Wildfires cause evacuations at the Rio Olympics

Something tells me this report on't go very far.

Couldn't be anything to do with climate change could it? Dry conditions from last year's el-Nino - anything but....

“We see drier than normal conditions in the Amazon region, which has also historically led to more fire activity....So one particular impact there, is, depending on what is happening on the ground, and the direction of the winds, the Olympics could be affected if the smoke is blown into Rio.”

Wildfires cause evacuation of Olympic venues near Rio

(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Washington Post,

16 August, 2016

Wildfires near Deodoro, a suburb of Rio and a site for several events at the Games, caused the precautionary evacuation Monday of Olympic venues for mountain biking, canoe slalom and BMX racing, according toreports. In addition, high winds blew ash onto the field at the stadium where women’s field hockey quarterfinals were being played, although it did not disrupt any games.

The winds were part of a disruptive weather pattern Monday, one in which pouring rain caused a delay in the evening’s track and field events. Two women were injured when a television camera fell on them at Rio’s Olympic park, which could have been caused by the winds.

 

Bob WeiersVerified account‏@bobweiers

Watching the forest fires in Deodoro #Rio2106 venue burning live on the feed at the IBC. Flames spread by high wind

• RETWEETS2
• LIKE1
• 

9:01 AM - 16 Aug 2016

A strong El Niño this year left much of the Amazon in unusually dry conditions, providing ripe conditions for wildfires, per a CNBC report. Brazilian officials warned that winds could cause smoke and fire to spread to other Olympic venues by Tuesday.

“We see drier than normal conditions in the Amazon region, which has also historically led to more fire activity,” Robert Field, a researcher with NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told CNBC in July. “So one particular impact there, is, depending on what is happening on the ground, and the direction of the winds, the Olympics could be affected if the smoke is blown into Rio.”

However, the fire Monday near Deodoro may not have been so “wild,” according to a report by the websiteCanadian Cyclist (via Deadspin), which claimed, “A controlled garbage burn got out of control after high winds over 90 kmph came up.” The website also passed along this statement from the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), the sport’s governing body:

“The UCI is aware that there was a fire this afternoon in the vicinity of the Rio 2016 Mountain Bike course. It is understood the fire is now under control. Assessment of any potential impact on the Mountain Bike course will be made tomorrow.”

Fires were also spotted near Deodoro last week during the rugby sevens competition held there.

 

Patrick Yuen‏@PatrickYuen_36

Forest fire about half-km from #Deodoro Stadium where #rugby is now playing has been raging for past 3-hrs. #Rio2016

Sochi

A sad waste of resources

Sochi after the Olympics

VICE

26 March, 2014

The future of the Sochi Olympic venues is unclear.

Alexander Valov, a Russian reporter for BlogSochi, visited Sochi’s “coastal cluster” — the group of six venues, Olympic Village, and Olympic Park that was built from scratch on an undeveloped plot of land — and he took some eerie photos this week.

He called the area around the Olympic Village “Dead City.”

The photos are a reminder that much of what was built for the Olympics has no long-term use.

While a few arenas and other buildings have plans going forward — the media center is being turned into a mall! — the Russian government is still behind schedule on post-Olympics planning.

Valov’s photos, which we’re republishing with his permission, should serve as a warning for what could become of the “coastal cluster.”

To see the photos GO HERE

The Olympics: It's hot in Sochi

Global Warming Is Melting Sochi

It's hot in Sochi, the dystopian home of the Winter Games.

Motherboard,

13 February, 2014

It's hot in Sochi, the dystopian home of the Winter Games. Temperatures hit a balmy 61˚ F on the slopes today, presenting the Olympic media establishment with the most obvious quip in sports news history: this weather's better suited for the summer games. The warmth is ruining the halfpipe, slushing up the snow, and sending athletes into the shade in bouts of rage.

