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[only_human]

What's on your mind?

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[only_human]

Is anyone eagerly anticipating the Brazilian Olympics?
Brazil Can't Sell Tickets to the Olympics

For starters, the country is currently the epicenter of Zika, the mosquito-born virus that’s linked to babies born with abnormally small heads. Though the World Health Organization (WHO) believes athletes and fans should not fear the traveling to the games, the lack of a vaccine, diagnostic test and therapeutic interventions certainly startles spectators and competitors alike, and since the outbreak of Zika in Brazil garnered international attention, according to Ticketbis, ticket price revenue has dropped over 56 percent.

But public health and empty stadiums aren’t the only major concern for Rio. At the moment, Brazil’s in the midst of its worst economic recession since the 1930s, and based on recent stories about contaminated water, the link between Zika and birth defects and the ongoing doping drama, the city’s games seem more like a PR nightmare than a tourism opportunity.

The Rio Olympics are scheduled for August 5-21, and, if you haven’t already guessed, plenty of tickets are on sale at an average of $18.

oh yeah, also
Brazil President Dilma Rousseff corruption scandal threatens to overshadow Rio Olympics

Hundreds of thousands protest against 'theft, corruption'

The widening scandal sparked unprecedented protests across Brazil and in the capital, Brasilia police fired tear gas when the protests began to turn violent.

[pinhodecarlos]

Stay away from Brazil. Do not make deals with them, don't work with them. Corrupted and distorced society and mentality.
Just my humble opinion of someone who lived there for more than one year and back here in UK I have to deal with Brazilian contractors and big sites who don't respect supplier and customer relationships.

[Nick]

Glenn Greenwald and David Miranda give an interesting perspective on Brazil here:
https://theintercept.com/2016/03/18/...-of-democracy/

[pinhodecarlos]

Have relatives there and I am afraid civil war is imminent. All parties are corrupted so how can one govern Brazil?! Even the judges who should be impartial are on the riots against the actual President.

They are all

[only_human]

Today's beef:
"boycott valeant" has only eight Google hits.

[only_human]

White House convenes summit on Zika virus

APR 1 2016 Mitt Romney to help with Olympics

[only_human]

Fiat Joins The Diesel Emissions Cheating Club

According to a report in Autocar, it simply took advantage of the fact that the test protocol is precisely 20 minutes long. It programmed its NOx emissions controls to shut off after 22 minutes. Just a few lines of code. No muss, no fuss. Reportedly, Bosch blew the whistle on Fiat to the German authorities, who then verified the workaround during their own testing.

Last week, Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority issued a statement that no manufacturers were in full compliance with existing regulations as far as it could tell. Apparently, many car companies program the emissions controls on their diesel engines to turn off when ambient temperatures drop below a certain point. For Mercedes, that point is 50 degrees F. For Opel, the magic number is 62 degrees F.

No one has offered a satisfactory explanation why society should be blessed with higher emissions just because its not beach weather outside. But testing is always done indoors in temperature controlled laboratories. Regulators never thought about driving in the real world. The official explanation is that lower temperatures cause premature wear to emission control systems.

[kladner]

"Mitsubishi Motors has said it has used fuel consumption tests that broke Japanese rules for the past 25 years."

The admission follows last week's revelation that it had falsified fuel economy data for four "minicar" models sold only in Japan.
Regulations changed in 1991 to better reflect stop-start urban driving, but Mitsubishi failed to heed the change.

"We should have switched, but it turns out we didn't," said Ryugo Nakao, executive vice-president.

That meant many more models than the four minicars may have used fuel tests that did not comply with the regulations.

Koji Yokomaku, another executive, said Mitsubishi had raised fuel economy targets five times in two years while developing the minicars, ending at 29.2 km (18.1 miles) a litre from an initial target of 26.4km a litre.

Tetsuro Aikawa, Mitsubishi Motors' president, said an inquiry led by three external lawyers had been opened: "We don't know the whole picture and we are in the process of trying to determine that. I feel a great responsibility."

[only_human]

An update on the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

South Korea has issued mosquito repellent uniforms.

South Korea is taking no chances with the health of its athletes competing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, issuing them with uniforms that have been infused with insect repellent to keep mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus at bay.

The South Korean team's uniforms were unveiled in Seoul on Wednesday, marking 100 days until the opening ceremony in Brazil.

The formal uniforms, which the Korean Olympic Committee said will be worn during ceremonies and at the athletes' village, feature long trousers and long-sleeved shirts under a blazer that have all been treated with the repellent.

NBC bets big on the Rio Olympics

NBC, which has aired every summer Olympics since 1988, spent about $1.23 billion for the U.S. rights to air the 2016 Rio Olympics. (NBC's broadcast rights extend through the 2032 Olympics.)

To get people to tune in this year, the network has a marketing campaign worth $100 million, producing enough ads on its network to reach every person in the U.S. at least 25 times. The ad push for the 2012 London Olympics cost about $75 million.

The network hopes its advertising campaign will draw a record number of American viewers on TV and livestream. The London summer games in 2012 had 217 million viewers, making it the "most-watched event in U.S. television history," according to NBC.

The Rio Olympics, set to run from August 5 to August 21, have succeeded in generating interest from advertisers. NBC has already exceeded $1 billion in ad sales.

As part of its strategy, NBC has emphasized that its coverage of the games will be
live in primetime for the first time since the Atlanta games in 1996. Rio de Janeiro is only one hour ahead of Eastern Time, and there will be more hours of coverage than in past years.

Olympics 2016: Brazil World Cup winner Rivaldo warns tourists to avoid Rio

Rivaldo posted the warning on his Instagram account and alluded to the case of a 17-year-old woman killed on Saturday in a shootout.

“Things are getting uglier here every day,” Rivaldo wrote. “I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio — to stay home. You’ll be putting your life at risk here. This is without even speaking about the state of public hospitals and all the Brazilian political mess. Only God can change the situation in our Brazil.”

The CDC sneaks some useful advice in the usual bromide about seeing a doctor before traveling (in my bold emphasis). CDC travel advice for Olympics, ‘Zika outbreak in Brazil is dynamic’

The CDC recommends that you contact your healthcare provider 4–6 weeks before you depart to Brazil to discuss vaccines, medicines and other preventive measures such as avoiding consuming contaminated food and water, preventing mosquito bites, STD prevention and others.

in detail: CDC: 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio 2016) +JavaScript

[Nick]

The last one is the standard advice when travelling to take care with Food, Flies and Flirtation.