Let's call it "swimming"

Lots of us have dreamt of this, often in the form of flying dreams.

In Stockholm, a group of men facing middle age find unlikely fellowship as members of Sweden’s all-male synchronized swim team. Yes, there is such a thing.

Watch the full episode. See more Independent Lens.

"Unscrupulous uses of the Olympic marks"

Police answering a 911 call about a home invasion in East Vancouver Wednesday found no break-in suspects when they arrived but did discover 107,000 ecstasy tablets, some imprinted with the Olympic rings symbol.

"The officer saw large bags of multi-coloured pills in plain view, which the officer believed to be consistent with ecstasy," Desmarais said.

Some of the tablets were stamped with peace signs and some with the Olympic rings.

Vancouver's Olympic organizing committee has vigorously pursued unlicensed use of the Olympic rings symbol in the past and a spokesman said it was aware of the Vancouver police seizure.

"This illustrates that there are and will be unscrupulous uses of the Olympic marks," said Bill Cooper, VANOC's director of commercial rights management. "Like the Vancouver police, we will continue to be diligent in our surveillance and rigorous followup."

[ Who cares about the ecstasy when the Olympic logo is being misused! ]

"Syrup-sucking Canadian iceholes"

The city that will play host to long-track speedskating during the 2010 Winter Olympics has waded into a cross-border confrontation, offering satirical talk-show host Stephen Colbert a job for the Games — monitoring the ice time of the U.S. speedskating team.

Colbert, who recently announced he's sponsoring the cash-strapped U.S. speedskating team during the upcoming Vancouver Games, has condemned Canadians, saying they are denying the American squad ice time for training at the Olympic oval in Richmond, B.C.

On his popular TV show The Colbert Report, the comedian recently called Canadians "syrup-sucking Canadian iceholes" and urged his viewers to send in letters demanding the country cease its icehole-ish behaviour.

In response, City of Richmond spokesman Ted Townsend sent a letter of his own to Colbert's studios in New York, offering the former Daily Show correspondent an olive branch.

"We have always welcomed our friends from south of the border with open arms (well, except in 1812). In fact, we've always fondly considered you as our American 'cousins' and politely tolerated you, even when you were in an imperialistic mood."

Townsend wrote in the letter that international skaters have never been barred from the Olympic oval, though they have been asked to follow rules to get on the ice.

To show there are no hard feelings, Townsend, who calls himself "chief syrup sucker," has offered Colbert a position as ombudsman of treatment for U.S. speedskaters during the 2010 Games.

TV Pundit Stephen Colbert's attack on ice access brushed off by Olympic officials

Vancouver Olympic officials are defending themselves after an attack by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, who accused Canadians of cheating by preventing U.S. athletes from getting enough ice time on the Richmond, B.C., speedskating oval.

VANOC's Renee Smith-Valade said she gets the jokes, but the American team and all other international teams are being treated fairly.

"He's just trying to push our buttons. I like Stephen Colbert, I think he's funny," said Smith-Valade.

'I'm calling on Saskatche-whiners to unclench their frosty sphincters and let Americans on to their oval.'—U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report recently signed on as the sponsor of the U.S. speedskating team after the previous sponsor, Dutch bank DSB, went bankrupt in October.

On Thursday's show, Colbert turned his attention to the team's access to the Canadian ice.

"Those syrup suckers won't let us practice at their Olympic venues.… At the Salt Lake Games, we let the Canadian luge team take 100 practice runs ... and you know how Mormons feel about two men lying down on each other," said the tongue-in-cheek night talk-show host.

Pride House to host gay Olympic athletes

Refugee claims expected during 2010 Vancouver Winter Games

Gay and lesbian Olympic athletes from countries consumed with conflict or that have laws against homosexuality will have a safe place to seek refugee status during the 2010 Winter Games, says the creator of Pride House, which will have locations in Vancouver and Whistler.

Pride House creator Dean Nelson said no one will encourage athletes to seek asylum, but he added based on past experience he and other organizers decided to have refugee information readily available.

"It happened during the World AIDS Conference here and in Toronto," he said. "And even during the Commonwealth Games. We have athletes coming from places of conflict and they could ask about seeking asylum. We just want to be prepared."

Both locations of Pride House will have information and support services for queer athletes, but the Whistler venue, which will be located at the Pan Pacific Village Centre, will have more of a celebratory theme. The Vancouver location, housed within Qmunity, formerly known as the Centre, on Bute Street, will be the base for athletes and visitors looking for information about queer services and support, as well as on immigration and seeking asylum in Canada.