The Rio Olympics and the Zika Virus

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Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

The New York Times posted:

Researchers Weigh Risks of Zika Spreading at Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO � With about 500,000 people expected to visit Brazil for the Olympics here this year, researchers are scrambling to figure how much of a risk the Games might pose in spreading the Zika virus around the world.

Infectious disease specialists are particularly focused on the potential for Zika to spread to the United States. As many as 200,000 Americans are expected to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics in August. When they return to the Northern Hemisphere and its summer heat, far more mosquitoes will be around to potentially transmit the virus in the United States.

Brazilian researchers say they believe that Zika, which has been linked to severe birth defects, came to their country during another major sports event � the 2014 World Cup � when hundreds of thousands of visitors flowed into Brazil. Virus trackers here say that the strain raging in Brazil probably came from Polynesia, where an outbreak was rattling small islands around the Pacific.

As many as 1.5 million people are believed to have contracted the virus in Brazil since then, and the authorities are now investigating thousands of reported cases of babies being born recently with brain damage and abnormally small heads. Zika has spread to more than 20 nations and territories in the Western Hemisphere, according to the World Health Organization, illustrating how quickly the epidemic can expand even without a big international gathering.

By itself, the virus is not normally life-threatening, and most people who become infected have no symptoms at all.

The big question is whether Zika is responsible for the huge increase in birth defects reported by doctors, hospitals and other medical officials in Brazil over the last few months. That connection has still not been proved.

�There is more and more concern that there may be a causal relationship, but a lot of the work so far is to rule out other possible causes,� Dr. Bruce Aylward, an assistant director general at the World Health Organization, said on Thursday, adding that it might take six to nine months to know for sure.

Asked whether the W.H.O. would advise people not to travel to Brazil for the Olympics, he replied: �I would think that would be very, very unlikely.�

American officials in the United States said Thursday that there was little likelihood of a Zika outbreak in the United States, adding that the country�s long history of mosquito-control efforts had curbed other mosquito-borne diseases, like dengue or chikungunya, in the past.

But because the virus can be carried in a person�s blood to a new country, then passed to others by mosquito bites, researchers are trying to determine whether a big global event like the Olympics could add to the global transmission of the disease.

�Infected travelers departing from Brazil are expected to return to regions that have the potential to sustain transmission,� said Moritz Kraemer, a scholar at Oxford University who researches the global spread of viruses, emphasizing that many travelers would return to their home countries during the summer. �So the international spread of the virus might increase substantially due to higher activity of mosquitoes.�

Using worldwide temperature profiles and air travel routes, Mr. Kraemer and other researchers found that more than 60 percent of the population of the United States lives in areas where Zika can be transmitted during the Northern Hemisphere�s summer, when the Games will be held. A much smaller number, about 23 million people, live in parts of the United States where Zika can be transmitted year-round, like Florida and Texas, the researchers found.

In the Southern Hemisphere, by contrast, it is summer right now, and mosquitoes are rapidly spreading the disease in Brazil and other warm parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

That may pose a particular risk for big events like Brazil�s Carnival, which goes into full swing next month, but Olympics officials emphasize that it will be winter in Rio when the Games are held, which could limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

Even so, Brazilian virologists contend that mosquitoes can still easily transmit viruses in Rio and other tropical cities year-round, pointing out that Zika may have begun spreading in Brazil during its winter in 2014.

Brazil has been one of the hardest hit countries and the authorities are under intense pressure domestically to contain the Zika epidemic right away, regardless of the Olympics.

Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympics organizing committee, said that there had been no discussions about canceling the Games or moving them to another city because of Zika.

He added that teams were reviewing Olympic venues daily to eliminate problems like stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed. He said officials were also seeking to work on the �psychological aspect� of athletes being fearful about getting Zika by guaranteeing a supply of mosquito repellent and by keeping teams from every nation informed about the virus.

�The risk is no joke, so we will maintain this inspection program until the end of the Paralympics,� Mr. Andrada said, referring to the multisport event that will be held in September, after the Olympics.

Some Brazilian virus specialists contend that the measures adopted by Olympic officials are meager given the scope of the Zika epidemic in Brazil. Beyond the risk to infants, hundreds of people around the country have been stricken by Guillain-Barr�, a syndrome that Brazilian officials warn may be connected to Zika and can leave patients paralyzed for weeks.

