2016 Olympics

[southsider2k5]

That's crazy talk. Now that we didn't get the Olympics, we won't have increased taxes, our infrastructure will still be improved such as roads and public transit, more affordable housing will still be built and now our education system will improve as well as our crime rate because our city won't have to be under the watchful eye of the world!

 

Btw, I live in Chicago.

 

lol. You really believe that you were going to get hit with taxes for the Olympics that you aren't going to get hit with now? How is that exactly? What local governmental things are going to not be enacted and taxes added, that were going to get done before, specifically?

[nitetrain8601]

lol. You really believe that you were going to get hit with taxes for the Olympics that you aren't going to get hit with now? How is that exactly? What local governmental things are going to not be enacted and taxes added, that were going to get done before, specifically?

 

I didn't think the green was necessary, but I was being sarcastic. But it seems like that's the argument for not wanting the Olympics.

[lostfan]

I didn't think the green was necessary, but I was being sarcastic. But it seems like that's the argument for not wanting the Olympics.

lol don't worry I def. picked up the sarcasm.

[Milkman delivers]

This sure isn't helping this American's feeling about the rest of the world right now either. It isn't worth being the world's sugar daddy just so someone will like us. Maybe they should put on a couple of their own olympics and then think about how much America helps teh rest of the world.

 

Agreed.

[Steve9347]

Back in town, and boo to the results.

 

I don't know if I expected Chicago to get it, but when we were first announced as out of it Friday morning... I mean, basically out of consideration, my jaw dropped.

[BigSqwert]

I think we lost it when a group from the IOC did an unannounced visit to Chicago and took the Blue Line to the Division stop. They immediately threw up when they stepped off the train and got a look at their surroundings.

 

EDIT: And it took them 90 minutes to get to that stop from O'Hare because of slow zones and shuttle buses.

Edited October 5, 2009 by BigSqwert

[HuskyCaucasian]

My wife's aunt works for a major Olympic sponsor... i wont say who it is. She was told that after Chicago was eliminated in the first round a bunch of the companies delegates to Denmark threw their phones in the river and a group in Chicago went out and got drunk.

[CanOfCorn]

My wife's aunt works for a major Olympic sponsor... i wont say who it is. She was told that after Chicago was eliminated in the first round a bunch of the companies delegates to Denmark threw their phones in the river and a group in Chicago went out and got drunk.

 

Love. It.

 

 

[CanOfCorn]

This sure isn't helping this American's feeling about the rest of the world right now either. It isn't worth being the world's sugar daddy just so someone will like us. Maybe they should put on a couple of their own olympics and then think about how much America helps teh rest of the world.

 

The USOC needs to get their s*** together. They should just sit out the next 2 Olympic picks. Tell the IOC, we want to straighten ourselves out first. By then, it will be nearly 30 years since an Olympics has been in the US. If they choose someone else, consider cutting funding to the IOC and starting up that competing tv network.

[bmags]

Why I worry about Rio...

http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-plank/could-th...%E2%80%99s-poor

[Harry Chappas]

Why I worry about Rio...

http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-plank/could-th...%E2%80%99s-poor

 

That right there is why I find it really funny that people thought Rio was a better choice than Chicago. The crime and corruption in Chicago...give me a f***ing break.

 

The two weeks of congestion also get me as the f***ing marathon has added 20 minutes to my commute and the stupid thing is still four days away.

[bmags]

I have optimism they will move away from "raid" solution, and it should be mentioned, the city is 15 mill large, so 2000 is obviously still high, but it's also one of the biggest cities in the world.

 

But, The inhumane things US cities have done to their poor is move them, put them in shelters to hide them, with favelas, i just hope that brazil doesn't bring a big war to them.

[kapkomet]

I have optimism they will move away from "raid" solution, and it should be mentioned, the city is 15 mill large, so 2000 is obviously still high, but it's also one of the biggest cities in the world.

 

But, The inhumane things US cities have done to their poor is move them, put them in shelters to hide them, with favelas, i just hope that brazil doesn't bring a big war to them.

You mean Brazilian cities, right? Otherwise I'm confused as to what you're getting at.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Consider Joint Bid for 2020 Olympics

 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are launching a joint bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

 

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima and Nagasaki's Tomihisa Taue are founding members of the Mayors for Peace 2020 Campaign, advocating for a global ban on nuclear arms, and they want to use that to springboard the world's largest sporting event into their two cities.

 

The Japanese cities were the site of the 1945 atomic bombings that closed out the Second World War in the Pacific.

 

"The Olympics symbolize the abolition of nuclear arms and world peace, and we want to work to realize our plan to host the games," Akiba said.

 

Hiroshima's mayor spoke last month in Mexico City, saying he firmly believed the world could abolish nuclear weapons by 2020. He suggested his city and Nagasaki could hold the Games that year to celebrate.

