# Yet More Uplifting News from Rio



## fureverywhere (Jul 30, 2016)

I suppose the athletes are mostly teens and twentysomethings who have trained hard and see this experience as another adventure. But really, even as a journalist you couldn't pay me enough to go there this year. The police had gone on strike over not being paid and inadequate supplies...even as far as no toilet paper available at the stations and no gas for the squad cars. 

Apparently the security firm that was hired was short several hundred officers so they've been given notice. Default mode is going back to the original overworked, unpaid, resident police force. Add a high crime rate already+Zika+some random terrorists who would just love to make a statement...I can't see this ending well.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rio-ol...e-takes-over-221722153.html?hl=1&noRedirect=1


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## Don M. (Jul 30, 2016)

Yup, this Summer Olympics is shaping up to be a total disaster...both for the athletes, and the fans.


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## Carla (Jul 31, 2016)

I'd be somewhat concerned if I had a relative there. You're right, they are mainly kids and should be assured of their health and safety. Hope all turns out OK.


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## Ruthanne (Jul 31, 2016)

After all I've read about this Olympics and how unsanitary, unsafe, and diseased it is I cannot understand why they are still holding it in Rio.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 3, 2016)

US basketball team staying on ocean liner, not in the Olympic Village.

http://www.sportingnews.com/other-s...er-olympic-village/1qmlezmz4hs631ck5jwm297bzk

Athletes robbed 

http://wsav.com/2016/08/02/olympic-athletes-robbed-in-rio/

Water quality worse than before.

http://www.nbcmontana.com/sports/ri...at-muddies-waters-as-games-draw-near/42344464

So three teaspoons of water is your limit, no more, got it?

Now the Rio air has been found to be polluted.

http://www.newsweek.com/rio-olympic...ijing-who-environment-dangerous-deadly-486666


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## Ameriscot (Aug 3, 2016)

Fur, you couldn't pay me to go there either!


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## WhatInThe (Aug 4, 2016)

Chinese athlete robbed with vomit being used as a distraction.

http://www.sportingnews.com/athleti...china-shi-dongpeng/1c68o88eck19g1p4tc39bv0xmd


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## WhatInThe (Aug 4, 2016)

*Denmark team robbed*

The Denmark Olympic team robbed of electronics including cell phones and at least one Ipad. Team officials also say the dorms/team living quarters have 150 issues in 36 rooms and all the extra personal brought in to fix & maintain contributed to the thefts. 

http://www.thelocal.dk/20160803/danish-olympic-team-hit-by-theives

In other words the host country and/or locals don't give two hoots about the Olympics or Olympians other than another source for their criminal activities.


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## Don M. (Aug 4, 2016)

Between the criminal targeting of these athletes, and the raw sewage that passes for water in the bay, this years Olympics is shaping up to be a real mess.  If these athletes are wise, they will only venture our in large groups.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 4, 2016)

Samples taken last March showed 26 million adenoviruses per liter of water, but this June the level hit more than 37 million adenoviruses per liter, meaning athletes who took in the equivalent of just three teaspoons of that water would become infected.

Plus Zika, plus being robbed possibly on a daily basis...you just pray nobody gets seriously sick or injured while they are there.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 5, 2016)

The daily crime report Rio: Day of the foreigner.

Attempted robbery or carjacking of Russian diplomat ends with criminal shot dead.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...lomat-shoots-dead-robber-who-tried-to-mug-him

Moroccan boxer arrested for rape.

http://news.sky.com/story/olympic-boxer-held-over-two-rape-allegations-10524025

Games haven't even officially opened yet.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 5, 2016)

How about doing all the events in forty two hours and getting everyone out as fast as they can?


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## Ruthanne (Aug 5, 2016)

fureverywhere said:


> How about doing all the events in forty two hours and getting everyone out as fast as they can?


:yes:


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## Dupe Murkland (Aug 5, 2016)

The opening-ceremonies were artistically triumphant... until about 45-minutes in when Antarctica and the Arctic melted... leaving only a single flower on Earth, or something.  Some kid in a silver sun-suit, rocking a boom-box, rescued the flower. Then came a _redux_ of the opening, which depicted the evolution of life...