�It�s a step in the right direction to inspect facilities, but this is something that should have been done on a broader basis five years ago, not just in the months before the Games,� said Carlos Granato, an infectious diseases specialist at the Federal University of S�o Paulo. �Mosquitoes persist in a multitude of areas around Rio and other Brazilian cities, so simply keeping Olympic venues free of them is not enough.�

The fears over Zika are merely the latest challenge to the Rio Olympics. Sailors have complained angrily about competing in the city�s sewage-infested bay. Prosecutors have asserted that builders paid bribes to win contracts for Olympic venues. Clashes have broken out over evictions to make way for Olympic projects. Deep spending cuts have come as Brazil reels from its worst economic slump in decades.

�Plagued by so many problems, Rio is clearly in a league of its own among host cities of the Olympics in recent memory,� Andrew Zimbalist, a scholar who specializes in sports economics at Smith College, said.

While ticket sales had already been disappointing organizers, concerns are growing that travelers from the United States and other countries could cancel plans to visit because of Zika.

�People have called to ask, �If this explodes, how would I cancel my trip?�� said Anbritt Stengele, president of Sports Traveler, a company in Chicago that specializes in travel packages for major sporting events. She said that about 15 percent of her clients who had booked trips for the Olympics had called in recent days to ask about the Zika virus and the possibility of modifying their trips.

�It�s a tricky situation for us, because everything is paid for in advance � airfare, hotels, ground transportation,� Ms. Stengele said. She said most of the vacation groups traveling to the Olympics included women and families with children.

�This is a completely different demographic,� she said, compared with the largely male tourists who attended the 2014 World Cup. �The Olympics is about families.�

Virologists are trying to piece together how the virus began spreading in Brazil, and where it might go from here.

Dr. Felipe Scassi, a researcher at the University of S�o Paulo�s Tropical Medicine Institute, said that an Asian strain of Zika appeared to have made its way here from Easter Island, a part of Polynesia controlled by Chile, during the World Cup. After spreading in northeast Brazil, Zika was found in neighboring Suriname and is now being transmitted up and down Latin America and the Caribbean.

Despite the rapid spread of the virus, Dr. Scassi said that the epidemic could look different in Brazil a few months from now.

�The colder temperatures should diminish populations in various cities, including Rio,� he said. �The risk in relation to Zika during the Olympics will still exist, but it will be a lower risk than now.�

Now athletes and fans alike are trying to determine whether it makes sense to travel to Rio. Alysia Monta�o, an American runner who competed at the United States Track and Field Championships while eight months pregnant, said the Zika virus could affect her decision to bring her young daughter, who will turn 2 in August, to the Games.

�The greatest thing is that I will not be a pregnant woman at the Olympics,� said Ms. Monta�o, who is hoping to compete in Rio. �Having my daughter there is really, really important to me, but I�ll need to consider if she�ll be a spectator at home or at the Games themselves.�

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/world/americas/brazil-zika-rio-olympics.html

The situation is Brazil, along with a lot of South America, is in stages of a pandemic of the Zika virus which was previously an African illness related to dengue fever. Zika is linked to serious children birth defects and, as it says, a race is now on for a cure and vaccine.

The question is should the Olympics be held when, in a worst case scenario, it could cause a worldwide pandemic? There was already arguments against the Olympics (financial reasons, anti-capitalist reasons, bribery reasons, anti-sport reasons, the disgusting state of Brazil to hold the events at all - specifically water events) but now there is a physical concern that could have worldwide ramifications.

Should countries boycott the Olympics from a serious health concern? Should they be cancelled altogether with all the money invested to be disregarded crippling Brazil further? What will happen in a few months even if headway is made for a vaccine or cure but no information on the long term effects?

# ¿ Jan 30, 2016 23:39

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 23:09

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Theres an inverse problem - even if the Olympics are moved what about athletes from countries afflicted by the Zika pandemic?

# ¿ Jan 31, 2016 00:07

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

A Buttery Pastry posted:

Plus Olympic athletes seem like they could be relatively easily be made comfortable with isolation. Basically just put everyone from a single sport (or related sports) in a place with the right training equipment/facilities to train at an Olympic level. Also hand out condoms like crazy because those are going to be needed.

The IOC is too corrupt an organization to act in the interest of anyone, to be fair.

