Rio-2016 News

[BTHarner]

No they have a brand to maintain. The Olympic brand is one of, if not the most recognized in the world. It doesn't need buidling.

[paul]

true, maybe re-build is even better.........the brand has been declining in recent years.

The IOC has been a sneaky little gang of self important blowhards for many decades, they are leaches who get cities to overspend and go over-budget by the billions 100% of the time on their extravagant wants. As long as cities like Rio give their all (and more than they have) to the IOC in hopes of enhancing their status on the world stage they IOC will continue to lock them down for all they can squeeze out before they leave town to the next sugar-city. Later Rio.....love ya, gots ta go babe.

Edited July 16, 2016 by paul

[paul]

x

Edited July 16, 2016 by paul

[TeamBlakeUSA]

We Still Got 20 Days Left.

[Ikarus360]

[gamesnz]

Watched on the news today (Band News):

97% of hotel rooms in Rio are booked

Rio 2016 has reached its target financial goal from the selling of tickets for sporting events. (My opinion is that the number of tickets sold will probably reach close to 96-98% since Brazilians like to purchase tickets in the last minute).

Almost 80,000 security forces are already at work in Rio

Every person attending the Games will have their IDs verified electronically.

All venues are ready. They will start installing the visual identity today.

From the perspective of the locals who were interviewed, population's support is growing steadily. People in the streets are confident everything will go well and will be a great party like Brazil is famous for. They mentioned several major international events which happened in Brazil in the last 4 years that were a complete success.

[gamesnz]

"Rio reminder: Every Olympics seems like a disaster before it happens"
http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/st...happens-071416

Pre-Games turmoil doesn't always make for a bad Olympics.

By Chris Chase

Jul 14, 2016 at 3:29p ET

If you haven't heard, the Olympics are in disarray. Nothing is ready. Citizens are angry. There are safety concerns, financial concerns, travel concerns. Forget about pulling it off, there's worry they'll even be able to get started. Read all about it:

• "The Olympic Park [is] going to be ready only a week before the Opening Ceremony. Seven million tickets hadn't been printed. Training of the volunteer staff of hundreds has not yet begun. Remodeling of the airport is incomplete. A large proportion of the money required has not been raised."

• "Thousands of stray dogs will be poisoned ahead of next month's Olympic Games."

• [The delay] dovetails with all the clichés about, at best, the nation's inefficiency and, at worst, the nation's untrustworthiness."

"If all this weren't depressing enough, government and opposition have turned the Olympic delays into political football, trading bitter words and accusations over the whole mess."

• "Official government figures show that the initial $5.4 billion budget has increased by half as much again. But government economists admit in private that the end figure may be nearly $13 billion.

• "More than half the tickets remain unsold. Tour operators report sluggish bookings and up to 6,000 of the 62,000 hotel rooms are up for grabs with just weeks to go before opening ceremonies. [...] Olympic construction delays and terrorism concerns are being floated as the main reason for the lagging interest."

• "The Olympics are an irresistible stage for athletes—but also for those who wish to act out their grievances before the world. The Summer Games, which kick off on Aug. 8, are hardly an exception."

"The Olympic sailing venue has been hit by the worst algae blight in living memory, forcing officials to order an emergency clean-up of threatened regatta routes."

(Getty Images)

It's going to be bad. Really bad. Except that in the end, chances are it probably won't. The (slightly tweaked) news excerpts above are from the Summer Games in Greece (2004) and Beijing (2008), two events that were supposed to be complete Olympic disasters that would set back the movement and forever change how we viewed the greatest, largest spectacle in sports.

We didn't even get into the Sochi Olympics in which Russians were going to spy on athletes and journalists, kill stray dogs, put up competitors in ramshackle accommodations and create untenable toilet situations. There were "specific" terrorist warnings and Chechen separatists were apparently just going to mosey up the coast. And, oh yeah, Putin was probably going to wake you up in the middle of the night in your single-sized room with two beds and force you to wrestle him and a grizzly, shirtless, by the light of the moon. Oh, the Sochi Games were going to be a mess.

But by the end of the Olympic fortnight, things usually work out okay.

[brasilolimpico]

The tv show ' Fantastico ' of TV GLOBO promises show this Sunday night a bombastic report on terrorism in Brazil .

The call indicates that 4 terrorists tried to enter the country recently .

In addition, TV Globo had exclusive access to the Rio 2016 Security Command and will show how it works.

I look forward to the report.

[paul]

Low class move by Nuzman, calling out golfers who don't want to go to Rio. Was it necessary to do this in public? reminds me of when the buthurt IOC called out Oslo for dumping their 22 bid.

Olympics: Headof Rio Games (Nuzman) says golfers skip because no money involved

Rio de Janeiro • The head of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics says the world's top four male golfers have withdrawn from the games because there is no money to be won — not because of the Zika virus.

"They tried to blame Zika, but the media have shown that they are not coming because there's no prize money," Rio organizing committee President Carlos Nuzman said Saturday, speaking with the games set to open in just under three weeks.

