If I was on the Olympic Committee, I would have voted for Rio...

[WCGreen]

South America is the only continent, outside of Antarctica, to never host an Olympics.

Sure Rio is surrounded by poverty and crime and despair, but it is also the center of a world wide power shift from the first world to the third world. Brazil is emerging as a power broker because of a stable government, massive resources and a dynamic economy.

They are also trying to stake a common ground somewhere between the bellicose polls of power.

In other words, they are a budding success story.

Remember, when the US was emerging, it too was full of crime ridden slums and social unrest. Some would say we still have those problems and I would have to agree. Except we do have a safety net, rather tattered to be sure, but still a lot of assistance is out there that is not in place down in Rio.

So cheer for Rio. Don't mourn for Chicago. It is, after all, the city of big shoulders.

[ixion]

1. I'm more concerned for the people of Rio

I can hear the bulldozers firing up now. :(

[alarimer]

3. There is a very ugly side to the Olympics that never is heard, even here.

Democracy Now was talking about it today. Cities almost always lose money. They tear down slums (which would be a good thing IF they actually provided better housing as a replacement), forcibly remove the poor and homeless (because god forbid the outside world actually see the truth about a place). And of course locals have to deal with hordes and hordes of obnoxious tourists, extra traffic, disruptions in services.

[lightningandsnow]

12. +1

The Vancouver 2010 games are creating a lot of issues for the more disenfranchised people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside - such as homeless and street-involved people. Basically, people are trying to get them out of sight for the games with little concern for their actual well-being. :(

[robinlynne]

9. The people of Rio are thrilled. (just got off the phone.)

[anonymous171]

2. Brazil is only succeeding because it is ignoring neoliberal doctrine.

I think that is the real important point to take away from this.

[DJ13]

4. Not me

The dichotomy between the wealthy and the extreme poverty that makes up Rio would have been a deal breaker for me.

I would have voted for Tokyo if Chicago was out of the competition.

[robinlynne]

8. no difference between here and there. same differences here in the US.

[WCGreen]

10. Inreresting observation...

[Gabi Hayes]

15. wouldn't you say that we're becoming closer, with Brazil making positive strides, while

our country is making a headlong dash to the bottom

I don't think we have anything to match the slums of Sao Paolo or Rio, but we're getting there

[robinlynne]

26. oh I think we're there. There is no more hunger in Brazil. there is here.

There is free medical treatment for allin Brasil , although it is not great.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I agree...

K&R

:hi:

[texasleo]

6. Brazilians care more about their country than they care about other countries.

And there's nothing wrong in Americans feeling the same way about their country.

[Thickasabrick]

7. In honor of Rio being chosen.....blast from the past......

My favorite song of all time by James Taylor: Only a Dream in Rio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzgG07zUnpQ

[iceman66]

11. I would not have.

By that logic, Antarctica should be a shoo-in for 2020!

A Chicago Olympics would have been a wonderful way for the US to re-establish its relationship with the rest of the world, in a symbolic but meaningful fashion, after the foreign policy disaster of the GWB administration.

That is what Obama was trying to get across in his pitch, but unfortunately the IOC missed the opportunity.

What these foreigners fail to understand is that if Obama fails, and this country falls back into the hands of the neocons, it will NOT only be Americans that suffer.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Oh good grief, I like the Olympics but it's just a sporting event

If Obama wants to REALLY reestablish friendly relations with the rest of the world, he'll withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, renew diplomatic relations with Cuba, and put our own house in order.

[bigwillq]

18. ....

:thumbsup:

[iceman66]

20. He's working on all of those things.

Unfortunately Bush made such a mess out of Iraq and Afghanistan that it would not be at all responsible for Obama to just pull the troops out. He has been trying to come up with a reasonable exit strategy.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Exit strategy?

Adding more troops to Afghanistan is an exit strategy?

Sorry, that sounds like (to use a Vietnam-era buzzword) escalation to me.

[iceman66]

24. You really think Obama wants another Vietnam?

He is trying to stabilize a country that Bush massively messed up so that we can withdraw without leaving an even bigger disaster in our wake. Obama would pull out of there tomorrow if there were a responsible way to do it.

[scarletwoman]

14. Uh, so now that we didn't get the 2016 Olympics we're DOOMED?

Gosh. Now I'm really worried.

[WCGreen]

17. What everyone seems to forget is that the US has held the Olympics

4 times since 1980.

Lake Placid in 1980, LA in 1984, Atlanta in 1996 and Utah in 2002.

I think we have had a few games over the years.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. And I just looked at the comments on the NY Times website

The Republicans are saying "FAIL!" (in effect), but the foreigners are talking about rude and abusive Immigration and Customs personnel as a reason foreign athletes might hesitate to come and about America's sense of entitlement.

They're also saying that Rio and Madrid were the only two cities among the finalists where a majority of the population was FOR holding the Olympics.

[iceman66]

21. Of course the Olympics is minor in the grand scheme of things, BUT

Bush brought us a lot closer to WW3 than a lot of people realize. Other world leaders know this, and you would think they would be doing anything they can to help Obama because its in their OWN best interest.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. How would it have helped Obama?

Sure, the righties who commented on newspaper websites (undoubtedly inspired by their radio-based mind controllers) ranted about Obama "failing" and "wasting money" going to Copenhagen, but I bet you anything that if the IOC HAD awarded the Olympics to Chicago, the same radio-based mind controllers would have had their zombies ranting about "Chicago corruption" and "wasting taxpayers' money to build a lot of white elephant facilities," and they would have had tantrums about every penny of the inevitable cost overruns.

Besides, as others have noted, the U.S. has held the Olympics 4 times since 1980. Acting as if Chicago "should" have won displays an almost adolescent sense of entitlement.

I'd rather concentrate on the fact that a South American city has been awarded the Olympics for the first time.

[iceman66]

25. It would have been more about helping America than Obama,

a way for the world to say 'we forgive you' after the Bush disaster. It also would have been an economic boon for the Midwest.

I'm not saying Chicago 'should' have won, just that it would have been nice if it did, and that if I were on the IOC I would have voted for it.

[Swamp Rat]

16. GEAUX RIO DE JANEIRO!!!

:)

[Vidar]

27. I agree, though I certainly don't rejoice in Chicago's rejection.