Oil turns white boats to brown in Rio Olympic sailing venue

[NWCorona]

Source: AP



RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A new pollution problem has surfaced in Guanabara Bay, the venue for sailing in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Sailors complained Monday about an oil slick that turned white boats brown with crews in town practicing for the Olympics, which open in a month.

"We've never seen anything like this. It was all over the place," said Finnish sailor Camilla Cedercreutz. "There was no way you could avoid it."

It's yet another in a long list of problems confronting South America's first games: the Zika virus, rising crime and violence, budget cuts, and slow ticket sales."

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0200f0745a6048319baefb3354126aa2/oil-turns-white-boats-brown-rio-olympic-sailing-venue

[GeorgeGist]

1. The pictures are definitely not convincing.

Sounds like more brown bashing by whites.

[passiveporcupine]

7. I hope you were joking.

It's no secret that the water at some of the 2016 Olympic venues in Rio de Janeiro has some problems.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro got a whiff of one venue in April. But The Associated Press has just put some science into it by commissioning tests over a five-month period.

What the wire service found is pretty gross. In short, the water is "rife with human sewage," teeming with high levels of viruses and bacteria. Not a single Olympic venue, the AP testing found, is fit for swimming or boating.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/30/427693471/testing-by-ap-finds-water-at-2016-olympic-sites-rife-with-human-sewage

[snooper2]

14. The author of the article is from Brazil...but don't let that stop ya! proceed!

[yardwork]

17. Brazil is on the verge of disaster.

The government is teetering toward collapse and the infrastructure is collapsing. I was told this by a Brazilian. It's not a joke and it's not mere racism.

[whistler162]

2. NPR did a story on this

almost a month ago.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/06/17/482458856/for-olympic-sailors-and-fishermen-alike-rios-dirty-bay-sets-off-alarms

[Just reading posts]

3. To someone who has little to no interest in sports such as myself, the coming disaster of the these

Olympic games is by far the most interesting aspect of them.

In a traffic accident kind of way, mind you.

[underpants]

5. I thought the raw sewage was going to be the big problem

They don't treat much of the waste water before it runs into the bay.

[benld74]

4. I truly hope this is the only issue at Rio

[Eugene]

6. If only...

Rio 2016: 'Welcome to Hell' warn police

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-36653007

[Chasstev365]

8. Biggest Cluster Fuck Olympics EVER!

The IOC will never admit it was a mistake, but they will regret the day they awarded the games to Rio.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

9. This year is going to be an epic shit show for Summer TV programing.

Between both conventions here, and this monumental failure, it's going to be interesting.

If anything, at least they will fill in some of the void until 'The Walking Dead' and 'Game of Thrones'
reappears.

[ananda]

10. This is the most jinxed Olympcs I've ever seen.

And that includes Moscow and Munich.

[MADem]

11. They should hold the core of the Olympics programs at a permanent Olympic village in Greece

Take a few oddball sports, and let another country host them, but have the bulk of the games in Greece, along with opening/closing ceremonies.


Greece could use the money, and it would cut down on corruption.

[Nihil]

12. Hah!

> ... and it would cut down on corruption.

Optimist!




(I agree with the underlying suggestion though!)

[yardwork]

16. It's a good suggestion.

I assume that cities compete for the Olympics because they think the publicity will be good for the local economy. I'm not sure that the numbers usually work out, though, and this year it looks like we have a real disaster.

[MADem]

19. They also think that it will bring in money....and it does, for the people who take

bribes. The taxpayers, often as not, get screwed.

There are individuals who make money--hoteliers, restaurants, etc., from an uptick in business, but the poor slob living in the outskirts of the venue who can't afford to attend a single event will often see their taxes go up.

I was so glad when Boston failed as a potential venue. Years ago we would have been a better pick, before all the urban renewal. Now Boston is just a cluster of high rises in a terribly expensive setting like so many other cities--the things that made it distinctive are harder to identify.

[Sgent]

13. They need to move the sailing offshore

it would mean no spectators, but go 3-4 miles offshore and the water quality will at least be bearable. Get it out of the bay.

Doesn't help the swimmers and rowers though.

[pandr32]

15. Don't forget the bad, super bacteria found in the water, too!

And the lack of security. Sounds like a perfect place for the Olympic games! What could go wrong?

[GreatGazoo]

18. HopefullyRio will end these corrupt Olympics as we know them

and then they can have a chance to re-emerge in a less corrupt form, perhaps hosted in Greece every four years.