The Rio Olympics

Rio Declares State Of "Public Calamity", Warns Of Total Collapse In Security, Health And Transport

Zero Hedge,

17 March, 2016

Earlier today, the IAAF announced that Russian track and field athletes would be banned from the Rio Oympics due to allegations of systematic doping. Rune Andersen, who heads the IAAF task force overseeing Russia's attempts to reform, said that a "deep-seated culture of tolerance, or worse, appears not to be materially changed". "No athlete will compete in Rio under a Russian flag," he said.

Perhaps instead of fighting this decision, Putin's response should be a simple "thanks" because just hours later, and just 49 days before the start of the Olympics, the Rio state government declared a state of "public calamity" (yes, that's the technical term) warning of a risk of total collapse in public security, health, transport and virtually everything else, because as the local government explained, the financial crisis is preventing it from fulfilling its requirements for the Games.

 

juliana barbassa‏@jbarbassa

'State of calamity' decreed in Rio; the state is broke. #Rio2016 #Brazil

 

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8:56 AM - 18 Jun 2016

In other words, the money is gone... all gone, and as we jokingly predicted some time ago, as a result of the ongoing economic and now political catastrophe in the country, the 2016 Oympics may never even happen in the country gripped by what may be the worst depression in its history. Oh, and then the whole Zika thing.

As Bruce Douglas adds, the Rio state government fears "total collapse in public security, health, education, mobility, education, environment" due to financial crisis, and that Rio de Janeiro "will adopt exceptional necessary measures to rationalize all public services, with the aim of realizing the [Olympic] Games."

It was not clear what would happen if the rationalization fails. Finally, by declaring a state of public calamity, the state government of Rio de Janeiro aims to get access to federal cash.

The question is whether there is any left.

And then, on the background of this dire assessment, some humor:

 

Bruce Douglas‏@bruceecurb

I would like to ask the Rio de Janeiro state government what exactly declaring a state of public calamity means, but website's down #Rio2016

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8:28 AM - 18 Jun 2016

The silver lining: no matter how bad Brazil's economy gets, it will always remain rich in natural resources

IAAF votes to keep Russia banned, Rio participation in balance

Reuters,

17 March, 2016

Russian athletes' hopes of competing in the Rio Olympics are now at the mercy of the IOC after world athletics' governing body unanimously upheld its ban on the country for systematic doping on Friday, saying not enough progress had been made in reform.

Russia, a superpower of track and field, had lobbied furiously to avert the prospect of a Summer Olympics athletics program taking place without its athletes, and argued that it was taking all the steps required of it to dispel charges of state-sponsored drug abuse.

But after a meeting of the Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in Vienna, its president Sebastian Coe told reporters: "Some progress has been made, but not enough ... The decision was unanimous - politics did not play a part in that room today."

Rune Andersen, who heads the IAAF task force overseeing Russia's attempts to reform, said that a "deep-seated culture of tolerance, or worse, appears not to be materially changed".

"No athlete will compete in Rio under a Russian flag," he said.

President Vladimir Putin told reporters in St Petersburg that the wholesale ban on Russian athletes rather than individuals was unfair and "does not fit into any framework of civilized behavior".

"We'll talk to our colleagues at the anti-doping body, and I hope there'll be an appropriate response from the International Olympic Committee," he said.

The IOC, concerned about innocent athletes being punished, has not ruled out granting Russian athletes a special dispensation.

But Coe said the question of athletes' eligibility to compete at the Olympics was "entirely a matter for the IAAF".

He did, however, suggest that a way would be found for some Russian athletes to go to Rio as neutral competitors if they had undergone proper drug testing in other countries.

RT coverage HERE