Will The Olympics Survive

The Olympic Torch has arrived in Brasil. Just fyi

Dilma Rousseff admits she may miss out on Olympic Games role | World news | The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a … games-role

Wow!

Let the games start. Just information on the lighter side

Olympic Torch Arrives in Brazil, to Begin a 90-Day Relay | News | teleSUR English

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/O … -0014.html

Enjoy if you have time.

Just fyi for those who have interest in the event

Five Things You Need to Know About Rio 2016 | News | teleSUR English

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/F … -0042.html
hopefully we are off to a good start for the flame is in travel status, coming to a town or city near you soon. Enjoy

Well this adds another twist, it only makes one wonder. I wonder if it will change any of the countries and athletes minds about attending and participation in the future.

Olympians Shouldn’t Swim Through Sewage - The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/opini … n&_r=0

Enjoy the read if you have time, I wish I could say it boogles one's mind for what else can go wrong. This is not pretty.

Ran across this video today and it is a yes,no, maybe story. It's crazy to think of the possibility of any of the thoughts shared on the video yet it is a fact of life
if you have time for it is a long video.

Watch "WHY NOT COME TO BRAZIL FOR THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES WARNING (from a Brazilian to the World)" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/_naHdWOWE7Y
I am not afraid, yet I won't be attending.

Now it's completely out of control, it just won't stop, it's like the Olympics on why not to come.

Former Brazil great Rivaldo tells tourists to skip Olympics

https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-brazi … html?nhp=1

If one has time for this is starting to play out in a lot of news.

Alascana, thank you for the links!

My husband wants to head to Rio in August to watch some golf games. Yes, that's right...golf.  I'm going to try to convince him not to go because one, I'm not keen on the sport and two, because of the perceived dangers. (Best to avoid large crowds when terrorism is a potential threat and security is lax!) Besides, we'll be heading to Rio in June when my family comes to visit, and for me, one trip to Rio per year is enough.

Alascana wrote:

Now it's completely out of control, it just won't stop, it's like the Olympics on why not to come.

Former Brazil great Rivaldo tells tourists to skip Olympics

https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-brazi … html?nhp=1

If one has time for this is starting to play out in a lot of news.

I agreed with everything Rivaldo said until I got to this part:  "Only God can change the situation in our Brazil." 

I've written about this in detail in some of my older posts, but I think this is one of Brazil's biggest problems:  this belief that somehow, this country's destiny is not in its people's hands...but in God's hands. I see bumper stickers everywhere that read, "In God's Hands..." I'm not here to sh*t on anyone's religious beliefs, but this attitude...this unwillingness to accept responsibility for their country's problems...this unwillingness to find a solution for their country's problems...is what hurts Brazilians the most. I truly believe that Brazilians are their own worst enemy. 

Hey VC, it's a shame yet it's the truth and it hurts to see the crazy. I think it's shameful Tha Brazil is getting a bad rap so close to the games. It is a mess and we can only hope that it may settle down and peace will surround the games. With the economic me$$ all over the world I doubt the non Brazilian attendance will be high with the political wrangling and all the other hoopla going on. I just hope that it's a good time for those who attend and no problems for the people of Brazil have more on there plates to think about.

Add this one to the pile, you cannot make this stuff up, it's like some entity does not want this event to happen.

Brazil Olympics Could Cause Global Zika 'Disaster' | News | teleSUR English

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/B … -0038.html
I am not afraid just cautious. I saw a female athlete on tv who stated she was concerned for she would like children in the future and was uncertain of  coming to compete.
And I am not on a rant. Enjoy if interested.

This is getting uglier each day, Will  the World come this is how it is being reported out of the country. I wonder will this wait until August to hit full stride.
Rio Olympics could be under threat as Brazil riots continue over political unrest | Daily Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … onths.html
only time will tell for it is all ways quiet before the storm.