Sweden's institutional experience with eugenics combined with its arms industry will pay off big time.

This doesn't account for the audience members, a lot of people from a lot of countries fly in for the Olympics including dignatories, politicians, royalty... You can't isolate them all. Or at all, considering they require stadiums where you will be near infected people.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2016 08:55

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Starshark posted:

I'd be more inclined to agree if the virus was fatal, but only causing birth defects seems like such a half measure.

the birth defects are the most noted feature, but it also causes paralysis among other symptoms by messing up the nervous system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillain%E2%80%93Barr%C3%A9_syndrome

# ¿ Jan 31, 2016 14:35

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

Rio organizers have been scouring Olympics venues daily for two weeks, looking for standing water where mosquitoes breed. Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said the inspections would continue daily until the games open on Aug. 5. That will be in Brazil's winter when it's cooler, drier and the mosquito population is smaller.

Andrada emphasized that no one is publicly talking about cancelling or postponing the games.

"This has never been mentioned. No way," Andrada said. "It's impossible to do that. There is no reason to do that."

So it's official - it is being discussed and it's not impossible to do and they are freaking the gently caress out.

# ¿ Feb 1, 2016 15:08

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

The World Health Organisation has declared that the clusters of brain-damaged babies born in Brazil � linked to but not proven to be caused by the Zika virus � constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

The declaration, made by the WHO director Margaret Chan, will trigger funding for research to try to establish whether the Zika virus, spread by mosquitoes, is responsible for the large numbers of babies born with abnormally small heads in Brazil. It will also put resources behind a massive effort to prevent pregnant women becoming infected and, through mosquito control, stop the virus spreading.

Chan called the birth of thousands of babies with microcephaly �an extraordinary event and a public health threat to other parts of the world�. She was speaking following a meeting of the WHO�s international health regulations emergency committee, summoned to advise the director general on whether to make the declaration, which calls in international resources and expertise.

Well its now a PHEIC, they're moving fast.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 00:36

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Thesaurasaurus posted:

Serious question, is there a single ecological niche the mosquito fills that justifies its continued existence? I mean, nobody wept for smallpox.

Funnily enough it seems the answer is no, we could wipe out mosquitos and it really wouldn't matter.

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 02:00

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Iowa Snow King posted:

...a sexually communicable disease that causes birth defects?

That's just hosed up, nature

It gets better

http://time.com/7554/a-brief-history-of-sex-at-the-olympics/

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/story/_/id/8133052/athletes-spill-details-dirty-secrets-olympic-village-espn-magazine

Everythings coming up Milhouse for Brazil

# ¿ Feb 3, 2016 04:26

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

sparatuvs posted:

Isn't very possible that the kids being born with these underdeveloped brains are the result of outside environmental factors? Haven't the births of these children been localized in Brazil? Can we safely say it's not just something in the water? I mean before now it didn't look like Zika had been connected to these types of defects.

Last year Brazil's total number of babies with microphaly was 300.

This month the number is 3000 and all but 10 had the Zika virus. It's a pretty strong correlation.

quote:

Can you bring me up to date on what is going on there?

Brazilian doctors have reported 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly versus 147 in 2014. The clusters of cases appear to coincide with the regions where Zika virus is most active. Health officials in the northern part of the country were the first to report their suspicions, and after Brazilian officials began tracking the condition more closely they found a staggering number of other cases. There has been some talk that the big jump in suspected cases in Brazil reflects a greater degree of awareness and that the numbers in the past may have reflected under-reporting. But most global public health officials agree that probably only explains some of the increase � and that there still appears to be a very real and worrisome issue.

What about the cases in French Polynesia?

The country had an outbreak of Zika virus that affected more than 30,000 people, and officials did not notice an increase in microcephaly cases at the time. But after the Brazilian data was out, officials went back and saw an increase in microcephaly cases in French Polynesia, as well. Officials have said the number of microcephaly cases was small and have not said whether any had been confirmed to be associated with Zika through blood or other tests.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2016 04:46

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

Brazil president Dilma Rousseff�s chief of staff Jaques Wagner addressed the concerns Monday, telling reporters there was no risk of cancelling the Games.

�We have to explain to those coming to Brazil, the athletes, that there is zero risk if you are not a pregnant woman,� Wagner said.