One of the CBC-announcers disappointedly ventured:  " Well, it'll be interesting to see how world-networks react to _politics_ being injected into the ceremonies. "

The entrance of the athletes began immediately after, dispelling the awkwardness in the stadium.  Who knows what NBC was doing.  CBC began broadcasting in actual time, about an hour earlier.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 6, 2016)

An opening ceremony on the cheap including having to get extra money that day.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...y-marks-festive-showing-of-brazil-cash-crunch

Protests and arrests outside Olympic Stadium hours before ceremonies.

http://www.macleans.ca/olympics/rio-olympics-party-in-stadium-anger-in-streets/


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## WhatInThe (Aug 7, 2016)

*the Rio daily dump part 1*

Kayaker hits sofa and capsizes.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/oly...er-sofa/ar-BBvkqgb?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp


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## Butterfly (Aug 7, 2016)

WhatInThe said:


> Kayaker hits sofa and capsizes.
> 
> http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/oly...er-sofa/ar-BBvkqgb?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp



Yuck, so he went into that horribly polluted water.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 7, 2016)

Oh dear, my heart goes out to anyone who has to go near that water.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 7, 2016)

*Death Race 2000 or the bad bad luck Olympics*



Butterfly said:


> Yuck, so he went into that horribly polluted water.



Wonder if that three teaspoon limit for ingestion applies to absorption into the skin.

Well I guess it's better than breaking a leg and being dropped by medics.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...mnast-samir-ait-said-broken-leg-a7177186.html

Or being the recipient of an unwanted bullet

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ics-media-tent-equestrian-20160806-story.html

OR the target of an intended bullet

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/08/06/two-shot-dead-near-rio-olympics.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl


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## debbie in seattle (Aug 7, 2016)

Anyone know how the crowds are as far as spectators (lots of folks there, not many, etc)


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## WhatInThe (Aug 7, 2016)

Equestrian events don't seem too popular. Basketball game US V China poor attendance.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/olympic-venues-see-thin-crowds-for-some-sports-in-rio/15909899/


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## oldman (Aug 8, 2016)

U.S. men won the GOLD in the 4 x 100 swimming relays. I think they finished by .5 seconds ahead of number two France. GO USA!!


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## Susie (Aug 8, 2016)

And no one cares one iota about the millions living in poverty-stricken shanty towns!
Showing off and "bravado" are the name of this game.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 8, 2016)

From our town...
http://patch.com/new-jersey/maplewo...ted-olympics-will-get-2nd-chance-team-fencing


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## WhatInThe (Aug 9, 2016)

US women soccer players receive anti gay chants in Brazil

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-us-soccer-20160805-snap-story.html


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## 911 (Aug 9, 2016)

Name calling is what it has always been, hateful to those that are on the receiving end. Usually these people are bullies or cowards that wouldn't say it one on one to their face. I can remember a time years back when I was called to a small town here in PA by a black mother that said her son (about 14 years old) was being called the "N" word by a group of boys down at the local playground while playing basketball. The small town was predominately white.  

I told the mother that there was no law against what they were doing, unless the boys added a threat or physically assaulted him while name calling. The young boy was standing beside his mom and listening to our conversation when I told her that I would drive to the playground and if the boys were still there, I would stop and speak with them. I told her that maybe if a state policeman spoke to them, perhaps they would be intimidated enough to stop it. The young boy asked me not to do that fearing that it would only make matters worse. 

I agreed to abide by his request, but I asked him if he would like a ride back down to the playground in the cruiser and I would not say a word to anyone. He liked that idea, so off we went. I stopped at the playground and before he got out of the car, I asked him to call me if things got out of hand and I handed him my business card. He said he would. I never heard from him or his mother again. I often wondered if my presence made a difference or if he was able to resolve the conflict on his own. Sometimes, if the abused person is lucky, the name calling stops as quickly as it started, especially among children.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 9, 2016)

No need to worry, that stray bullet that landed in an equestrian press tent over the weekend was probably aimed at a  police blimp or drone and not the Olympic venue. Whew and YIKES

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-...ympics-possibly-aimed-at-police-blimp/7703926

Only shooting at police at not tourists and athletes-what a relief...