Well it just does not get any better than these events. Brazil needs to Slow Way Down, it's just to much activity before the games. I am hoping for the games to begin despite the controversy. 2 items if your interested and have time.
Brazil investigating possible corruption at Olympic venues
http://m.indiatoday.in/story/rio-olympi … 77777.html

Rio Bay Trash Hinders Smooth Sailing for Olympic Athletes
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rio-bay-tras … html?nhp=1
This is out of hand and fingers! Enjoy if you can.

The Games Will Go On?
Zika crisis: Rio Olympics 'should be moved or postponed' - BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-ame … a-36401150
What's next, was it a farce, this would be a crisis. I'm hoping this will not happen the move or cancellation

Well another shot is being taken at the Event?

Can Latin America Defend Democracy via Rio Olympics Boycott? | Opinion | teleSUR English
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinio … -0036.html
I wonder if this will play put and the impact of this thou thought.
it seems nothing is working right.

This makes me feel real)y Safe. Can it get any worse, total necessary madness.
Rights Group Says Excessive Force Before Brazil Olympics - ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/ … s-39560228
What was expected same as before the World Cup.

To little to late, this is a temporary solution for it will only stir up the silt and everything that has been deposited in the bay. Has anyone thought maybe the money $184 billion would be better used for a adequate Permanent Wastewater Treatment plant. Somebody needs rethink and rethink this option the water in the Bay will be the equivalent of the Amazon and what a silt ridden River that is......
Activists asks Brazil interim president to pay for cleanup
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6b57ee16 … ay-cleanup
Yup its a Rant or maybe a Rave.
enjoy if you have time.

While Rio fails, sister city shows sewage cleanup possible | McClatchy DC
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politic … 447.html#2
Rio Water Boss Questions Olympic Sewage Target
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rio-water-bo … html?nhp=1
crazy, it seems that it all could have bee avoided. Enjoy if one has tme.

Let the Games begin. We hope and think so?
Brazilian Sports Minister Says Rio Is Ready for the Olympics
https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazilian-sp … html?nhp=1
if not someone will be replaced. Is this the 4th Minister of Sports.
it's Game Time. Is the Olympics Ready for Rio.

$184 Billion?   No way . . .

travelr64 wrote:

$184 Billion?   No way . . .

Sorry about that it was Reals not USD/ lol,kkkkk.

Well just staying in tune for this is sizing up nicely, I hope there is better news on the horizon. I don't know if it's being overblown or under reported.
Zika virus: Will condoms and repellent be enough to protect our athletes in Rio? - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-10/z … gh/7495974
The Games will go on! Enjoy if one has interest and time.
I'm worried about the stuff Mature folks suffer with.

Well what will come up next.

'Super Bacteria' Found in Brazil's Olympic Venues, Top Beaches | News | teleSUR English
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/S … -0007.html
it has become a should I go or forfeit. I wonder how many will back out of the event.
it seems anything to not make it happen. Brazil needs a break from the crazy stories.

Rio's street kids earn £1 a day sifting through raw sewerage in bay hosting Olympic 2016 | Daily Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … WEEKS.html
These guys are at least trying, imagine if the were paid for each kilo of trash removed, yet that would be to much logic. Yes it is a Rant!
Just keeping it "Real".

I am wondering if this includes the Police and Emergency Services workers.
Brazil mulls emergency loan to Rio ahead of Olympics as city struggles to pay workers
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/09/brazil-m … rkers.html
I hope the Olympics can break even on the cost of the Games.
Enjoy if one has interest and time to read. As each day gets closer the drama intensifies.
Rio needs a break.

Olympic Brazil detects IS radical messages in Portuguese
https://www.yahoo.com/news/olympic-braz … tml?ref=gs
something else to think about.
Brazil Declares 'State of Public Calamity' to Finance Olympics | News | teleSUR English
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/B … -0029.html
Hopefully this will all be cleared up by the start of the Games. Can the country catch a break?

No problem the Games are on!
Brazil 'to give Rio $850m' in aid for Olympic Games - News from Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/b … 15697.html
That solves all the problems. Throw Money at it.

Alascana wrote:

No problem the Games are on!
Brazil 'to give Rio $850m' in aid for Olympic Games - News from Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/b … 15697.html
That solves all the problems. Throw Money at it.