Unless you catch the disease, take it back to your country, and pass it to mosuitos or through sex which in turn would cause pregnancies. Then I guess you are a risk. Please don't cancel the Olympics.

quote:

But the organisers played down such fears, saying the Games will be held in Brazil�s winter when the cooler, drier weather will reduce the number of mosquitoes.

Also it's going to involve telling people in Brazil not to have sex.

Hahahahhahahahahahahaha. No.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2016 05:11

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/zika-virus-saliva-urine-transmission-kissing

quote:

Zika virus found in saliva but scientists split on transmission via kissing

Scientists in Brazil advise pregnant women against kissing anyone showing symptoms but others believe virus may behave more like dengue fever

Save for later
The discovery of the Zika virus in saliva has sparked disagreement among Brazilian scientists about whether pregnant women should be advised to avoid kissing anyone showing possible symptoms.

The Fiocruz research institute in Rio de Janeiro said on Friday they had identified live samples of Zika in saliva and urine, which merited further research into whether these two fluids could be a source of contagion.

Until the outcome is known, they suggested pregnant women should think twice about kissing anyone other than their partners or sharing drinking glasses or cutlery with people who might be infected.

This proposed precaution has been met with a mixture of fear and derision. Other scientists argue that it is extremely unlikely for the disease to spread this way.

Zika crisis and economic woes bring gloom to Brazil's Olympic buildup
Read more
“The warning is crazy and unnecessary,” said Rubio Soares Campos, who co-identified the first case of Zika in Brazil. “Just because the virus is present in saliva does not mean it can be transmitted that way.”

He argued that it was more likely to behave like dengue, another mosquito-borne disease that is found in human body fluids but cannot be spread that way.

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But the latest news has increased the unease of the Brazilian public, who have watched with alarm as Zika has come from nowhere to infect an estimated 1.5m people with an apparently growing range of suspected – but not yet scientifically proven – side effects, including immune system disorders and brain defects in newborns.

“It’s starting to scare the hell out of me,” said one Rio resident, Maria Teixeira. “At first everybody thought is was just a mild fever. Then, we were told it could develop into Guillain Barré syndrome, and then that it was associated with horrible side effects such as deformed babies. What’s next?”

Zika is more and more turning into what the paranoid beliefs of AIDS were.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2016 00:15

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

Zika Outbreak Means It Is Now Time To Cancel Rio Olympics

Lee Igel
CONTRIBUTOR
Exploring decision-making & behaviors at work in the sports business.
by Arthur L. Caplan & Lee H. Igel

It is beginning to look like the time has come to call off the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The reason is simple: young women cannot travel there safely. While polluted water and security issues have already made things tough for anyone who would be a visitor there, now Brazil is on the front line of the mosquito-borne Zika virus epidemic. To host the Games at a site teeming with Zika, an outbreak the World Health Organization has labelled a “public health emergency of international concern,” is, quite simply, irresponsible.

Who is going to go to Rio in the middle of a Zika outbreak? Not young women fans, who might get pregnant and risk giving birth to a child with a birth defect. Not male fans who are sexually active and risk transmitting the disease to a partner. Maybe the athletes, coaches, and other members of national Olympic teams will travel to Rio.

Imagine playing a sport so well that it earns you a spot on your country’s Olympic team. All of the time, sweat, and money you’ve dedicated to the pursuit have paid off in an opportunity to compete with the best in the world in your chosen sport. If you are one of those gifted and fortunate enough to be called on to head to the Rio Games, sure you want to go. This may be your only chance to participate in a Games.

Several athletes who are preparing to compete in Rio didn’t feel a need to wait for a WHO advisory. They’ve already started stocking up on bug spray, thinking about how to bide their time holed up in living quarters, and plotting ways to evade and repel mosquitoes.

So, athletes may still want to go to Rio. But there is no way the International Olympic Committee should let them. At the same time, corporations and media organizations need to think along the same lines, that is, putting safety ahead of their bottom lines.

Virus-carrying bugs attacking people in a city hosting a sports mega-event sounds like the basis of a Hollywood plot line. But this is no sci-fi or action movie. And it’s certainly not the stuff of comedy or B-movies, either. The Zika virus is real, of course, and its widespread transmission requires a coordinated response from government institutions, health care organizations, and local and regional communities. Brazil is going broke even without paying for the Olympics. Where should its financial priority be in the middle of an epidemic?

