Yet More Uplifting News from Rio

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.
 

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.
 
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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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Sad Update-officer died

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.

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
 
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.
 
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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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?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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