Global Voices Online » Sport

Azerbaijan: Chess victory

Onnik Krikorian — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:55:58 +0000

Sheki, Azerbaijan comments on Azerbaijan's recent victory in the European Team Chess Championship. The blog says that it is proud of the achievement and hopes for more victories.

Barbados: Do The Right Thing

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:50:45 +0000

“Even as we speak - the West Indies Cricket Board is planning its next step in the destruction of West Indies cricket”: From Barbados, B.C. Pires weighs in on the debate over who should lead the Windies cricket team.

Trinidad & Tobago: India Tour

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:19:57 +0000

Trinidad and Tobago's rapso ambassadors, 3 Canal, are preparing for an upcoming tour of India. Caribbean Free Radio posts a podcast with all the details.

Guadeloupe, Martinique: Soccer & Religion

Fabienne Flessel — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:58:34 +0000

A video showing an interview of the famous French soccer player Thierry Henry in which he expresses his affiliation to Islam, has caught the attention of Martinican blogger Bondamanjak [Fr/Fr Cr] and triggered impassioned comments from readers.

Kazakhstan: Boxing Scandal To Be Decided in Rematch

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:47:09 +0000

KZBlog reports that a boxer from Kazakhstan, widely viewed as a future world champion, will meet again with his opponent after appealing against the last year's match result.

Trinidad & Tobago: Twenty 20

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:05:42 +0000

This Beach Called Life and Trin are excited about Trinidad and Tobago's prospects in today's Champion's League Twenty 20 Cricket final.

Kenya: Transforming sports coverage through blogs

Richard Wanjohi — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:41:37 +0000

From the span of most sporting disciplines, Africa is known to produce sports personalities with sterling performances in most of their sports. This is seen in football, athletics, rugby and even ‘gentlemanly’ sports such as golf and cricket.

The last 10 years has seen an explosion of sorts in sports coverage across the continent. The now famous SuperSport is an African powerhouse in pay TV for satellite users and subscribers. This has given Africa and indeed most states a platform to be able to showcase their best.

With recent developments of social media, the sports world is bound to take another leap beyond the current rut it seems to be attracting in terms of growth and expansion to the rest of the world. Fibre optic landing and other developments such as social networks and mobile telephony will be the leads.

There has been a rather unseen force in the name of blogs in the aforementioned social networks. These forums have been stealthily making in-roads as alternatives to sports coverage and offering opinions and news about sports.

Kenya is not unique to this and has seen its share of budding blogging enthusiasts. They range from the best of football to general sports with the highest sport being for obvious reasons rugby (thanks largely to the sevens success in recent years).

Say we also have a blog on the Grand Prix (Formula One) which has seen a growing fan-base in the country and the region too. I am one of those falling into the trap of running around the local joints looking for screens showing the GP on a Sunday morning or afternoon.

Starting with the rugby scene, there are more than 3 blogs including a club blog for one of the teams playing in the rugby league. The major blog on this is Rugby Kenya, which has more than one contributor. The blog is updated regularly especially after the weekend fixtures.

It linksup the rugby fraternity with both the local and international circuit. It is currently ranked as the top sports blog from Kenya and 24^th among top blogs from Kenya on the African blog aggregator, Afrigator.

SportsKenya for which yours truly is a contributor covers general sports from anything relating to current events to offering opinions on sports issues as well as a lashing or two every so often to the sports associations. This blog has quite a number of followers and is ranked 2^nd among Kenyan sports blogs on the African blogs aggregator.

Another blogger closely related to this is Cricket Kenya whose main focus is the cricket world and samplings of other sporting disciplines. This blogger is not located in the country most the time but somehow manages to stay and keep tabs with the cricket and sports scene.

One most interesting blog is Gitau Grand Prix. This blogger has dedicated his blog to Formula One exclusively to be able to appeal to the fan-base which follows this sport. It has very incisive and well-researched articles. It has few graphics making it a hard sell to most sports enthusiasts’ but all the same has its fair share of followers.

Compared with the region, Kenya has most of the Internet users and thus by default has more bloggers. It is because of such forums as the Bloggers Camp that has seen the blogging world grow in good numbers in the country.

Developments in sport and coverage of live events as well as updates have seen the use of blogs become a must even for mainstream media which has sought to converge their offering on their websites and web portals. It is almost a given that most if not all the editors and writers of newspapers or magazines have a blog they write to or contribute.

There are other sports blogs which include Daily Running Tips, which offers tips on jogging and is currently involved in offering free tips for marathon runners both amateur and professional. This is particularly helpful given the fact that there is the Nairobi Marathon (sponsored by Standard Chartered) which has become an annual event in the Kenyan city circles.