Jordan Spieth was the last of the top four to withdraw from the Olympics, citing health concerns and other matter he said were personal. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy said Zika was the main reason for skipping the first Olympic golf tournament in 112 years.

"Zika is much worse in Florida than in Brazil, and golfers are playing in Florida," Nuzman said.

Male golfers have also cited security worries, and some have complained that Olympic golf has been wedged into an already crowded tour schedule.

Rio has myriad Olympic problems: Zika, security concerns, severe water pollution and sluggish ticket sales.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes warned in the wake of the attack Thursday in Nice, France, that fans in Rio could face more checks, more roadblocks and more delays.

Nuzman, speaking at a debate sponsored by a local magazine, seemed to be bracing for small crowds at some Olympic venues. Organizers says about 70 percent of tickets have been sold.

-and then he added this gem-

"I don't think we need too much public," he said, adding that smaller venues could save money.

[paul]

Scott reject criticism of Rio Olympics boycott

World number one Jason Day has hit back at critics of the golfers who have elected to skip the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“I mean, we’ve got enough money, you know what I mean,” Day told the Australian Associated Press after signing off from the British Open at Royal Troon.

“And I don’t mean to make that sound in a bad way. It’s not like we’re chasing it because of that.

“We play the Presidents Cup, there’s no prize money.

“You go down there to (Rio) win a gold medal. That’s probably one of the biggest honours you could get as a sporting athlete.

“Unfortunately, if it was Tokyo this year, I’d be there in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s unfortunate.”

Day’s compatriot, world number eight Adam Scott, was among the first to opt out but put it down to a packed schedule and his lack of interest in playing another 72-hole individual strokeplay tournament.

He said Nuzman’s assertion was “not accurate”.

“I don’t know where he would get that idea. That’s just assumptions and I think they’ve made a lot — and obviously that’s dangerous.

“I mean, I made my decision based on my priorities and where my life’s at at the moment.”

[paul]

Brazil Moves Late on Security for Rio Games

Contract for screening was awarded only this month to inexperienced firm

The firm has little or no experience providing screeners for megaevents, a person familiar with the situation said. To deliver the required services, Artel would have to hire, train and perform successful background checks on as many as 6,000 screeners in a space of five weeks, people familiar with the Olympics contract said.

By contrast, the screener contract for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was awarded 10 months before the start of those Games; it was a year in advance for the 2012 Olympics in London.

Meanwhile, the agency that issued the tender said it had to scrap plans to install 315 additional surveillance cameras at nine Olympic facilities after the contracting process failed.

[brasilolimpico]

NEWS: Group in Brazil declares support ISIS.

(Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

An extremist group in Brazil declared loyalty to ISIS and created a channel called Ansar al-Khilafah in Brazil Telegram application, which resembles the popular WhatsApp. The information was released by the American expert monitoring of terrorist activities on the web Rita Katz of the SITE Intelligence Group, on Monday.

In a post on Twitter, Katz said that the group is seizing the moment to spread extremist ideology before sports competition. In late May, ISIS has created the first channel in Portuguese organization, also within the Telegram. The page for caliphate advertising, is a Portuguese version of the existing Nashir Channel. Contacted by ANSA, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) has not returned to the contact on the alleged alliance of a group in Brazil to the Islamic State. Political scientist Heni Ozi Cukier, Professor of International Relations at ESPM, said any threat needs to be checked to see if it is fake or real. "It may just be an opportunity to terrorize before the Games," he said, stressing, however, that, if true, Brazil must increase their vigilance.

http://veja.abril.com.br/mundo/grupo-no-brasil-declara-apoio-ao-estado-islamico/

[neneu10]

[neneu10]

[cslopes54]

I wonder if there'll be Poke Stops =]

[brasilolimpico]

The new batch of 100 thousand tickets to Rio -2016 which was offered for sale yesterday ace 12h00 was sold in less than five hours.

An absolute success!

The volume of purchases is growing !

Brazilians are also being inundated by television advertising.
All channels are mass touting the Rio -2016 , mainly TV GLOBO (which alone holds more public than the second and the third largest broadcaster in the country together).

[paul]

New Zealand Olympian Jason Lee ‘kidnapped by police’ in Rio de Janeiro

A NEW ZEALAND athlete says he was kidnapped and forced to withdraw cash from ATMs by men dressed in police uniforms in Rio de Janeiro.

Jiu-Jitsu athlete Jason Lee took to social media to confirm the news.

“What did you guys get up to yesterday? I got kidnapped. Go Olympics! #Rio2016,” he tweeted.

In a more detailed post on his Facebook page, Lee claims the men threatened to apprehend him if he did not meet his demands for “a large sum of money.

“I’m not sure what’s more depressing, the fact this stuff is happening to foreigners so close to the Olympic Games or the fact that Brazilians have to live in a society that enables this absolute bullshit on a daily basis,” he wrote.