WHO officials said the virus is “spreading explosively,” and could infect between 3 million to 4 million people within one year. Adding to the anxiety is that the particular type of mosquitoes that transmit Zika are the same ones that help spread diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya.

The IOC is advising national Olympic committees to keep tabs on and follow WHO guidance. IOC officials aren’t overly concerned about the Games taking place as planned in light of the Zika outbreak. Organizers in Rio are of the same mindset, though are reportedly taking closer looks at venues to reduce the possibility of mosquito infestation.

This is a risky—maybe even crazy—approach.

By the time the Games roll around, many fans aren’t likely to attend. The media will report on nothing but mosquitos and birth defects, more than a few athletes and coaching staffs will balk at competing in Rio, and Brazil will be sinking further into debt trying to battle an epidemic while paying for the Games.

The IOC needs to either move the Games, postpone them, or cancel them. Prevention is the best course in the face of a serious threat to humanity.

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and head of the Division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center. Lee H. Igel, PhD, is associate professor in the Tisch Institute at New York University. Both are affiliated with the NYU Sports and Society program.

Expect this type of article to become more common, and that was before zika was found in saliva and urine.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2016 00:57

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2016 01:41

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Even as athletes grow increasingly concerned about the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil, the organizing committee for the August Olympics in Rio de Janeiro said it will charge national delegations to have mosquito screens on athletes’ rooms.

The screens, one measure Brazilians are using to help ward off the mosquito that is the primary transmitter of Zika, will be installed in communal areas “where required” but only affixed to lodging if national delegations decide to pay for it, said Philip Wilkinson, a spokesman for the Rio 2016 organizing committee.

This is certain not to backfire.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2016 15:19

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

joepinetree posted:

Zika concerns for the summer olympics are completely overblown. The following are cases of dengue fever per 100,000 for Rio. Dengue is transmitted by the same mosquito as Zika:

The x axis is week of the year. Olympics start at around the 30 week mark. Blue line is mean for past 2 years. At that point in the year, infection rate is less than 2.5 per 100,000. There are hundreds of thousands more cases of dengue than zika, and yet dengue virtually disappears in august, because the mosquito virtually disappears. People are at significantly higher risk of being killed by a stray bullet than catching Zika in august in Rio.

The issue is less the number of people catching it and more that it is now proven to be sexually transmitted, and it's an STI that causes birth defects, and then introducing that to all other countries. People are less afraid of a pandemic breaking out in Brazil as much as what happens when it ends. Stick everyone in quarantine?

# ¿ May 10, 2016 05:29

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

SynthOrange posted:

https://twitter.com/LieslTesch/status/744879791279603712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Good start.

Australia’s Olympians could be subject to curfew and warned off vast areas of Rio de Janeiro following a number of violent robberies on athletes in the Games city.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2016 11:13

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Byolante posted:

Most athletes need to compete at the olympics to afford food. Being rich enough to not show up isn't a thing the majority can do.

You greatly overestimate the financial benefits to competitors. Look up any number of articles on olympians who are broke, abandoned, forgotten, or otherwise chewed up and spat out.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2016 00:00

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

WADA just suspended the credentials of its Rio lab, all tests will have to be done in other countries probably.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2016 21:22

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

So now theres no cops.

---

Just weeks ahead of the Olympic Games, police helicopters are grounded, patrol cars are parked and Rio de Janeiro’s security forces are so pressed for funds that some have to beg for donations of pens, cleaning supplies and even toilet paper, fueling worries about safety at the world’s premier sporting event.

Brazil is suffering the worst recession in decades and Rio’s acting governor declared a state of financial disaster this month, largely to bolster spending on security as the world’s spotlight turns to the city.

“How are people going to feel protected in a city without security,” Gov Francisco Dornelles told Rio’s O Globo newspaper. “We can have a great Olympics, but if some steps aren’t taken, it can be a big failure.”

Rio state has slashed budgets across the board, including that of the police. Helicopters have been grounded and more than half of the civil police’s fleet of cars has been idled in a bid to save on gas. Even officers’ salaries have been delayed.

Angry civil police officers staged a strike on Monday, with one contingent greeting visitors at Rio’s international airport with a sign reading, in English: “Welcome to Hell. Police and firefighters don’t get paid; Whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe.”

