This New York Times piece makes the economic case on why the 2016 Olympics fit Brazil’s needs and bid more than Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo.
But more broadly and thinking ahead, Brazil is a key component of the BRICs group — Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
While none of the other BRICS countries are up, a quick review shows China just had its shot. Russia has had the Olympics enough and seven years from now will still be in a demographic squeeze while still trying to squeeze a lot of the rest of the world on energy. India should get the Olympics one day but is no where near ready for such an event and can’t manage the expense.
But these leading developing nations are the key ones that the US, Japan, and Europe (the national and supranational governments of Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid) will need to coax into “responsible stakeholder arrangements” in the global political order.
Tokyo, Chicago, and Madrid are all interesting cities — but to succeed in refashioning international institutions to anticipate global realities over the next four to five decades, bid developing nations like Brazil need to be the focus
Brazil is already doing a great deal in renewables, climate change, and broader political and economic stabilization efforts in the Southern Hemisphere to justify serious attention — and it makes sense to continue the acknowledgment of Brazil’s gains and course by the IOC granting Rio de Janeiro the 2016 Games.
We’ll know tomorrow.
– Steve Clemons
Rio has the most charismatic logo…like a little envitonmental Valetine for the world…”Have a heart…pick me”..just what we all need….
Now its final america will not hosting 2016 olympics
“The Marvelous City” or “The Windy City” It was a no brainer.
I wonder of the recent beating death of 16 year old Derrion Albert had something to do with it. The last time we had an Olympics in the US, there was a bombing in the central Olympic square, which killed two people. Now just before this decision, Chicago saw one of its children brutally beaten to death on the way to school.
Many people in other parts of the world consider American cities to be unsafe destinations. Chicago’s murder rate, at 18 per 100,000, is nine times that of Madrid and 18 times that of Tokyo.
Rio’s is even worse than Chicago’s, at 33 per 100,000.
Well, Chicago has already been eliminated on the first round of voting.
So, Obama is giving payback to his friends in Chicago who have bought up sections of property smack dab in the middle of “Olympics territory”.
Meanwhile, these pieces of shit that tortured, spied, lied us into Iraq, and fed us a fairy tale about 9/11 collect huge speaking fees, and go to work lobbying for the corporations and countries they sold us out to.
Anyone still buying this “change” mantra is a fuckin’ idiot. Obama’s trip to Geneva is a personal mission to line the pockets of his cohorts in Chicago, and we are footing the bill for this junket.
There is more than an odds on chance this power hungry empty suit is gonna step on his own dick in record time. Hopefully, he won’t bring down the entire country when he does so. But I’m not optimistic.
I’d be surprised if Chicago beat out Rio, but I hope it does. It would mean Wisconsin gets some cool cycling road races between Madison and Mt. Horeb, plus easy access to the sailing events from Milwaukee. And Illinois would get stuck with all the bills for new buildings. Woo-hoo!
Steve, on Russia, they’ve got the 2014 Winter Olyimpics.
another katrina in the making and obama flys to the olympics, typical
GO RIO
See Theorypedia’s take on why it’s a forgone
conclusion that Chicago will win the battle to host
the Olympics:
http://theorypedia.com/2016_Olympics_Of_Course_Chica
go_Gets_Them_ta01d7c7d.html
Nadine,
Don’t so easily blame Obama for the economic train wreck. #43 was asleep at the wheel, or pretending to be, while he and his Dick spent billions on a war based on lies.
How many conservative Repubs went along with the uncontrolled #43 spending? The phony House conservative in my district voted for every #43 spending bill — every bill! Throw in the Patriot Act and the Repubs have a boat load of dunderheads who don’t know/follow the Constitution or understand economics 101.
#43 put Wall Street in charge of the bailout and I suppose you’ll conveniently forget that too.
If you’re smart, you won’t count out Chicago as the choice. . .let’s just see who’s correct on the Olympics. We already know the score on #43.
I don’t know where the Olympics will end up, but I’m pleased that that Obama is willing to put some political capital on the line for his home town and an American city, and that he still remembers where he came from.
I hope it’s Brazil, too.
It won’t say much for Obama’s clout if it’s Brazil – there’s a good reason Presidents don’t lay their prestige on the line for Olympics…but perhaps Obama wants to distract attention from the September unemployment numbers, which don’t look good.
i would really like to go to brazil… however the last place i would want to go is where they are having the olympics.. olympics are bad news for many in the local community.. here in b.c. where they are having the 2010 olympics i am not going to bore you with some of the huge turnoffs, but the kinds of politics that play out are a real turn off for me personally… brazil any time except during or near the time of the olympics is where i am at with this….