The closest I've seen a financial mess due to massive mismanagement by a bunch of useless nutters who couldn't organise a drunken party in a brewery was the world student games in Sheffield (UK).
They made a total pig's ear of the thing, meaning the local taxpayers are saddled with the debt until 2024.
That's what happens when you let clueless fools loose with someone else's cash.
The local labour council were right when they said Sheffield had asseTs, but they added a T to the word.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sout … e-14134973

Nice Article,
Opinion: Brazil’s Zikalympics?

By Michael Royster on June 20, 2016

Worrywarts never win gold medals.

Opinion, by Michael Royster

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Residents of Rio, relax! The Olympic and Paralympic Games are safe, and there is no need whatsoever to worry about them becoming the Zikalympics. At least, that’s what Brazil’s Ministry of Health, the International Olympic Committee and Rio’s Municipal Government are now telling people.

Michael Royster, aka The Curmudgeon.

Skeptics and other naysayers worry that none of these entities have any knowledge whatsoever of medicine and public health, but we all know worrywarts never win gold medals! Sure, the Minister of Health is a political hack with an engineering degree, but why shouldn’t we trust him? After all, Engineering is science, just like Medicine.

Don’t forget that the IOC is about to ban Russia’s track team because chemists analyzed urine samples. After all, Chemistry is science, just like Medicine, so not to worry. Rio’s municipal government runs a lot of public hospitals, and public health is only a subset of public administration. Rio’s public administration knows how to build safe elevated highways and bicycle paths and tunnels, don’t they? So what’s to worry?

Even the World Health Organization has said there’s no reason to postpone or transfer the Olympics, because Zika isn’t worth worrying about in cold dry August — except maybe to people who are planning on having sex and/or babies, or unless it warms up and rains a lot.

Even though the press in the U.S. is baying for blood about Zika, we all know that’s mostly because Rio beat out President Obama’s home town Chicago to host the games, and the Yankee Imperialists have never lost hope that Rio will be disqualified. Moreover, the U.S. press is really trying to divert attention from Puerto Rico, which has as much Zika as Rio de Janeiro, not to mention being an even worse economic basket case.

So, in the immortal words of Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman: “What, me worry?”

The Curmudgeon will have lived in Rio de Janeiro for 39 years during the Zikalympics and he refuses to worry about anything at all except politics.

- See more at: http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/o … ZUxR3.dpuf

I was in Rio this past week with my family who was visiting from the States. I didn't go to Guanabara Bay, but I did dip my toes in the waters at Copacabana and Ipanema. The water at Copacabana smelled foul, and it was almost brown (greenish-brown at best)...and left a disgusting brown residue on the sand as the tide receded. My family couldn't believe that a city as "blessed" as Rio could let its waters become so polluted. 

Over four days, we took at least 4 cab rides a day, and every single cabbie was honest and friendly (for some reason, Rio's cabbies have a bad rep, but I've been to Rio twice now, and I haven't had a bad cab ride yet). I got to speak to a lot of the cabbies and one of them told me that he will not be attending any Olympic events for fear of A) terrorist threats and B) faulty stadium seating.

As for the Zika threat, perhaps it was because the weather was cold (by Rio standards) during our stay, but I hardly saw any mosquitoes even though we went to Corcovado, Sugar Loaf, Jardim Botanico, and Parque Lage. The cabbie who drove us to Jardim Botanico told us that we need not worry about mosquitoes or Zika.    At Jardim Botanico, we saw at least four pregnant women baring their bellies to take maternity pictures.  My family was shocked because such a fuss has been made over Zika in the international press. I'm not suggesting that a threat doesn't exist - I'm just relaying my experiences in Rio this past week.

Call for More Rio Security After Paralympic Athletes Robbed
Jun 21, 2016

.....A statement from Australian Sailing said Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch and team official Sarah Ross were confronted by two men while riding their bicycles in Rio park on Sunday. One of the men was carrying a pistol and the women were robbed of their bicycles.