Human-fueled climate change is almost definitely helping to crank up the heat. Researchers at Russia's Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics synthesized 32 different climate models that included temperature data for the Sochi region, and uncovered a distinct warming trend. According to their projections, by the end of the century, annual average temperatures will surpass 16 ˚C, or 60.8 ˚F—the same as the anomolous, scorching temps causing so much discussion today.

"In this region the yearly mean air temperature increase amounts from 1.9 ˚C to 2.5 ˚C," they write. That's a potential rise of over 4˚F. That's on average—we'll likely be seeing February days hotter than this more regularly as a result, too—and it's probably enough to wipe out Sochi's already flimsy Winter Olympics viability for good in the future. In some regions, like the mountains where Sochi's slopestyle sports are held, the rise in temperatures are more acute: "The largest surface air temperature increase by 2.6 ˚C for the selected scenario is obtained in the north-eastern and south-eastern area of this region."

Sochi's mountains will feel the heat most of all, but the fact is that temperatures are rising across the board. Slushy, short-sleeved mountain sports in the middle of February are apt to become more common.

"The fact is that this is part of a larger pattern," climatologist Michael Mann writes me in an email about Sochi's heat, "one in which we are breaking records for all time warmth at nearly three times the rate we would expect from chance alone so far this decade."

Indeed, according to Russian climate data for the region stored at Climatebase.ru, the average temperature during the period from 1940-1960 was 14˚C. Since 2000, that's risen to 14.3˚C. According to a temperature record that goes back to 1898, the average temperature in February was 6˚C, or 42˚ F. Today, the mercury is in the low 60s. 

An Olympic hopeful nordic skiier, Taylor Fletcher, described the conditions on his course to the Denver Post: “There’s a section that’s brown,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s snow or mud. If they keep salting it, it’s going to be nasty.” Meanwhile, the slushy halfpipe notoriously led to a torrent of complaints from athletes, and an unusual number of wipeouts between jumps.  

Brian Ries      
✔
‪@moneyries

Follow

The first American, 23, from Cali, is up now in the ‪#Sochi half pipe. AND HE'S DOWN.

6:39 AM - 12 Feb 2014

Reply

Retweet

Favorite

“It’s not even slushy—it’s mushy and it’s very hard to ski on,” another American skiier, Bill Demong, told the Washington Post of the conditions on his event. “There’s no structure to the snow, and the person who can float the best wins.” 

Organizers aren't surprised by the heat; in fact, they planned on it. After Sochi saw a hotter-than-average winter last year, officials hauled in an extra 500,000 tons of snow and stored it on the slopes, just in case. You can see the profound non-snowiness of Sochi in these NASA satellite images.  

Given the Russian climate models' projections for the region, we can only expect that white to continue to give way to red.

Again, you can't attribute these late-spring skiing conditions arriving in February directly to global warming, but climate scientists say they fit the trends they've been predicting for years. Many like to compare global warming's propensity to increase the chance we'll see extreme weather conditions to loading the dice.

"So did this roll of double sixes result from the loading of the dice?" Mann writes. "Well, we can never prove that. But it is certainly consistent with the larger pattern of record heat in recent years, which collectively we can attribute to human-caused climate change."

See also - 

Winter Olympics in Sochi are offering summer temperatures, challenging conditions

Sochi - the snow is melting

Of course they can use huge amounts of power and water to make snow, but the fact is that while America is seeing Arctic conditions and Britain is seeing biblical droughts temperatures on the snow slopes of Sochi are at 6C (43 F) and forecast to reach 11C or more (51F) over the coming days.

Don't mention the elephant in the room!

Winter Olympics 2014: 'Garbage' course is dangerous as snow melts away, however IOC allay fears despite temperatures set to increase in Sochi

the Independent,

11 February, 2014

The organisers of the Winter Olympics are facing mounting criticism over the state of the ski runs at Rosa Khutor as mild temperatures are creating mushy conditions – to the increasing irritation of competitors.

Temperatures in the mountains rose to 6C on Tuesday – warmer than Glasgow or Aviemore, Britain’s largest ski resort – and are forecast to climb even higher later this week. The organisers have begun distributing their reserves of stockpiled snow but denied that conditions were a problem. Yet it has become a common theme among the athletes.

