Of course!! They saw my post and voted... Brasil will win gold medals in men's AND women's soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball. I hope to see a Brasilian win the marathon, we should have won the men's marathon in Greece, until that moron knocked our front-runner out... Plus several golds in men's and women's gymnastics, swimming, track and field, judo, tae-kwon-do, boxing, women's basketball, etc (any others I forgot?) All ceremonies - opening and closing - with plenty of SAMBA!!!!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPGbzhOtHeg"]YouTube- Rio de Janeiro 1936, "City of Splendour" - Rio Antigo[/ame] Interesting video about Rio in 1936.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVtKl9Ycd3c"]YouTube- Rio Antigo Bonde Rio de Janeiro bondinhos City of Splendour[/ame]
I'm glad they are finally really stepping up against the drug lords in Rio. The only thing that annoys me is that they are doing it because of the upcoming World Cup and Olympics, it shouldn't take that for them to do this type of clean up. It shouldn't take these events to be happening for them to step up like this, it should have been done a long time ago, it's just a shame that innocent people have been and will get killed in this.
Well they didn't actually start this because of the world cup and the olympics that are coming up. It was the traficantes that started this after orders from traficantes that were locked up some years ago when the police took over some of the favelas in Zona Norte. I guess the "clean up" will start some time more close to the big events. But I agree with you that it's good that they police and military is taking this seriously this time and they have to keep doing that. They have to make big operations and go in big to really clean up, cause every time they go in like b*****s nothing happens and innocent people gets killed. Like José Junior from AffroReggae said about the traficantes: 'A famosa marra eu não vi' Anyway let's just hope it's get better. It's a very hard time now for the people living there. I have alot of friends and family there also so I'm very worried for them, most of them in a neighbourhood next to where everything happens right now.
There has been a clean up going on for a while now, and while I'm sure the World Cup and Olympics are a factor in the willingness to do it today, this started a few years ago. I recall some articles I found for a student of mine (sometimes I teach English and Portuguese) talking about the process after the clean-up that is already being done in Cidade de Deus. They cleaned up Cidade de Deus, violently, although not as violently as this last rash which as Imperador said was precipitated by drug lords attempting to push back. After that the police began social work, after-school classes for example, so the overall approach is much more about the long term. Whether they have the resources to do that all over Rio, I very much doubt that right now, but the idea (on the government's side) is to take that long-term approach now of police work/clean up first but following up with social projects.
I leave for Rio tomorrow for 16 glorious days, so I am kind of worried about the violence. I'll probably stay away from complexo alemao for sure. Yes, it is excellent the war against the traficantes. Yes, this war has been called partially for a clean up for the World Cup and the Olympics, but mostly, due to substantial international pressure. USA and Europe are the Rio traficantes biggest customers.