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1

Other Odd Things / The Coke Connection: AEG!

« on: April 05, 2010, 01:37:22 PM »

Hello everyone,
I haven't posted on here in a long time but I see you are all talking about the oddities with all of these Coca-Cola images and references lately and I found something very interesting.

Looks like AEG and Coca-Cola are important business partners!
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I just posted this in my blog and thought you would all be interested.

Much love,
-SC

Full text of article:
The O2 Announces Major New Sponsor: Coca-Cola

AEG Europe, owners and operators of The O2, are delighted to announce that ‘Coca-Cola' has become their official pouring rights partner. The three year deal includes both The O2 arena and indigo2, The O2's more intimate 2,300 capacity music venue.

‘Coca-Cola' products being served at the venue include ‘Coke', ‘Diet Coke', ‘Coke Zero', ‘Sprite', ‘Fanta', ‘Powerade' and ‘Relentless'.

‘Coca-Cola' will develop a customer engagement programme with The O2 that will include benefits for consumers at the venue. This will focus on competitions and cross promotions with their consumer website, ‘Coke Zone'.

Paul Samuels, Executive Director of Sponsorship at AEG Europe, commented: "I'm thrilled that ‘Coca-Cola' have come on board as a founding partner at The O2. Last year The O2 arena sold 1.8 million tickets making it the world's most popular music venue, and since opening over ten million visitors have come through the doors. These figures, along with the great time people have at the venue, will offer ‘Coca-Cola' unrivalled brand awareness. We will work closely with ‘Coca-Cola' over the next year to help them achieve their customer engagement goals and to maximise all sponsorship opportunities at the venue."

Cathryn Sleight, Marketing Director for Coca-Cola Great Britain, added: "The O2 has firmly put itself on the map as THE entertainment venue in the UK, if not the world. We have seen what other founding partners have achieved at The O2 and CCGB's aim is to ensure we capitalize on our sponsorship. This fantastic opportunity, from provding our wide portfolio of great-tasting drinks to offering exclusve prizes to consumers on ‘Coke Zone', opens the channel for us to maximise dialogue with O2 customers. CCGB has had a long association with AEG in the United States and we are pleased to be extending this relationship to the UK."

‘Coca-Cola' joins a prestigious list of brands that are commercial partners of The O2. These are adidas, ADT, BMW, Credit Suisse, InBev, NatWest, NEC, Nestle, O2 and Visa.

The sponsorship of the venue is effective immediately.

Ends

For information about AEG or The O2 please contact Lucy Ellison on 020 8463 2572 or email You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Editor's Notes:

'Coke','Coca-Cola', 'Coke Zero', 'Coke Zone', 'diet Coke', 'Sprite', 'Fanta', 'Powerade' and 'Relentless' are registered trade marks of the Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands.  Along with ‘Coca-Cola', recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company's portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including ‘Diet Coke', ‘Fanta', ‘Sprite', ‘Coca-Cola Zero', ‘glaceau vitaminwater', ‘Powerade', ‘Minute Maid' and ‘Georgia Coffee'.  Globally, it is the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees.  Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, the Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate.  For more information about the Company, please visit the website at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login.

About AEG & The O2

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world.   It owns or operates some of the world's best arenas and theatres, numerous sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) and The David Beckham Academy, and a collection of companies dedicated to producing, promoting and presenting world-class live entertainment.

In May 2005, AEG announced that it would transform the former Millennium Dome and the surrounding area into the UK's most exciting and technically advanced music, sport and entertainment destination. It has been renamed The O2 and opened in June 2007.

The centrepiece of the multi-million pound development is the 20,000 capacity indoor arena, the most popular music arena in the world.  It hosted over 150 world-class music, entertainment and sport events in its first year of opening. There is also a live music venue - indigO2 - with a capacity of 2,300, The O2 bubble - a state of the art exhibition space that is host of Gunter Von Hagen's Bodyworlds exhibition and will soon house The British Music Experience, a permanent, high-tech, interactive music exhibition, an 11 cinema complex, and a vibrant ‘Entertainment District' featuring a variety of bars, restaurants, and leisure facilities including the newly opened nightclub, Matter.  

In 2008 The O2 was named International Arena of the Year and Best New Major Concert Venue at the Pollstar Industry Awards, Venue of the Year at the Music Week Awards, Venue of the Year at The Event Services Association and Favourite Venue at the TPI Awards.