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## WhatInThe (Aug 9, 2016)

Media bus shot at. At least two injured.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-bus-gunfire-idUSKCN10L00W


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## fureverywhere (Aug 9, 2016)

So if the journalists and police clear out it might minimize the shooting??? Otay...


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## WhatInThe (Aug 10, 2016)

Judo medalist robbed and beaten on beach celebrating a match and/or medal.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/j...elebrating-on-copacabana-beach-234727753.html

Received a black eye and other minor injuries. 

Goes to show the street or beach in this case isn't an arena mat with rules.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 10, 2016)

I repeat...they should compress the events into a few more days, hours even, and then hightail it out of there. This is just random crime and shootings. That there might be terrorists licking their chops in wait isn't something you want to even think about.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 11, 2016)

Russian Olympian post pictures of the criminals that robbed him. He gave up his money willingly for the picture & story.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...en-who-robbed-him_uk_57ac5090e4b0b3afa75d3bb0

Even if staged if kids are walking around Rio this is the future of Brazil, if the country makes it to a future.


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## Don M. (Aug 11, 2016)

WhatInThe said:


> Even if staged if kids are walking around Rio this is the future of Brazil, if the country makes it to a future.



Rio is a city of extremes.  There is a portion of the city that is real nice, but surrounded by huge areas in distress.  There are about 12 million people in that area, and probably no more than 1 million of them are Middle or Upper Class.  The remaining 11+ million live in little more than shacks, and survive on a day by day basis.  Such an environment is bound to breed crime.  If these athletes and visitors to the Olympics are smart, they will stay in the heavily guarded areas, and Never venture out alone.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 11, 2016)

*tv*



fureverywhere said:


> I repeat...they should compress the events into a few more days, hours even, and then hightail it out of there. This is just random crime and shootings. That there might be terrorists licking their chops in wait isn't something you want to even think about.



The problem is what you see on tv tends to be the highlights and not all preliminary qualifying rounds and/or games. When dozens of nations are competing for the same thing that takes time. Some want to make the Olympics nothing but for the elite and others want a country to be able to send contestants no matter their skill level.

This is why you wind up with dad body swimmers finishing 1/2 pool length behind.

http://mashable.com/2016/08/10/robel-the-whale/#stTq.6cwtZqM

The solution is make Athens the permanent home of the Olympics, that's if you don't phase them out. In some respects a lot of these sports might get more year round regular attention and not just the year leading up to the Olympics.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 11, 2016)

*Police Officer Shot In Head*

A Brazilian police officer was shot in the head when his vehicle/team apparently got lost and went into the wrong neighborhood. He was one of many police brought in for Olympic security

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/olympic-officer-shot-head-wrong-turn-slum-41299894

What did they miss a "NO POLICE ALLOWED" sign?

In the meantime people are still playing games, racing to go on a podium and celebrating in a nice gated community called an Olympic venue. Anything so the show can go on.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 11, 2016)

I saw a few pictures today. A young girl rollerblading in the hall of a building she apparently lives in. It is really sick...all the money supposedly funneled into sprucing up the stadium for the games. I mean here in the US there are far too many folks homeless, people living in neighborhoods where it's not safe to go outdoors after dark. But conditions in places like Rio are just unbelievable. No plumbing or clean water sources, no waste removal and primitive medical care. At least in America if you understand the system and beg to the right people you might get by. In a country like Rio you either have everything or you have nothing.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 12, 2016)

Olympic diving pooled now closed due to green water and smell.

http://news.nationalpost.com/sports...ic-diving-pool-closed-to-deal-with-green-tint


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## WhatInThe (Aug 12, 2016)

*Sad Update-officer died*



WhatInThe said:


> A Brazilian police officer was shot in the head when his vehicle/team apparently got lost and went into the wrong neighborhood. He was one of many police brought in for Olympic security
> 
> http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/olympic-officer-shot-head-wrong-turn-slum-41299894
> 
> ...



