The Olympic Gods Smile on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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O sorriso olímpico dos deuses em Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Rio de Janeiro did what Obama could not do, capture the 2016 Olympics, and for the first time South America will host the Olympics games. It was a great victory for the soft spoken committee from Brazil and a tribute to the people of Brazil and South America.



Not even the fleet of jets carrying the celebrities from the USA could stop the move to finally welcome the South American continent into the world community and now the world will get to see and share the rich culture and history of Brazil.




Few people know that more Italians live in Brazil than any other country outside of Italy and more Japanese live in Brazil than any other country than Japan. Yet the long tradition of Brazil remains intact. It is the only non-Hispanic speaking nation in South America with Portuguese the national language.






[Christ the Redeemer statue (Portuguese: O Cristo Redentor) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest art deco statue in the world.[1] The statue stands 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metres (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tons (700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700 metres (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. It is one of the tallest of its kind in the world. A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is a very important symbol of Brazil's Christianity.]




True to it's roots, Brazil has nearly 200 million people and is the largest Catholic nation in the world with 74% of the diverse population being Roman Catholic. The Brazilian football (soccer in the USA) team is ranked number one in the world and the Amazon Rain Forest is one of the environmental wonders of the world.



From a personal standpoint my band, Nashville Bound, enjoys its greatest following on the worldwide internet from the people of Brazil and over the past few years they have been my best fans. Everyone in America should be proud of the success of Brazil in landing the first Olympics Games in history for South America and the people of Chicago could not have lost out to a better nation.




God bless Brazil!
Deus abençoa Brasil!

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IOC To Obama - Olympics About Athletes, Not Rock Stars

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In a stunning vote by the International Olympic Committee the IOC rejected Chicago on the first ballot for the 2016 Olympics. With the high profile Obama personally changing his agenda to make a trip to Copenhagen to lobby the IOC was this just another case of the world saying "no to American arrogance"? So far Obama is yet to get any concessions from his numerous trips around the world and meetings with leaders from around the world.

Obama Meets General on Air Force One to Justify Olympic Trip?




Scrambling to create the illusion of "official" business while on a junket to lobby on behalf of his political buddies from Chicago, a potential billion dollar payback for these long time politicians and financers, Obama met with his Afghanistan advisor General Stanley McChrystal for 15 minutes in Copenhagen before heading back to the White House.

The war in Afghanistan got 15 minutes on the trip while Chicago and the Obama Rat Pack from the Windy City got about 5 hours of his time not to mention the entire day it took to get there and back. They also got Michelle Obama the last couple of days along with Oprah Winfrey and a massive effort by the Obama White House. That means two taxpayer jets of people crossing the ocean.

After holding only one phone conversation with McChrystal the last 70 days since he put him in charge of the war in Afghanistan, and delaying discussion on the urgent request for more troops from his general, the president talked to him three times in 48 hours. Was it political staging or a sincere effort to resolve the request for troops?

McChrystal had been in London, where he said in a speech Thursday that insurgents are gaining strength in Afghanistan and more troops are needed to "buy time" for the Afghan military and police forces to prepare to take control of the country in 2013.

A White House spokesman said the hastily scheduled meeting was part of the ongoing discussion about Afghanistan and no decisions were made. The pair met in the president's cabin of Air Force One. It seems "no decisions being made" is part of the new White House strategy.

"The president wanted to take the opportunity to get together with General McChrystal," spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard the presidential aircraft just before takeoff.

The meeting was the third conversation between the two since McChrystal disclosed in a television interview that aired Sunday that he had spoken with Obama only once since taking over the U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan. Obama tapped McChrystal in May to replace ousted Gen. David McKiernan.

McChrystal has been a thorn in the side of the Obama gang since going public with his analysis that we are losing the war in Afghanistan without more troops. Administration people like Rahm Emanuel, Vice President Biden and virtually every other liberal there oppose the troop build up. Now the media is saying the Administration is becoming too deliberate in taking action and is hurting their own agenda with their inertia.

As for the Olympic bid led by White House staffer Valerie Jarrett, Jarrett made sure a full court press was underway by the White House. According to The New York Times, "Barack Obama is a man with many mentors, but Ms. Jarrett has been one of his most longstanding and influential tutors, navigating him through Chicago civic and political circles. Ms. Jarrett coached both Obamas at once -- they first met when Michelle Obama applied for a job with Ms. Jarrett in the Chicago mayor's office -- and she has guided them ever since."




With both presidential jets dispatched to Copenhagen along with the many security and staff needed to support the travelling White House, opponents say hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars are being spent for Chicago, a city with a long history of corruption. Chicago spent about $40 million for the bid and numerous Obama people were already direct and indirect beneficiaries of the big bucks.

Even long time Obama backer Oprah Winfrey joined the delegation to lobby for the Olympic bid. As for the people of Chicago, polls showed only half even wanted to host the Olympics. Perhaps the IOC did what the Aerican politicians would not do, listen to the people.




Wasn't it Obama himself who promised there would be no lobbyists for special interests in the White House? Does that mean he has to fire his wife and himself?