTF? Why not throw in public toilet parity as well while you're at it?