The final practice run for this morning’s women’s downhill was cancelled and frantic repairs were required on the half-pipe course before competition could proceed, with chemicals used to ensure the snow stayed frozen.

The state of the half-pipe course has been an issue since day one of the Games as mild temperatures have led to soft, slushy snow. “It’s a little dangerous,” said Hannah Teter, the American who has won medals at the last two Games. “I’ve seen more people fall than I saw all season. It’s dangerous because it’s crappy.”

The Americans were noticeably critical, with Danny Davis calling the half-pipe course “garbage”. “It’s a bummer to show up to an event like the Olympics and not have the quality of the half-pipe match the quality of the riders,” he said.

An Australian coach described the half-pipe course as “very shit”. The freestyle skiers joined in, with a number of the slopestyle finalists complaining about the mushy conditions on their course.

The International Olympic Committee and the organisers sought to play down the problems. An IOC spokesperson pointed out that no events have been cancelled but, with 11 days of skiing and snowboarding remaining and the forecast being for temperatures of up to 11C in the mountains by the end of the week, they face an anxious few days. It has not snowed in the mountains since before the Games.

“The next few days will be a little warm, but not unbearable,” said an IOC spokesperson. “There is always a problem when it is a little bit warmer. There is no problem at all with the half-pipe, it is just that these are dynamic, living fields of play. It is a little warm and that is causing one or two problems, but things are running to schedule.”

The organisers made conflicting statements. Dmitry Chernyshenko, chief executive of Sochi 2014, denied that any of the 700,000 cubic metres of snow stockpiled last year have been used, saying: “We don’t need it.”

But Aleksandra Kosterina, director of communication for Sochi 2014, said extra snow had been spread on the slopes. “I cannot tell you how much,” she said. “I mean I don’t know the specifics but I know that we did. We had very warm temperatures last year and we managed to have all of the events that were planned, more than 22 international events.

“We had one competition when the athletes actually enjoyed the weather by the sea and some of them ventured to swim, the weather was so great for everyone.”

In fact, this time last year, a snowboard and freestyle skiing World Cup, doubling as a test event, was cancelled “due to the lack of snow and continuous warm and rainy weather conditions”.

The Games will not run out of snow, such is the amount stockpiled, but as well as denying the athletes conditions appropriate with competing in an Olympics, the pinnacle of their career, it underlines the folly of building this ski resort from scratch at huge cost in an area of the Caucasus Mountains that lacks regular snowfall. With a total bill of $51bn (£31bn) this is the most expensive Olympics ever – the new road the organisers had to build to satisfy the International Olympic Committee cost $8bn alone. It runs alongside a long-existing road to the mountains.

The route up to the Extreme Park and the Alpine Centre, the venues for the skiing events, is dotted with military lookout posts. The camouflage covering of white sheets, and the soldiers’ white overalls, look incongruous among the swathes of brown, broken ground – the snow is limited to patches and its presence has reduced noticeably over the last few days.

It is not the first Games to suffer such problems – four years ago in Vancouver, the organisers had to ship in huge quantities by truck and helicopter from the Rockies before the Games began.

How is Sochi making its snow? With lots of power, a little prayer

Terrorist threat to Winter Olympics

We ignore international trends at our peril,

Things are getting very ugly in Kiev, Ukraine.

This morning there was this report on Radio NZ (an interview with Tom Barton who also works for RT). I could find no replication anywhere in the world media until I came across this from Israeli Homeland Security – which I would never choose as a reliable source.

I am deeply puzzled why this was covered by Radio NZ (unless it is the time zone) or why they should depart from the herd by including this item. There was nothing in their 'print' version.

If true it would have the fingerprints of Prince Bandar Bush all over it. He has already threatened Putin.