---

loving lol

# ¿ Jun 28, 2016 22:09

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

go3 posted:

There is too much money involved to ever cancel the Olympics

Pretty much, best case scenario is they'll move it to somewhere which isn't having a financial crisis and has the infrastructure available.

Coincidentally London was suggested frequently as an alternative from their excellent 2010 Olympic infrastructure still being available except something seems to have happened in England recently and that's no longer an option. :shrug:

# ¿ Jun 29, 2016 00:54

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Startling footage shows groups of men – from young boys to older adults – fearlessly approaching tourists walking in the area before demanding passers-by hand over their valuables.

In some cases, tourists are even viciously attacked as the feral youths attempt to steal anything they can from their victims.

Some viewers have called for compassion, claiming the story behind the violence is much more complex than appearances suggest.

Reddit user Vibrate said: “The reason for the crime level is large favelas full of poor, with no education or welfare, and a massively under-funded police force.

“Many of these kids die - either shot by members of the public, rival gangs or by the police, or they get disappeared by special gang task forces.

“Plus notice how most of them have bottles that they put under their noses occasionally? They are sniffing shoe glue or gasoline and are addicted to cheap, dangerous highs.”

Rio's Olympics have been plagued with numerous problems: the Zika virus, deep budgets cuts, severe water pollution, slow ticket sales and rising fears around security.

On top of that, the country’s current president, Dilma Rousseff, faces an impeachment trial to remove her from office amid accusations of government corruption.

The opening ceremony begins in 37 days.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2016 23:20

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKXJxLFj0cI

# ¿ Jun 30, 2016 04:31

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Meanwhile in Russia

quote:

Russian track and field athletes will file collective and possibly individual lawsuits with Lausanne arbitration court to challenge the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decision banning them from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Class action against the IAAF decision will be filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) next week, the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) Secretary General Mikhail Butov told TASS on Thursday.

# ¿ Jul 1, 2016 02:27

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

The Australian Olympic Committee has become so concerned about security in Rio it has seen fit to hire a private firm to be on standby to protect the national team in the games' host city.

Miffed that Rio's mayor and games organising committee boss have ignored their escalating security worries, Australian Olympic chiefs have enlisted the additional and independent safeguards for the national travelling party that will number almost 800 athletes and support staff.

Fairfax Media has learned the extra protection resources would be mobilised at the discretion and direction of team security director Greg Nance, a former Australian Army officer who was also charged with minding athletes and officials in London.

Meanwhile, Australian team boss Kitty Chiller has effectively given up on a response to her official request that local authorities bolster security on the ground in Rio earlier than planned.

Oh great now we're going to have feuding PMC's guarding particular countries.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2016 14:47

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Have some more!

quote:

POLICE attempts to recapture a drug trafficker who escaped from a Brazilian hospital have led to deadly gunbattles in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

Ten people have been killed and about 50 schools have been shut over the past nine days, the O Globo newspaper reported.

Police would not immediately confirm the death toll, but said they had deployed 27 battalions of military police to various areas, including downtown and the touristy southern area of the city.

Nicolas Labre Pereira, nicknamed �Fat Family,� escaped on June 19 when assailants stormed one of the hospitals recommended for tourists travelling to the Olympic Games.

The raid to free the 28-year-old suspect left a patient dead and a nurse and an off-duty policeman wounded.

quote:

Human Rights Watch released a report on Thursday noting that police are responsible for 20% of all killings in Rio state. Three-quarters of the victims are black men, many of them killed in extrajudicial executions. Although many officers are also murdered, the groups observes that police in Rio killed 24 people for each officer who dies on duty, which is triple the level in the US. Very few are ever punished.

Amnesty International has noted an increase in police violence since April and said the deployment of troops in favelas could lead to an upsurge in violence as was the case in the World Cup year of 2014, when police killed 580 people in Rio State, an increase of 40% over the previous 12 months.

�Brazilian authorities are not only failing to deliver the promised Olympic legacy of a safe place for all, but are also failing to ensure that law enforcement agents, especially the police, meet international law and standards regarding the use of force and arms,� Amnesty warned.