 In Zone 2 of London's Underground, The O2 is situated on the Greenwich Peninsula next to the North Greenwich station on the Jubilee Line, which provides direct access to central London in less than twenty minutes. Thames Clippers, fast-speed catamarans run a ferry service from central London to the QEII pier next to the venue every 20 minutes.  

The O2 is an official venue for the 2012 Olympics hosting both the gymnastic and basketball events.

AEG employs more than 3,000 staff in over 45 operating companies worldwide. Its international head office is in Los Angeles, and its European headquarters is based in London.

2

Hoax Pictures / Who Does This Look Like To You?

« on: January 19, 2010, 09:12:18 AM »

[attachment=0:3756bi2y]who.jpg[/attachment:3756bi2y]Before I say where it is from, I'd like an objective out-of-context opinion on who you think this may be...I know it is a little blurry, but it's the best I could do.

After everyone guesses I will tell you where this image is located....

3

The 911 call / LAFD Blog Post about 911 Call - "Lessons Learned"

« on: January 11, 2010, 08:59:24 AM »

Found this on the web...additional details on the 911 call and response, posted by STEPHEN J. RUDA, who is a captain in the Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department Office of Public Information.  Not sure if anyone has ever seen this before.

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Lessons from the Michael Jackson Call


BY STEPHEN J. RUDA

The phone call came to headquarters from a division commander who had been notified by one of his rescue ambulances and fire engines that a popular celebrity needed help.

Here in Los Angeles and within the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), it is policy that the incident commander notify our Operational Control Division when there is an incident of serious injury involving a well-known celebrity or elected official. Then we notify the chain of command and inform the various political officials who have a need to know.

Over the years, that policy has been very effective in respecting the privacy of our patients and rendering to them the care they deserve in their moments of great need. From traffic accidents on Sunset Boulevard to drug overdoses in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles firefighters and paramedics have seen a lot and have responded with professionalism and great service.

 

THE INCIDENT
 

On June 25, 2009, at 12:21 p.m., 911 operators transferred a request for emergency care to a Los Angeles firefighter dispatcher. The LAFD answers more than 2,900 emergency calls in a 24-hour window, 1,300 of which generate an emergency response.

The call to the 100 block of Carolwood Avenue in the plush and exclusive area of Bel Air was not an unusual response for the firefighters and paramedics assigned to Fire Station 71. Their fire station is nestled in a very busy intersection along Sunset Boulevard, just blocks from the Playboy Mansion to the south and the Westwood campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to the west. The homes of the rich and the famous spread upward into the brush-covered hillside to their northern boundary.

When a call for emergency care sounded in quarters, Engine 71, with a crew of an engineer, a firefighter paramedic, an EMT firefighter, and a supervising captain, along with an advanced life support rescue ambulance with two firefighter/paramedics, responded within 60 seconds. Little did they know at the time that they were responding to the address of one of the most popular entertainers in the world.

The dispatcher quietly took the call as the person from the Jackson home made the 911 call on a cell phone. It was routed through Beverly Hills and then unto the 911 systems for the LAFD. The caller never identified the person needing help, relating only that the patient was on the bed where a treating doctor was conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The dispatcher quickly ordered that the patient be placed on the floor so that a firm surface would provide the foundation for effective CPR. The caller acknowledged the instructions and then told the dispatcher that the doctor was the highest medical authority on-scene and paramedics were responding and would be with them shortly. That prearrival care lasted 43 seconds. The companies from Fire Station 71 responded in three minutes and 17 seconds.

Once the fire captain noticed the patient was a celebrity, Michael Jackson, he notified an EMS captain, who also responded. A total of four paramedics were in that first response. Immediate care was initiated. Contact was made with the Base Station, and medical procedures were begun. This response was on-scene at 1225 hours. Michael Jackson was en route to UCLA at 1307 hours and arrived at 1313 hours. At this time, care was transferred from the LAFD paramedics to the UCLA Hospital emergency staff. If it had not been that a celebrity such as Michael Jackson was the patient, the call would have been one to which paramedics across the United States respond multiple times a day.

 

THE AFTERMATH
 

What started as a routine call quickly gave way to a day filled with speculation and grief around the world. Two captains staff the LAFD Office of Public Information. We also have a firefighter in the dispatch center to handle media relations and press inquiries. The phone began to ring off the hook; media outlets scurried to verify that a medical call came to the LAFD and wanted to know what took place in Michael Jackson’s mansion.

As the commander of the Community Service Unit, I, along with my team, fielded countless phone calls from all over the world as the breaking news hit the television stations. All reporters called with the same questions: “Can you verify that your units responded to Michael Jackson’s house and that CPR was in progress?” “Can you verify that Michael Jackson has died?”