Chechen Islamic terrorists threaten February 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,

Islamic rebels threaten to attack the winter Olympics next year, according to HLS News Wire.

iHLS,

26 January, 2013

On Wednesday Doku Umarov, a leading Chechen Islamic rebel, issued a call to Islamist militants throughout the North Caucasus to begin and plan for attacks to disrupt the February 2014 Winter Olympics which will be held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The Russian government views the games the same way China did during the 2008 Summer Olympics — as an opportunity to show Russia’s economic and technological achievements. Putin’s government will spend a total of $51 billion on the games, making them the most expensive Winter Games in history.

Umarov called on Islamic militants in the region to “do their utmost to derail” the games, which he described as “satanic dances on the bones of our ancestors.”

“We have the obligation to use all means to prevent this,” he said in a video posted on a rebel Web site on Wednesday.

Epoch Times reports that this is a reversal for Umarov, who last year urged his fighters to avoid civilian targets because Russians in Moscow were taking to the streets en masse to protest against Putin.

Security experts in Russia and other regions said that securing the games from acts of terrorism would be a daunting task. Violent Islamic insurgency has been on-going across the North Caucasus mountains overlooking Sochi.

Initially, the Islamic insurgency was confined to Chechnya, but after Russia, in two rounds of war in the 1990s, brutally suppressed the rebellion, the militants have shifted their base of operations to Dagestan. Tamerlan Tsarnaev spent six months last year in Dagestan.

The Epoch Times quotes the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee as saying that ensuring security at the games is “the responsibility of the state” and will be its priority.

“We are confident that the games will be safe and comfortable for all as guaranteed by the Russian state,” the committee said.

Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement on Wednesday that it is working to eliminate threats at all international sporting events in the country including the Olympics.

Officials said that they aim “to identify and avert various threats, including those of terrorism.”

This is Putin's latest statement on the Sochi Olympics

Meanwhile in Kiev

Rioters beat up police

Olympic arrest

Olympics spectator with Parkinson's wants 'exoneration' after arrest

Mark Worsfold, 54, says he was handcuffed by Surrey police officers 'for not smiling' while watching men's cycling road race

the Guardian,

8 August, 2012

A man with Parkinson's disease who was arrested during the Olympic men's cycling road race while sitting beside the route has said he wants a "letter of exoneration" from Surrey police, claiming their treatment of him was disproportionate.

Mark Worsfold, 54, a former soldier and martial arts instructor, was arrested on 28 July for a breach of the peace shortly before the cyclists arrived in Redhouse Park, Leatherhead, where he had sat down on a wall to watch the race. Officers from Surrey police restrained and handcuffed him and took him to Reigate police station, saying his behaviour had "caused concern".

"The man was positioned close to a small group of protesters and based on his manner, his state of dress and his proximity to the course, officers made an arrest to prevent a possible breach of the peace," Surrey police said in a statement.

Worsfold, whose experience was first reported by Private Eye, claims police questioned him about his demeanour and why he had not been seen to be visibly enjoying the event. Worsfold, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2010, suffers from muscle rigidity that affects his face. He was released after two hours without charge or caution.

"It could have been done better. I was arrested for not smiling. I have Parkinson's," he said, adding that he realised the officers were working long hours and trying to control the event properly, but they had not, in his case, acted correctly. He said he did not want to make further comment until he received a response from Surrey police.

For article GO HERE

Greek collapse and the Olympic Games

How the 2004 Olympics Triggered Greece's Decline

As they watch the London Olympics, many Greeks may wonder how their country went from the international glory of the Athens Games in 2004 to the recriminations of today’s crisis

Business Week,

2 August, 2012

As they watch the London Olympics, many Greeks may wonder how their country went from the international glory of the Athens Games in 2004 to the recriminations of today’s crisis. Hosting the event cost almost €9 billion ($11 billion at today’s exchange rate), making the 2004 Games the most expensive ever at that point. Greek taxpayers were on the hook for €7 billion, which did not include the cost of extra projects such as a new airport and metro system.