Rio�s state government has yet to respond to requests for comment, though it has previously noted that many police are also killed, that officers found guilty of wrongdoing are punished, and that crime levels have improved compared to 10 years ago as a result of the �pacification� programme.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2016 11:21

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-olympics-could-use-a-mulligan-on-golf-1468366791

Incidental to Rio, the clusterfuck that is Olympic Golf.

Of course being Rio note the bit about they didn't have a golf course so they bull dozed a nature reserve between high rises.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2016 11:32

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

In New York is the first ever confirmed case of a female to male zika transmission thrpugh sex.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2016 09:59

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Russia is staying in the Olympics! This is bad news for then as the athletes have nowhere to live!

quote:

The troubled Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games have arrived at their first major crisis, less than two weeks before the opening ceremony.

The Australian Olympic Committee confirmed on Sunday evening that the athletes' village has been deemed uninhabitable in the short term due to significant plumbing and electrical concerns.

It is unclear if and when competitors will be able to move in, with the International Olympic Committee is set to undertake "stress tests" to deal with serious issues with plumbing and fire safety.

AOC chef de mission Kitty Chiller confirmed late on Sunday night (AEST) that Australian athletes would not be moving into the village, having hoped to do so on Sunday.

"For over a week now AOC staff have been working long hours to get our section of the village ready for our athletes," Chiller said in a statement.

"Problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean.

"In operations areas water has come through the ceiling resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling and wiring."

Chiller said the situation came to a head on Saturday nights (Brazil time).

"We decided to do a "stress test" where taps and toilets were simultaneously turned on in apartments on several floors to see if the system could cope once the athletes are in-house.

"The system failed. Water came down walls, there was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was "shorting" in the electrical wiring. "

Chiller added that Great Britain and New Zealand contingents had been experiencing similar problems.

The Rio organising committee has sent in large teams of cleaners and repair staff, but could not say when the village would be open.

The AOC arrived in Rio on the weekend. Staff will continue to work from a nearby hotel. The first Australian athletes, boxers and canoeists, also were scheduled to move into the village on Sunday. Contingency arrangements were being made as dawn broke in Rio. "From what we've seen," said a spokesman, "you wouldn't put people in there yet." Other countries found themselves in the same boat as Australia.

The unfinished state of the athletes village confirms some of the worst fears held about Rio's lack of preparedness for the Games. All Olympic cities end up in a last-minute flurry, but from accounts, Rio has left too much to too late. This builds on an impression formed by visitors to the World Cup of soccer in Brazil two years ago, that infrastructure would prove to be a big and perhaps insurmountable issue for the Olympic Games.

The timing of this latest drama is unfortunate, to say the least. All eyes were turning to Rio on Sunday as the IOC convened to consider throwing Russia out of the Games. This follows the release last week of a damning report on wholesale and state-sponsored doping of athletes in Russia up to and including the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. It was widely expected that the IOC would conclude that it had no choice except to exclude the entire Russian team.

In a small off-set, the AOC generally is satisfied with what it has seen so far of the level of security at the athletes village and in Rio generally.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2016 18:23

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Meat Recital posted:

There's always some amount of fuckery, but selfie guy is a new wrinkle. Usually some protesters will extinguish the torch, they'll quietly relight it with a cigarette lighter or something, and everybody will move on.

In the dumbness of antiquity what actually happens is that with the torch at all times are two lanterns that have also been lit from the torch in Athens that travel with the torch wherever it goes. If the relay torch is extinguished it's relit from one of the two lanterns. Because that's the original flame. Fire not working this way not withstanding.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2016 04:43

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

NBC, the network that paid about $1.2 billion to broadcast the Olympics, is so keen to maximise the audience for Rio 2016's opening ceremony that it lobbied � unsuccessfully � to change the spectacle's official language from Brazil's native Portuguese to English.

In the traditional Parade of Nations, teams enter the arena in alphabetical order. Switching the languages would have put the United States's 555 athletes near the back, giving American audiences a reason watch the full broadcast. As it is, the team will enter somewhere in the middle, because in Portuguese, the delegation is known as Estados Unidos.

Finallyu found something so insane that even Rio didn't agree to it.