Sad update. The officer shot in the head has died. So a police officer has died so people can play games.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics-police-agent-shot-rio-slum-dies-hospital-000028552--spt.html

RIP


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## Butterfly (Aug 13, 2016)

Seems to me these games are certainly not living up to the so-called Olympic spirit of putting aside politics -- name calling, etc., and today an Egyptian judo athlete refused to shake hands with his Israeli competitor, an American soccer player calling the winning team "cowards," and other poor sportsmanship, not to mention all the doping and other stuff going on.  This Olympics is a mess.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 16, 2016)

Camera falls at Olympic basketball venue and injures seven.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/olympic-fans-injured-arena-camera-falls-41403382

German coach dies after a taxi/car crash

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-olympian-current-coach-dies-following-accident-in-rio/


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## Geezerette (Aug 16, 2016)

Some of the individual performances are awesome, but it has lost meaning for me from the days when the competitors used to have to be amateurs. Have no idea what motivates those dudes that run the IOC except some devilish pleasure from manipulating so many people & som $ on the side. We already have world championships. Why aren't they enough. & the outside conditions in Rio sound exceptionally bad.


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## fureverywhere (Aug 16, 2016)

I remember this poster from when I was a kid. I know they had a kidnapping situation there in the early 70's and people got killed. But wasn't America more Rah Rah Olympics! in those days?


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## Butterfly (Aug 16, 2016)

Are you referring to the Munich tragedy with the Israeli wrestlers?  That was awful.

I certainly think people have lost interest in the Olympics -- not because of Munich particularly, but mostly because of all the doping, poor sportsmanship, etc.  Plus this year, Rio seems to be such a pit -- pools turning green, athletes being robbed, housing uninhabitable.  The Keystone Cops could have run this Olympics better.


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## Byrd (Aug 17, 2016)

I guess people are just over-fed with major sports events. If I'd try to keep up with all the tournaments and competitions they're milking out of European football, I'd be sitting there all week, 24/7. Most of the sports shown of the Olympics are either not sports for the masses. I don't think enough people care about how far you can throw a spear. If they had TV and PR in the Days of the ancient Greeks, they might have been sitting there cheering the guy that fires the bow the best. 

Brazil as a venue was of course a horrid choice. Been there once; never again. Most of what I saw from Rio was a pool of corruption, crime, drugs and some pretty fantastic night life and cuisine. Apart from that, the city has basically been run into the ground.


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## Butterfly (Aug 17, 2016)

Byrd said:


> I guess people are just over-fed with major sports events. If I'd try to keep up with all the tournaments and competitions they're milking out of European football, I'd be sitting there all week, 24/7. Most of the sports shown of the Olympics are either not sports for the masses. I don't think enough people care about how far you can throw a spear. If they had TV and PR in the Days of the ancient Greeks, they might have been sitting there cheering the guy that fires the bow the best.
> 
> Brazil as a venue was of course a horrid choice. Been there once; never again. Most of what I saw from Rio was a pool of corruption, crime, drugs and some pretty fantastic night life and cuisine. Apart from that, the city has basically been run into the ground.



Agreed.  The Olympics nowdays is a waste of time and money for all concerned.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 18, 2016)

A UK athlete robbed. UK athletes told to stay in Olympic Village

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...sh-olympic-athlete-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-rio/


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## WhatInThe (Aug 19, 2016)

Brazil fans boo French pole vaulter into tears during his jumps and while he received a medal on the podium. He lost to a Brazilian. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rio-pole-vaulter-cries-medal-booing_us_57b57c9fe4b034dc7325b9fc

Didn't see it. Tears, Jesse Owens= eh over played exaggeration. 

They wouldn't have seen tears from eyes. But they would've definitely seen sign language from my fingers.


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## WhatInThe (Aug 20, 2016)

*Aussies have a bad week*

Australian swimmer robbed of wallet, phone and forced to make atm withdrawal, found disoriented on beach. He did not want to file a complaint. He's disciplined by being banned from closing ceremonies.

http://www.abc-7.com/story/32795326/aussie-swimmers-rio-night-out-ends-in-robbery-and-punishment


9 Australian athletes detained and fined for altering their credentials to get into a basketball game. Passports held until fines paid about $3,000 each.

http://www.nbcmontana.com/sports/sp...g-accreditation-latest-in-rio-runins/51675244


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