“I was threatened with arrest if I did not get in their private car and accompany them to two ATMs to withdraw a large sum of money for a bribe.

“This place is well and truly f***ked in every sense of the word imaginable.”

Lee’s partner, New Zealand journalist Laura McQuillian, later tweeted: “Boyfriend was accosted by Policia Militar cops who drove him to two ATMs and forced him to withdraw cas #roadtoRio.

Following the report in the NZ herald, Australia’s chef de mission Kitty Chiller was asked if she was concerned about security ahead of the first Aussie athletes arriving.

“Hearing that, that’s not good news at all,” she told 3AW.

“I’ve only been in the village, I haven’t been out and about. The security presence in and around the village has been very strong and very safe.

“I’ve not felt unsafe at all. Hearing something like that is very disturbing.”

Edited July 25, 2016 by paul

[Ikarus360]

Oh dear...the Olympics haven't even began and this **** already happened. Now i'm worried more stuff like this will happen on the next days. Or worse.

I just hope this becomes a wake up call for Security to get their stuff together. 

[LDOG]

Sorry, this guy is olympian in which sport? surely not Jiu-Jitsu since it's not an olympic sport...

[Hobart]

6 hours ago, LDOG said:

Sorry, this guy is olympian in which sport? surely not Jiu-Jitsu since it's not an olympic sport...

 jūjutsu Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon or only a short weapon.

Yet he got held up at gun point.... i smell a rat with this one

[paul]

That jujitsu guys is not an Olympic athlete, just some New Zealander who lived in Rio for 10 months and is some sort of jujitsu Champion.....anyway check this out.......those cops that kidnapped him at gunpoint and made him withdraw $800 dollars from ATMs came back to his house!

'Police who kidnapped my boyfriend are downstairs'-New Zealand Herald

The Kiwi sportsman in Brazil who says he was kidnapped by men in police uniform is holed up in his Rio apartment, after he says the same men today arrived unannounced at his home.

Jason Lee, Jiu-Jitsu athlete and boyfriend of New Zealand journalist Laura McQuillan said yesterday that he was kidnapped by the men and forced to withdraw money from ATMs.

Earlier this morning McQuillan tweeted that the same police had returned to their home today.

"Doorman just called to say Policia Militar - the police who kidnapped my boyfriend - are downstairs. They should not have our address."

"We have contacted the NZ Ambassador and are awaiting further advice," she wrote on Twitter.

Lee said he refused police access to their home, called the New Zealand Embassy, and is awaiting the arrival of civil police.

"I was assured by civil police that by making a statement, my personal information could not be accessed by Policia Militar," he wrote on Twitter.

About 15 minutes later he said the men had left.

"Locked in our apartment awaiting advice from the NZ ambassador. Policia Militar has now left. Awaiting arrival of Civil Police."

....more in the link.

 

[gotosy]

Rio 2016: Court of Arbitration for Sport sets up fast-track Olympic doping court

 

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is opening a Rio office to fast-track doping cases at the Olympics.

A new Cas anti-doping division has been created to act on doping violations at the Games.

Previously, cases were first heard by the International Olympic Committee, which has delegated its powers to Cas.

Cas said it will hear cases and appeals throughout the Games, from 5 to 21 August, and would be able to impose temporary sanctions if warranted.

A Cas court - the Cas ad hoc division - has been in place at every Olympics since 1996 to resolve any legal disputes arising at the Games.

But this is the first time a specific anti-doping court has been set up to run alongside it and take the lead on doping violations throughout the event.

Earlier on Tuesday, whistleblowers Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanov told the BBC that Russian dopers "will be in Rio".

This week 37 Russian athletes have been banned from competing in Rio by their respective federations, with more set to follow.

This was after the IOC asked governing bodies to decide which Russian athletes could go to the Games in the wake of a report into state-sponsored doping in Russia.

The IOC had decided against enforcing a blanket ban on Russian athletes but said the federations should consider whether the athletes had previously been sanctioned for doping or satisfied strict testing criteria.

Some have questioned the validity of the decision to ban Russian athletes on the basis of having been previously sanctioned. An earlier Cas ruling - known as the Osaka rule - had blocked attempts to do this, arguing there could not be a double punishment for already sanctioned athletes.

 

BBC

http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/36900632

[neneu10]

[paul]

Jet Fighter Crashes Off Coast of Rio de Janeiro

A Brazilian jet fighter crashed into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday afternoon, after it collided with another jet during a military exercise.

The pilot was ejected from the plane and hasn't been found, according to the Brazilian navy, which said rescue operations will continue throughout the night.

The second plane was damaged but made its way back to the coast and landed safely.

Earlier this month, a jet fighter belonging to the air force crashed in Santa Cruz, a western suburb of Rio. The two occupants were ejected and landed safely.

Members of the armed forces recently began patrolling the streets of Rio and carrying out a series of training exercises around the city in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

[paul]

Protesters in Brazil halt Olympic torch relay and extinguish its flame