Certainly as health care providers, all of us in the American fire service must obey the confidentiality and medical HIPPA laws that require us not to disclose the names of our patients and the type of care we render. It is a very serious obligation. We, as public information officers (PIOs), were doing our best to explain the LAFD response while being very careful not to cross the lines of privacy. We do this out of respect for the law and for the confidentiality of the patient and his family.

We quickly gathered and discussed just what we were able to say. Our collective comments were that the LAFD responded on a 911 call requesting emergency medical care. We responded with a category assignment that was in accordance with our dispatch policy for this type of medical call. When we arrived on-scene, we began our care of our patient and followed all standard medical protocols with the assistance of a medical base station. Once we provided the care, we transported within four minutes to the treating hospital and transferred the care of our patient to the UCLA. For the most part, our responsibility was complete. The work of UCLA Hospital and its staff had just begun. After trying to revive Michael Jackson for some time, a member of the Jackson family declared that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, had died.

The family’s declaration of his death allowed the LAFD, when asked, to disclose that indeed Michael Jackson was our patient. However, the care given to him was still confidential, and members of the Public Information Office did not reveal any further information concerning what had transpired while LAFD personnel treated Michael Jackson at the Bel-Air Hills estate.

The fire service is considered the most trustworthy organization in America. All of us work hard to protect that image. Words like “service,” “integrity,” and “professionalism” surround us and are probably within our tenets of leadership. Here in Los Angeles, all of our emergency apparatus proudly display our motto: “Serving with Courage, Pride, and Integrity.” We believe in it and profess it. This is important, as a potential breach of that motto surfaced in the form of a photo of Michael Jackson in the back of an LAFD rescue ambulance while under the care of our paramedics.

When our emergency apparatus arrived on-scene, no one was in the streets surrounding the Jackson estate. When Michael Jackson was transported, the whirl of media and paparazzi descended on Carolwood Avenue, just off Sunset Boulevard. People surrounded the rescue ambulance, taking pictures and trying to catch a glimpse of the patient in the back of the ambulance.

Our paramedics were in the back rendering care when camera lenses shot through the windows. One photographer, unfortunately, captured Michael on the gurney (stretcher) as the ambulance negotiated the streets. Rumors were that the photo was taken by a member of the LAFD. This was not true, and the PIOs quickly verified that this picture was not taken by any first responders. As I said earlier, the business at hand was a commitment to service and genuine care for Michael Jackson, which was given to our patient in an all-out effort to save his life. The photo was taken by a photographer who sold it to the media for an unbelievable amount of money.

It is extremely important that your agency monitor press reports and photos in the media so that your firefighters and paramedics are accurately depicted. If they are not shown in the most positive light or if there are errors, you must correct them. We need to seek retractions and let the truth be reported. We work hard for our reputation, and we must do everything in our power to protect it and promote the good and noble acts of the members of our profession.

 

•••
 

The passing of Michael Jackson has affected people from around the world. Is your agency prepared to handle that type of call for help? Firefighters and paramedics care for all people regardless of color, whether they are celebrities or not. We respond to the mansions of the famous as well as to the cardboard makeshift homes of the poor. The world needs men and women who are willing to stand up and serve. Their personal names are not in lights or on a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their names are known to Americans simply as firefighters, paramedics, and life-saving professionals. And that is priceless.

STEPHEN J. RUDA is a captain in the Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department Office of Public Information.

4

The Ambulance / Odd New Ambulance Photo Discovered on EMT Forum

« on: January 04, 2010, 05:51:09 AM »

Hello everyone,
We discussed this in chat last night after discovering this image in a new hoax video.   After some research, the photo was linked to an EMT discussion forum - a poster named "Daphne" asked the EMT's if the ambulance looked to be an older or new one based on the photo.

At first we thought..hmm...is this the undiscovered "original" photo, or did "Daphne" photoshop the face to disguise MJ when posting.

Since it caused quite a stir in chat I wanted to open this up to all of the investigators on here.  I've tried to PM "Daphne" to inquire about the photo...
[attachment=2:2boxei83]post-4784-125882324738.jpg[/attachment:2boxei83]

Here is a screen shot and web address of the message board this was found on (you have to register on the site to view the post "live")


I tried to compare this photo with an existing ambulance photo I had, but the photo I had wasn't the same exact photo (not as much of the background is visible).  If anyone has an exact match of the equivalent photo with MJ, please post. Scroll to see both pics...


So one of these photos is a photoshop... which one?   The new one is either a photoshop or an old man...