Blog Archive
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2009
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October
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- News Today, November 01, 2009 (2)
- the annual Village Halloween Parade October 31, 20...
- This Is It makes $20m in one day
- In love with Cinque Terre
- Top 5: Date Ideas You Can Do Naked
- Defriending can bruise your 'digital ego'
- Is Trick-or-Treating Dangerous?
- Cartoons of the Week October 31, 2009 - November 6...
- The Hunt for Tuna: A Tough Catch
- The Omega-3 Battle: Which Margarine Is Healthier?
- Visit Animals at Zoo
- Kris Allen's 'Live Like We're Dying' Video Due Nex...
- Preview of 'Smallville' 9.07: Jor-El in Person
- 'Ghost Whisperer' and 'Medium' November 6 Previews
- Fresh 'New Moon' Clip Offers Scene From Bella's Bi...
- Miley Cyrus Describes Her 'Sex and the City 2' Sho...
- Miley Cyrus Approves of Taylor Swift and Taylor La...
- Lady GaGa Plans to Dress Down on Halloween
- Amazing Halloween Wallpapers
- Sports Today, October 31, 2009
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives in Japan
- News Today, October 31, 2009
- Taiwan Snacks
- Dating The Same Girl ?
- Internet domain names set to appear in non-Latin s...
- Halloween Candy Without the Heartburn
- 'Supernatural' 5.08 Preview: Sounds Like Trickster...
- 'CSI' 10.06 Preview: Death and the Maiden
- Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy Confirmed for 'Mad M...
- 'Men in Black 3' Moves Forward With Writer Etan Cohen
- Paris Hilton Hasn't Decided on What She's Going to...
- Lady GaGa to Be Handed the Stylemaker Award
- Joanna Krupa's Playboy Cover Revealed
- Video: Miley Cyrus Wants Twitter to Be Banned From...
- News Today, October 30, 2009
- Sports Today, October 30, 2009
- Landscape Photographer of the Year 2009
- Surviving the Talkative Airplane Seatmate
- Google changes to aid music searches
- Top 10: Architecture Capitals
- What Does Her Halloween Costume Say About Her?
- Bad Foods to Help You Lose Weight
- The Ares Liftoff: Learning from Space Shuttle Mist...
- Exclusive Interview: Shwayze on New Album, Tour an...
- 'True Blood' Spoilers: June Premiere, Naked Eric a...
- 'Desperate Housewives' May Air Until 2013
- Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' Off to a Solid Start
- John Lennon's 'Nowhere Boy' Gets a Trailer
- Britney Spears Reportedly to Marry Boyfriend Jason...
- Mom Says Danielle Deleasa Is the Right Girl for So...
- Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift Spotted Together A...
- Miss Thailand 2009
- News Today, October 29, 2009
- Sports Today, October 29, 2009
- Halloween Pumpkin Season 2009
- The Halloween season, Animals enjoy and play pumpkins
- Body Chemistry 101: Sweat
- 5 Foods You Should Eat Every Day
- Best Cars Are Toyota, Honda, Ford, Says Consumer R...
- What Happens to Your Facebook After You Die?
- Michael Jackson's This Is It Review: He's Still a ...
- Orangutan female, and the little 15 weeks old cub
- On-Set Pictures of Demi Lovato's 'Remember Decembe...
- Sneak Peek: Halloween at 'The Office' and '30 Rock'
- The Lizard Possibly the One and Only Villain in 'S...
- An Inside Look Into 'Ninja Assassin' Unleashed
- 'Star Trek' Collects Hollywood Movie Award
- Details of Kourtney Kardashian's Baby Shower Uncov...
- Kevin Jonas and Danielle Deleasa Already Set Weddi...
- Lauren Conrad to Be a Jester Clown on Halloween
- Marketing This Is It: How Sony Created a Global Event
- "This is it", Michael Jackson
- Sports Today, October 28, 2009
- Beautiful Lakes Scenery Wallpapers
- Loy Krathong Day
- Top 10: Tokyo Auto Show Cars We'll Never Drive
- Why You Shouldn't Pick Up The Halloween Slut
- Ares 1-X Rocket Launch Preview
- Coffee May Slow Liver Damage From Hepatitis
- Rod Stewart: 'I've been one lucky guy'
- Jackson's 'This Is It' hits record stores
- In Germany, A Better H1N1 Vaccine For Politicians?
- Jennifer Lopez to Sing New Single 'Louboutins' at ...
- Winners List of 2009 Q Awards, Lady GaGa Wins Best...
- 'Heroes' 4.08 Preview: Saving Charlie
- 'Sex and the City 2' to Be Shorter Than the First One
- J.J. Abrams: No Plan to Direct 'Mission: Impossibl...
