Brazil Olympics 2016

[K1052]

Athens would need to spend another fortune to get all the venues back into shape but if the games and related events were held there permanently it might be worth the cost.

They do need to park the winter games ASAP. Nobody wants it. I mean they gave it to Beijing for 2022 and the lack of snow is merely noted as "a concern". The alternative was Kazakhstan...

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Oh boy

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/05/sport/rio-olympics-2016-security/index.html

Violence is on the rise, and police officers are at loggerheads with the Rio state government after claiming they've not been paid for months.
The message from police to tourists is clear: We won't be able to protect you.
The state's police officers vented their anger Monday with a sign saying, "Welcome to Hell," outside Rio's main airport. "Police and firefighters don't get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe," the sign said.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[cyclohexane]

Why the surprise? You agree to hold the games in a third world country, expect third world conditions.

What did you think would happen? People live in the slums of Rio their entire lives. All these rich white guys acting outraged are hilariously out of touch.

 

[KeithTalent]

Oh I thought someone would have posted about the "super bacteria" found on a bunch of the beaches in Rio after hospital waste was incorrectly disposed of. It just keeps getting better and better!

KT

 

[SKORPI0]

Oh I thought someone would have posted about the "super bacteria" found on a bunch of the beaches in Rio after hospital waste was incorrectly disposed of. It just keeps getting better and better!

KT

Read about it during my break at work... D:

'Super bacteria' discovered in Rio's waters as Olympics near

A group of Brazilian scientists have detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off of some of Rio de Janeiro's most stunning beaches, one month before the city is due to host the 2016 Olympic Games.According to lead researcher Renata Picao, the "super bacteria" entered the city's waterways when sewage coming from local hospitals got channeled into the bay.
"We have been looking for 'super bacteria' in coastal waters during a one-year period in five beaches," Picao told CNN during a visit to her lab. "We found that the threats occur in coastal waters in a variety of concentrations and that they are strongly associated with pollution."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-11/studies-find-super-bacteria-in-rio-top-beaches/7502288

....showed the presence of the microbes at five of Rio's showcase beaches, including the ocean-front Copacabana, where open-water and triathlon swimming will take place......
off one of the beaches in Guanabara Bay, where sailing and wind-surfing events will be held during the Games.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

They do need to park the winter games ASAP. Nobody wants it. I mean they gave it to Beijing for 2022 and the lack of snow is merely noted as "a concern". The alternative was Kazakhstan...

Detroit should get in on this action.

 

[core2slow]

any new photos of the hellhole and dilapidated wasteland these athletes will be competing on?

 

[Anubis]

I'd be all for having a permanent location. One location for summer and one for winter. They can still have different countries be the official hoster so to speak, but it would still be at the permanent location.

agree with this, you could prob actually do a cpl locations for each if you really wanted and alternate them

 

[Fanatical Meat]

agree with this, you could prob actually do a cpl locations for each if you really wanted and alternate them

But...but...but where would the Olympic committee get its bribes from?

 

[Muse]

I'm well aware that my insistence on telling the truth is going to prevent a career in politics, PR, used car sales or law.

I totally understand this. However, politics is just a subset of "working in government." It's possible to be a truth-teller in government if you insist upon it.

 

[Spacehead]

Athens would need to spend another fortune to get all the venues back into shape but if the games and related events were held there permanently it might be worth the cost.

One would think that if there was a permanent location that various countries would chip in on the price & not just leave all the costs to one country. That would be common sense to me so that's probably not how it would actually work.

They do need to park the winter games ASAP. Nobody wants it. I mean they gave it to Beijing for 2022 and the lack of snow is merely noted as "a concern". The alternative was Kazakhstan...

Alpine or maybe Scandinavian country.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

One would think that if there was a permanent location that various countries would chip in on the price & not just leave all the costs to one country. That would be common sense to me so that's probably not how it would actually work.

It's not common sense at all. Why would any country toss money into the Olympic pool without seeing any return? That's how it's sold to prospective host countries, that they can get upswings in tourism and make infrastructure improvement all while turning a profit if they do it right and that is in fact true. The big money pit is constructing new stadiums and athlete dorms which are only used once and then sit idle. If you're a permanent host upkeep on the stadiums is peanuts compared to construction costs, so a permanent host could be able to turn a profit every Olympics even without other countries kicking in.

And that could be a sticking point. While almost nobody wants to host the Olympics *once* because it's such a risk, perhaps a lot of countries might want to step up and be permanent hosts because it looks much easier to make money that way. Why would any country cede it to Athens in perpetuity if they could be the ones making a profit instead?

 

[K1052]

One would think that if there was a permanent location that various countries would chip in on the price & not just leave all the costs to one country. That would be common sense to me so that's probably not how it would actually work.

My preference would probably tilt to a city that has most of the requisite venues basically in place and used for other purposes so aren't left to rot between games. In the US this is probably LA....the only bid we should ever submit for the games for the foreseeable future.