Within days of the closing ceremony, Greece warned the euro area that its public debt and deficit figures would be worse than expected. The 2004 deficit came in at 6.1 percent of gross domestic product, more than double the euro-zone limit, while debt reached 110.6 percent of gross domestic product, the highest in the European Union. (Today, Greece’s debt is 165.3 percent of GDP.) Greece became the first EU country to be placed under fiscal monitoring by the European Commission, in 2005.

With public debt totaling €168 billion in 2004, it’s clear that the Olympics alone did not bring about an economic collapse. Yet the Athens Games epitomized the structural problems that bedeviled the country for decades. It’s not just a question of how much money was spent on the Olympics, it’s also how it was spent and where it came from. After a period of austerity to tighten up its finances and qualify for euro entry in 2001, the Greek government loosened the purse strings once it entered the single currency. The games were just one of several areas where public spending was unchecked and funded by unsustainable borrowing.

Although hundreds of thousands of visitors came to Greece in 2004 to be a part of the games’ return to their birthplace, in the following years Greece’s share of the tourism pie grew smaller as visitors opted for other countries, such as Croatia and Turkey, which benefited from lower prices and better marketing. Many of the stadiums and facilities built at such huge cost fell into disuse. In southern Athens, a 2 kilometer seafront promenade linking three stadiums used for the games has become a dumping ground for rubble and trash. The government is renewing its efforts to sell one nearby Olympic site—the 620-hectare area at Hellenikon—after failing to develop it profitably.

“For Greece, hosting the games meant investing in infrastructure, people skills, and branding,” says Stratos Safioleas, who was head for international media for Greece’s Olympic Committee and has worked as a consultant for bid cities since 2004. “Unfortunately two consecutive governments refused steadfastly to capitalize on Greece’s Olympic legacy.”

During the Athens Games, one volunteer welcomed visitors to the Olympic Stadium with a loudspeaker announcement that urged them to “Enjoy yourselves. When will we ever see days like these again?” Mired in economic depression, distrusted by European partners, their future in the euro hanging by a thread, Greeks can only dream of beating the odds once more.

The bottom line: The €9 billion Athens Games highlighted Greece’s inability to manage its budget—a shortcoming that haunts the Greeks to this day.

Fear-mongering?

With the latest manouverings of troops within the UK and around the Olympics site, its fairly obvious to anyone paying attention that somethings not quite right. I wouldn't put a bet down on whether there will be an incident at the Olympics, there's so much bullshit amongst the facts so we will be keeping an eye on our friends from Anonymous and Occupy, that are involved with the protest that's been arranged for Saturday, and especially when we have the police chiefs at the olympics, classing "protest" as a "significant threat" to the olympics, along side Organised crime and Terrorism... Their words not ours...

--Windemere Assassin (UK Collapse)

Olympics' most wanted: Terror police fear suspect hunted after Bulgarian bus bomb could be on his way to London 2012

• The man is believed to be carrying a U.S. passport under the name of David Jefferson
• He is a top target for Israeli security agents who fear their athletes will be attacked by Iranian terror squad
• MI5 and Scotland Yard are thought to have raised their threat assessment against the Israeli delegation
• Israel fears a repeat of the 1972 Olympic Games when 11 of its athletes and coaches were murdered

Daily Mail,

22 July, 2012

A terrorist believed to have been involved in a horrific suicide bomb attack in Bulgaria last week has emerged as one of the biggest security threats to the Olympics.

The man is thought to be carrying a U.S. passport under the name of David Jefferson and fled following the attack which killed six people last Wednesday in the resort of Burgas.

He has emerged as a top target for Israeli security agents who fear their athletes will be attacked by an Iranian terror squad operating in Europe.

The terrorist, who is suspected of helping the suicide bomber, is thought to have another powerful bomb similar to the one which destroyed the Israeli tourist bus.

Following the Israeli concerns, security has been stepped up around its athletes taking part in the Games.

MI5 and Scotland Yard are thought to have raised their threat assessment against the Israeli delegation as Britain prepares for the largest peacetime security operation ahead of the opening of the Olympics this Friday.