- Jennifer Esposito Engaged to Aussie Tennis Player ...
- Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner Spotted Enjoying H...
- News Today, October 27, 2009
- Iaquinta and Totti undergo knee surgery
- Coach Ramos dismissed by CSKA Moscow
- Sports Today, October 27, 2009
- A baby wallaby
- Japan's Prince Hisahito, 3, visit to Ueno Zoo
- Making the most of Twitter
- To tweet or not to tweet?
- H1N1 Vaccine Shortages Create Panic, Concern
- Women Struggle to Quit Depo-Provera
- Report: WHO to Announce Cell Phone, Brain Tumor Link
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October
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Friday, October 2, 2009
Rio de Janeiro wins out as host of 2016 Olympics
Rio will be the first South American city to host the Games. Chicago's loss is a disappointment to President Obama, who traveled to Copenhagen to promote the US bid. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Swaying International Olympic Committee votes with the argument that South America has never hosted an Olympic games before, Brazil's sun-drenched Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, holding out against last-minute lobbying by President Barack Obama for his adopted home city of Chicago. Tens of thousands of ecstatic Brazilians, crowded along the city's famed Copacabana beach, erupted in cheers and dancing when the news was announced shortly before 1 p.m. local time, even as crowds in Chicago and the other defeated cities, Madrid and Tokyo, trudged home in disappointment. The announcement by IOC President Jacques Rogge in Copenhagen came after days of intense lobbying from the likes of Mr. Obama, the Spanish royal family, and the new Prime Minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama. In the Brazilian corner were President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and soccer great and global sports icon Pele, who borrowed Obama's campaign catch phrase, "yes we can," in their successful effort to sway voters. Now Africa is the only inhabited continent not to have been awarded an Olympic games (Antarctica, presumably, will have to wait at the back of the line). With the decision made and Brazil already slated to host the 2014 World Cup, now comes the hard work of renovating old stadiums and infrastructure and building new facilities in a program of spending that the Brazilian government expects will top $14 billion. Where that money will come from, and whether the benefits will outweigh the costs, is now on some Brazilian's minds. Olympian costs The country has suffered along with the rest of the world in the current global recession, but is also bringing on-line rich new oil and gas deposits off its coast. Rio officials predict that for every Brazilian real spent, three times that much will return in tourism and other investments. But Rio has had trouble controlling costs in the recent past. The city with a reputation as a Brazilian playground, thought blighted by crime and corruption, hosted the Pan American Games in 2007. While the event itself came off well, spending ballooned to six times the original budget, prompting critics to question the seriousness of organizers. "I think we have no reason to trust the promises that are being made, and no reason to believe that any legacy will be left," said Juca Kfouri, a newspaper columnist and long-time critic of Brazil's sports administrators. "It [will] be a hemorrhage of public money, just as with the Pan American Games." The Olympic Games' operating budget was set at $2.82 billion, with another $11.1 billion going toward projects to modernize and prepare the city for the event. More than $5 billion is set aside for transport alone. Rarely on budgetIf Rio brings in the Summer Olympics near cost, that will be first time that has happened in a long time. The Athens Olympics were originally budgeted at $1.5 billion. Actual cost? $16 billion. Beijing, too, promised a summer Olympics for less than $2 billion. The real cost in that case has been estimated at more than $30 billion. Montreal, which hosted the Olympic Games in 1978, was left with a financial hole in the city's budget that wasn't closed until 2005, according to economists Andrew Zimbalist and Brad Humphreys. In a paper on the economic benefits of the Games, they write: "Our review of the existing peer-reviewed evidence on the economic impact of the Olympic Games reveals relatively little evidence that hosting the Games produces significant economic benefits for the host city or region." But prestige is, of course, hard to quantify, and President da Silva has been seeking to increase Brazil's global diplomatic and economic profile. Rio plans to use 33 venues, including four soccer stadiums in other cities. It promised to renovate eight existing facilities, one of which will serve as the main track and field venue. Another 11 permanent venues are to be built especially for judo, wrestling, fencing, basketball, taekwondo, tennis, handball, modern pentathlon, swimming and synchronized swimming, canoe and kayak slaloms, and BMX cycling. A further 11 temporary structures will be constructed for sports like weightlifting, beach volleyball, and field hockey. The IOC lauded the Brazilian bid, but prior to the vote also raised concerns over security and accommodation. The IOC report said Rio was reducing crime and increasing public safety but noted that Rio is by far the most violent of the four bid cities. There is also a curious lack of hotel rooms in a city known as a tourist mecca. Rio promised to add 25,000 new beds between now and 2016 and said it would make up any shortfall by offering 8,500 beds on docked cruise ships. Dan Murphy reported from Boston. source: www.csmonitor.com