Alpine or maybe Scandinavian country.

Yes. I'd probably vote Alpine for easier access.

 

[Spacehead]

It's not common sense at all. Why would any country toss money into the Olympic pool without seeing any return? That's how it's sold to prospective host countries, that they can get upswings in tourism and make infrastructure improvement all while turning a profit if they do it right and that is in fact true. The big money pit is constructing new stadiums and athlete dorms which are only used once and then sit idle. If you're a permanent host upkeep on the stadiums is peanuts compared to construction costs, so a permanent host could be able to turn a profit every Olympics even without other countries kicking in.

And that could be a sticking point. While almost nobody wants to host the Olympics *once* because it's such a risk, perhaps a lot of countries might want to step up and be permanent hosts because it looks much easier to make money that way. Why would any country cede it to Athens in perpetuity if they could be the ones making a profit instead?

Spread the profits to to any country that helped pay the initial costs. Or figure out before hand how to pay out the profit to all participating countries. Everybody chips in & everybody gets a cut.

Or just keep rebuilding the same things every 4 years.

I have no idea if a permanent location would work or not. Seems too easy in a complex world.

 

[MongGrel]

Oh I thought someone would have posted about the "super bacteria" found on a bunch of the beaches in Rio after hospital waste was incorrectly disposed of. It just keeps getting better and better!

KT

I'd seen that one earlier myself, just had not posted it.

 

[Ns1]

My preference would probably tilt to a city that has most of the requisite venues basically in place and used for other purposes so aren't left to rot between games. In the US this is probably LA....the only bid we should ever submit for the games for the foreseeable future.

we need the excuse to build out our public transport, so I'm all for this.

 

[zinfamous]

Getting Zika in Brazil is probably less of a concern than most other places right now--it is "winter" there so mosquitoes aren't going to be very active, plus there hasn't been a huge trend of contracting Zika in and around Rio afaik.

The real concern is someone bringing it into Rio and for the athletes--it only takes one--that historically spend every hour not competing by boning all the other athletes over and over and over again, spreading it thusly.

Basically, Zika would be a problem in any location where the Olympics were hosted this year. The location is completely agnostic with how this disease is spread. Rio has plenty of other hilarious problems to deal with for this event.

 

[Spungo]

It's depressing to see the level of corruption and evil involved in world politics. There are Brazilian citizens living in slums, but the government thought it was better to waste money on some olympic bullshit nobody cares about. Unbelievable. Does anyone even watch the olympics? I couldn't name 1 olympic athlete other than Bruce Jenner.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Spread the profits to to any country that helped pay the initial costs. Or figure out before hand how to pay out the profit to all participating countries. Everybody chips in & everybody gets a cut.

And then everyone holds hands in a field of daisies singing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing".

But here in the real world it's going to come down to one of two points. If the Olympics can make money that way, then everyone will want to host and nobody is going to agree to one country getting the biggest piece of the pie as a permanent host. And if they can't make money, nobody is going to donate because they'll think (rightfully so) that the Olympics could/should make a profit and anyone operating in the red is mismanaging or skimming the money.

And let's address the real issue. What incentive does the Olympic Committee have to pick a permanent host? They want a competitive bidding process as that enriches them. There's no way in hell there will be a permanent host unless there are absolutely no countries willing to bid in the current system. And as long as there are corrupt governments who see the Olympics as a way to line the pockets of the leaders that's not going to happen.

 

[Red Squirrel]

For winter games I'm sure Canada would take it, there is a ridiculous amount of perfect land here that could be used. It's too hot if you go south, heck even in Russia they had issues where it was too warm on some days and the snow was melting and they kept having to create more snow.

Make an Olympic village in like Northern Ontario or in the prairies or something. A place where it's pretty much guaranteed to be cold enough.

 

[cbrunny]

It's depressing to see the level of corruption and evil involved in world politics. There are Brazilian citizens living in slums, but the government thought it was better to waste money on some olympic bullshit nobody cares about. Unbelievable. Does anyone even watch the olympics? I couldn't name 1 olympic athlete other than Bruce Jenner.

Well shit. I mean the Olympics are fryou Spungo. Better cancel!

 

[Fanatical Meat]

The Olympics need to make a tighter more entertaining for TV even, less dicking around more sport. They need to purge the unpopular events that people in countries that generate revenue are not interested in. The bidding process needs to be more transparent and overall lower cost.

 

[Cappuccino]

zikalympics 2016

 

[dainthomas]

One would think that if there was a permanent location that various countries would chip in on the price & not just leave all the costs to one country. That would be common sense to me so that's probably not how it would actually work.


Alpine or maybe Scandinavian country.

Switzerland and Norway. Greece and Los Angeles. Done.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I hear the Brazilians have a good tanning team this year.

Team USA hasn't even updated their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/UsaTanningTeam/info/?tab=page_info