Last month, Spain's Olympic gold-medal winning sailor Fernando Echavarri and two companions said they were held up at gunpoint by five young men in Rio.

Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/ … w-40005628

To tell you the truth Victoria that greenish color in the water is more likely to be plankton and Algae than pollution , this is what gives it the green color and smell.....we have water in Cape Town South Africa that turns literally brown from this and looks awful, with stinking yellow foam,but it's all perfectly natural and it's not actually that polluted. This is especially more common with colder water like you find in Rio as it is very rich in nutrients and is prone to algae blooms

I've been at Ipanema twice already this year and both times the water was crystal clear, I spent a lot of time swimming and even snorkled around the rocks at the far end without any incident to me, or our group. Copacabana never has clear water in my experience there.
Actually the nastiest water I saw was in Balneario Caboriu over January in the South, it was as thick and green as pea soup with quite a few dead fish around, but I still think is was algae related though, a bad plankton bloom sucks all the oxygen out of the water and causes fish to die. We all swam a lot there too and no one got sick...

While there is no doubt a problem with the water in the some parts Gaunabra bay, it's really not that bad at the main beaches....I feel far safer swimming at the beaches in Rio than at many other city beaches in other countries.

As for Zika , that's such a hype, my wife and I always remark how it's something we don't even think about actually living in Brazil....the international media is a joke, especially with regards to how they like to portray "3rd world" countries, I remember when the Ebola scare broke people were actually scared to visit South Africa , in which your risk of catching Ebola is zero, due to distance and a climate more similar to New Zealand than Congo.
As for Cab drivers in Rio, we were once picked up by a Drunken Afro Brazilian cab driver in desperation after a rainstorm on the way to the rolling stones concert.....he stopped his cab and got out to yell verbal abuse for 2 minutes at a bus he thought had cut him off ....luckily it was just to the metro station, also I had a fairly rude taxi driver on new years eve who did not want to give any info or answer questions, but I've also had some real gems who will risk there own vehicle driving over any terrain to get you to your destination.

On another note have you ever been to Ilha Grande off the coast of Angra dos Reais in Southern Rio, now that place is a paradise, it reminds me of how Rio city must have looked before colonisation and the water there is famously clear and surrounded by untouched Mata Atlantica....I can highly recommend it and I'm going back there again in 2 weeks!

Steve, let's agree to disagree. The water looked and smelled foul to me, and based on the articles I've read with regards to the level of pollution in the waters around Rio, I'm going to pass on Rio's beaches.

Not saying that the following articles are conclusive; however, they're not enough to keep me out of the water.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olymp … SKCN0YW2E8https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/ … -pollution

Yes, I have been to Ilha Grande! Last March, I spent a week in Paraty and Ilha Grande! I loved Ilha Grande! Now, Lopes Mendes is MY kind of beach! 

Can't wait to go back!

Can Brasil get a Break. Ridiculous
Brazil lifts visa restrictions for Olympics but Zika fears dissuading Canadians - Business - CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/ri … -1.3648197
is this what most are thinking.

It might not have been inviting and I also would not have swum that day, but I can promise you it was not pollution that caused that , when water is polluted in a dangerous way if often gives no sign of anything wrong.
I have had crystal clear waters at Ipanema...

Forget the water events. I want to see this .
Brazil's Temer Laments 2 Presidents at Olympic Ceremony - ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir … y-40057867
The Main Event. Whoa boy!  I wonder if the participants will take the same plane.
one word "Scary"

This is just crazy.
Rio governor warns Olympics could be 'big failure'
/www.yahoo.com/news/rio-governor-warns-olympics-could-big-failure-142753541.html?nhp=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.yahoo.com/news/rio-governor … html?nhp=1
I hope this is the last of the negative. As he says in he last line "Blame Me"

Well here is a insight and I agree enough is enough.
Rio 2016: Enough of the Brazil bashing – these Olympic Games will be something special
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics/ri … psplh.html
I am hoping that it will be successful,  just waiting to see how it plays out.
long article if one has time.