# ¿ Jul 28, 2016 09:30

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

As this has become a pseudo catch all for the Olympic disaster heres an article on a clandestine meeting by the IOC over their biggest problem - no one wanting to host anymore.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/27/biggest-threat-future-olympic-games-rio-2016-ioc-thomas-bach-hosts

As the articles said Rio and Russia damage the brand, no hosts end the business.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2016 10:16

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

quote:

Just days after his controversial quip that Australian athletes might have felt more at home in their Olympic accommodations if a kangaroo had been placed outside, Rio de Janeiro’s mayor has placed the blame for the problems in the athletes’ village on the city’s Olympics organizing committee.
“The athletes’ village was ready. Then the organizing committee took charge for three months, and there were extremely serious management problems. During those three months, people intruded into the apartments and a lot of things were stolen,” said Rio mayor Eduardo Paes in an interview with a Sao Paulo newspaper picked up by AFP.
“The doors were left half-open. The organizing committee was careless, objectively speaking,” Paes said.

[Related: How Rio is helping its stray cats and dogs leading up to the Olympics]
Paes, who has been in office since 2008, maintains he only learned of the problems in the village late last week and that Brazilians were not the ones at fault.
“It wasn’t a Brazilian in charge of the Olympics village. Only foreigners,” said Paes. “At least people can’t say the Brazilians are disorganized. The boss was Mario Cilenti.”
Cilenti is Argentinian, so it perhaps comes as little surprise that the embattled mayor would try and pin the blame on him when you consider the contentious relationship that the two South American neighbors maintain with one another.
It’s been reported that Cilenti has since been relieved of his duties as executive director of the athletes’ villages, although there’s been no official confirmation of this from the Olympics committee.
The problems with the village – which range from exposed wiring to leaky plumbing and clogged toilets – first came to light Monday, when the Australian delegation announced it would be staying in a hotel because its accommodations were uninhabitable. Meanwhile, the Italian delegation decided to take matters into its own hands, hiring contractors to complete its unfinished block of apartments.

THEM DIRTY FOREIGNERS RUINING THE OLYMPICS

# ¿ Jul 30, 2016 06:48

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Less than a week before the 2016 Rio Olympics are set to start, the Brazil Ministry of Justice terminated its contract with a private firm that was supposed to provide security for the games. The ministry cited “incompetence and irresponsibility” from the Rio de Janeiro-based firm Artel, and moved to strip them of their duties.

It’s not hard to see why the Ministry of Justice reacted so harshly. With only a few days left until the first venues are set to open, Artel admitted that they have only hired 500 security personnel.

They were supposed to hire 3,400.

These staff members were going to be responsible for screening visitors outside each Olympic venue. X-ray machines and body searches are now going to be handled by local police forces to secure areas that are expected to have tens of thousands of screaming fans.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2016 14:30

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

AriadneThread posted:

uh, is this the police force that went on strike over not getting paid?

Yes.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2016 15:29

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

The Olympics' opening ceremony will represent a slice of life in Brazil, including a mugging scene with supermodel Gisele Bundchen the unlikely victim.

I so want this to be true.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2016 02:15

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

dex_sda posted:

Thankfully, olympic villages gathering thousands of young and fertile athletes with beautifully sculpted bodies at peak physical condition who often have little time for dating due to training are at no risk of STDs!

Also tourists with discount prostitutes.

In fact dollar for dollar currently some of the best accomodation in Rio is to rent a room in a brothel.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2016 02:21

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

A gentle reminder that swimming is a drug corrupt den

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/04/poison-pool-swimming-scandal-trust-rio-2016-olympics-fina

Memories of the last olympics and HGH teenagers flood back

# ¿ Aug 4, 2016 13:35

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

A Russian diplomat has shot and killed a Brazilian who attempted to rob him in Rio de Janeiro on the eve of the Olympics, local media reported on Thursday.

According to the Globo newspaper, the vice counsul – named in reports as Marcos Cesar Feres Braga, a Brazilian lawyer who holds the vice-consul post at the Russian consulate – grappled with an assailant who tried to carjack his vehicle, believed to be a BMW X6.

The diplomat was waiting in traffic in his car with his wife and daughter when he was approached by two men, each on a motorcycle, Globo reported.

One suspect broke the driver’s window with the gun and demanded the the consul’s watch. But the Russian, who is trained in jiu-jitsu, grabbed the attacker, hauled him into the car and the attacker was killed with his gun. The other motorcyclist fled.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2016 02:22

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

Ryan Lochte was almost murdered.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2016 00:00

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 23:09

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2016 04:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > The Rio Olympics and the Zika Virus

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