[NorthSideSox72]

You mean Brazilian cities, right? Otherwise I'm confused as to what you're getting at.

I think he's saying that the things that might be done to the homeless and destitute here, would pale in comparison to what might happen to those people in Brazil.

 

[bmags]

Eh no big deal, Rio gangs shoot down a police helicopter, two cops die, buses are attacked and lit on fire stopping traffic, city has havoc wreaked upon it...leading to the BoP doing a martial law in the favelas and surrounding areas.

 

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/rio-g...own-165241.html

RIO DE JANEIRO — Drug traffickers shot down a police helicopter during a gunbattle between rival gangs Saturday, killing two officers in a burst of violence just two weeks after the city was chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

 

Ten suspected drug traffickers were also killed during the fighting in a shantytown, along with two bystanders in the slum, officials said.

 

Story continues below ↓

 

Bullets flying from the Morro dos Macacos ("Monkey Hill" in Portuguese) slum in northern Rio de Janeiro hit the police helicopter pilot in the leg as he hovered above the shootout, causing him to lose control and crash.

 

Two officers died, while the pilot and three other policemen escaped after the craft hit and burst into flames. The pilot and a second officer suffered burns and bullet wounds. The other two officers also were burned, one gravely, said Mario Sergio Duarte, head of Rio state's military police.

 

Officials did not know whether the gangs targeted the helicopter or whether it was hit by stray bullets, but the event underscored security concerns that have dogged Brazil's second-largest city for decades.

 

It was not clear what sort of weapon or weapons hit the helicopter, but Duarte said it was unlikely to have been an anti-aircraft missile. Such weapons have been found in the hideouts of drug traffickers along with other heavy, military-grade arms such as grenade launchers and .50-caliber machine guns.

 

Duarte said the pilot was able to make a somewhat controlled, though extremely rough landing, which he said would have been unlikely if the aircraft had been hit by a heavy weapon.

 

Police said 10 presumed traffickers were killed during the fighting in the slum, including three suspects found dead inside a vehicle. Officials gave no details on the other seven.

 

They said at least eight buses were set on fire in other slums. Television images showed motorists fleeing for cover as automatic-weapons fire crackled in broad daylight amid the worst violence the city has seen in months.

 

Images broadcast by Globo TV showed flames shooting from the helicopter wreckage, with little more than charred pieces and an intact tail remaining after the fire was doused.

 

Rio police frequently use helicopters to take on gangs that dominate drug trafficking in the city's more than 1,000 slums, but were unable to say whether this was the first time one of their helicopters had been shot down by gang members.

 

The crash happened about five miles (eight kilometers) southwest of one of the zones where Rio's 2016 Olympics will be located. The city on Oct. 2 was picked over Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo to host the games. Rio alone among the bid cities was highlighted for security concerns ahead of the International Olympic Committee vote.

 

The downing of the helicopter happened amid intense firefights involving rival gangs in the slum as one tried to seize a rival's territory, authorities said.

 

Police moved into the area before dawn, though gunfire continued throughout the day, keeping terrorized residents inside their homes as bullets slammed into apartment buildings. Duarte said late in the day that the areas were under control.

 

Despite increased policing efforts, Rio remains one of the world's most dangerous cities. The violence generally is contained within slum areas, though it sometimes spills into posh beach neighborhoods and periodically shuts down the highway that links the international airport to tourist destinations.

 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other officials have played down the threat of violence for the Olympics, saying Rio has repeatedly demonstrated it can pull off big events without risk to players and spectators.

 

Rio held the Pan-American Games in 2007 without major incidents, deploying more than 15,000 specially trained officers to keep the peace.

 

___

 

Associated Press Writers Marco Sibaja in Brasilia, Brazil, and Alan Clendenning and Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

 

Edited October 18, 2009 by bmags

[knightni]

Great. More domestic terror possibilities for the Olympics.

[southsider2k5]

to the IOC for their groundbreaking work. First Olympics in a war zone!

[whitesoxfan101]

Boy, you know you picked a shady area for the Olympics when Chicago is the safer, less crime plagued choice.

[knightni]

Boy, you know you picked a shady area for the Olympics when Chicago is the safer, less crime plagued choice.

American cities are Candy Land compared to many parts of the world.

 

 

[bmags]

This happens a lot. There was a near all out war for a while, but then the drug lords figured out that it wasn't like they wanted to take over the government, and know they can work easily within the system. s*** like this just pops up when the drug lords want a reminder to police that they actually have no control over them.

 

That said, I think, seriously, country pride would lead the gangs not to do anything on the olympics. Also, they'll probably get some nice bribes to continue to keep the people in favelas in a constant state of destruction and poverty.