From Reuters:
After decades of underachievement, Latin America's largest country in recent years has finally made good on the immense promise of its abundant natural resources, vibrant democracy and vast consumer market of 190 million people.
Rio's Olympics victory may be the most spectacular sign of Brazil's surging profile under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the country's first working-class leader who nurtured an economic boom that has lifted millions of people out of poverty and made him one of the world's most popular leaders.
Even the global economic crisis was unable to knock Brazil off its stride for long as the economy swiftly emerged from recession and returned to growth this year.
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I want to make it clear, the United States did not deserve the Olympics!
From NPR:
The IOC's last two experiences in the United States were marred by controversy: the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics were sullied by a bribery scandal and logistical problems and a bombing hit the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
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Why do cities want the games since they all end up losing money? Answer: International trade! Every city that has hosted an Olympics elevated its international profile on the world stage thereby becoming a more viable trade and export hub for their respective state.
BTW, I get a lot of mail from people telling me I don't like my country. It's ironic becasue i fly my American flag outside my house every day and I even take it in at night. I am currently quite disgusted how my country has been acting for the last decade and I want to get it fixed, unfortunately, it does not look that that is going to happen soon. Hence, my grumpiness towards a USA Olympics.
17 comments:
The big shock was that Chicago was the first to go, ranked behind Tokyo and Madrid.
Two wars, a temp pool, two botched American Olympics in a row, and a financial crisis of Biblical proportions.
Then their is that Chicago corruption issue...
I'm happy that a South American country finally got one.
Maybe this will help revive the LATYCAR swim event.
Hopefully there won't be too much bribery and corruption - I used to work with a Brazilian who left Brazil because he just got so sick of it.
I should point out, though, that not all cities have lost money hosting an Olympic games. Calgary actually made a small profit on the 1988 Winter Games, and most of the facilities are still in use both by the public and by athletes in training.
And don't forget the recent clamor about Iran starting up another enrichment plant when just last week the US blocked (with Canada's support I'm ashamed to say) a UN resolution to request Israel sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and open their nuclear sites to inspection. The same inspections, I might add, that Iran (a signatory to the NPT) has been undergoing for years. Methinks the world is starting to wonder what Obama meant when he talked about "change".
I agree that Chicago's bid didn't look good compared to the others, so I like that they stuck to that, rather than letting the shine of Obama's celebrity presence and fine rhetoric sway them. It will be nice to have the Olympic focus on a new country.
For now, I am hoping that GB won't screw up London 2012............. ;)
Great Britain WILL NOT screw up the Olympics but they really should look to the 1984 Los Angeles Games as a template for a casual Games with lots of spirit.
The USOC really needs to come up with good candidate cities that a)actually wants to be a good host (Not New York) and b) people actually want to go to (Chicago - really ????).
San Francsico, Miami, and maybe LA or San Diego.
Even though I am German, I find the anti-American sentiments in the IOC very obvious and strange - the US networks are more or less paying for the games. The next US bid should be tied in with NBC ...
L.A. should vie for it now that silly Chicago is out of it. L.A.'s ventures into the games have been successes and the last games in 84 is still paying dividends with Swimming programs for kids every summer and thoughout the year with other sports. The LA84 Foundation is a great legacy of the 1984 Games, the only one that has made money! It was also such a fun place to be with memories that have lasted to this day.
Munich has a nice ring to it - Los Angeles needs to work through some issues that may take a decade a two.
San Francisco could not handle the numbers unless they shared it with Oakland.
YAY for Rio's HIGH homicide rate! i just saw on CNN the other night that Rio has 32 murders per 100,000 people (twice as much as Chicago).
even if the new president has cleaned up with city, its still a very dangerous and run-down city!
my friends went to Rio years ago and said there were theifs and prostitutes EVERYwhere.
also, i think there needs to be some kind of "environmental" standards for the athletes! we always hear about the crazy humidity/temperatures at the Olympics Games and how the athletes feel their performances are affected!
another point: America isnt the only host country to have problems during the games. what about Munich?
Scott -- I'm so happy you said that. It's the height of hypocrisy for world powers like the US to demand that Iran open up its nuclear facilities while allowing Israel to have its own nuclear bombs. (Israel has never admitted to having the bombs, but it is widely accepted that they do.)
My top choices would have been Madrid or Tokyo. Rio has a huge crime problem (on both sides of the law) which will be a factor. Plus Rio canceled its stop on the World Cup tour this year because they couldn't get sponsors. How do they expect to finance an entire Games? If Athens could barely get the facilities built in time for their Games, Rio will definitely have similar problems.
Well its a good news for me.. Rio deserve it..
Well if the crime and the murder rate were your standard along with weather and a track record of no terrorism during the Games, then Tokyo should have won.
Actually I regretted that comment almost as soon as it was posted. I really love the ideals that the Constitution and the founding fathers represent and have many friends and family who are American. That post was the reaction of someone who has been profoundly shocked at what we've allowed to happen and where we seem to be heading. But true or not it doesn't belong here. So my apologies to all.
On a lighter note knowing the amount of security which invariably accompanies the Games I would have to think that the possibility of Brazilians murdering athletes is rather low on the scale of probabilities. Besides which, from what I hear about the extracurricular activities in the Olympic Village, I doubt many athletes will be venturing far or for long from 'home' anyways (grin).
This is an obvious decision...who would choose Chicago over Rio De Janero?? wtf
Too much corruption in Chicago...
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