The impact of blogs in bringing sanity to sports has started being felt with a vocal voice in Kenya Football. The main contributor and administrator, Francis Gaitho admits that this forum has brought much prominence to issues which were not previously featured in other media.

In fact, it was used by SuperSport to research about Kenya football. The impact that SuperSport has had on the Kenyan game is enormous and the games on the pitch are evident to the pedigree we can get and are looking to develop (if one our football administrators were a little more concerned and focused on developing the game rather than satisfying their insatiable appetites).

The forum has also become a source of information for FM radio stations, most of which have sports segments and the Kenya Premier League features prominently. But of course, it is no bed of roses as it would seem. Gaitho laments the way Kenya football officials especially clubs with shadowy management boards have tried besmirching his work.

Quoting from one of the Agenda issue in one of Kenya Premier League meeting’s minutes;

3^rd Minute: Governance and Policies …on www.kenyafootball.com and its owner Managing Editor, Francis Gaitho, the directors noted

“…that Francis Gaitho…started a malicious campaign on his www.kenyafootball.com website in which he repeatedly made unsubstantied allegations and accusations on embezzled funds, bribery, match-fixing and other corrupt practices against the KPL and its Board and staff…”

On most counts though, sports blogs have helped their administrators learn better and understand their world of sport. It has also meant interaction with sports personalities, administrators and gets more first-hand accounts from those mentioned.

It has also seen mainstream media start appreciating different opinions and not necessarily leaving to their own machinations. The audience is the biggest beneficiary since most of the blogs are easy to read and language that makes them relate to the writers and sport alike. The impact of this will eventually expand into the greater East African and African region as a whole. With the 2010 World Cup around the corner, this is our time sports bloggers. Stand up and let’s hold our own!

Brazil: The challenge of hosting a worthwhile Olympic Games

Thiana Biondo — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:06:48 +0000

For the very first time, in 2016 a South American country will be a host city for the Olympic Games. With a mix of satisfaction and concerns, Brazilian people have been celebrating and speaking out about the worries and joys that come with such responsibility. On one hand, it is going to be a fantastic opportunity for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil as whole: there will be an increase in investment in the city and it will do a lot in terms of confidence building - in fact, Brazilians have already experienced a confidence boost after the country outbid more developed nations to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

On the other hand, there are arguments against the event being hosted in Rio, side by side with the very old discussion about whether sport events are good or not for society. Many bloggers have pointed out Brazilian social problems, such as violence, social inequality and corruption, as obstacles to the success of the games. Regardless of the dimension of the task, the Brazilian reaction is very peculiar, always with a wry touch of humor.

See, it hasn't even started yet and I got three golds in triple assault. Frank/Published with permission

The Pombo sem Asa [pt] blog shows this particular atmosphere, making a list of some cartoons vividly depicting how Brazilians reacted to the victory:

A poeira da festa carioca em Copenhague ainda nem tinha baixado quando a internet foi invadida: aros olímpicos em forma de algemas, Cristo Redentor de mãos ao alto, Mussum tripudiando em cima de Obama, na esteira da vitória do Rio, que vai sediar os Jogos de 2016, euforia e ironia crescem na mesma velocidade.

Na maioria dos casos, as piadas usam do bom humor para criticar as mazelas sociais da capital carioca. Mas sobrou espaço também para tirar onda com o maior rival da campanha, a Chicago de Barack Obama.

Na hora de escolher o mascote para os Jogos de 2016, a criatividade atirou para todos os lados. Blanka, personagem brasileiro do jogo Street Fighter, virou figurinha fácil na internet acompanhando o logo da candidatura. Mas o humor ácido também apareceu: uma sorridente bala de revólver com os dizeres “perdida por você” logo apareceu como candidata a mascote.

Hardly had the dust settled after the party in Copenhagen when the Internet was flooded with handcuff Olympic rings, Christ the Redeemer throwing his hands up, Mussum taking the piss out of Obama following the victory of Rio, the city that will host the 2016 Olympic Games; euphoria and irony go side by side.

In most cases, the funny jokes criticize the social ills of the ‘carioca‘ city. But there are also a lot of jokes mocking the main Rio rival in the bid: Barack Obama's Chicago.

When it comes to choosing a mascot for the 2016 Games, creativity abounds. Blanka, the Brazilian character of the Street Fighter game, has been everywhere on the Internet alongside the bid slogan. Nevertheless, the wry sense of humor is also around: a smiling stray bullet with the phrase “missing you” soon appeared as a mascot candidate.

Captured from blog Pombo sem Asa

On the top, the stray bullet cartoon with the phrase "missing you". On the left hand side, the late and beloved Brazilian comedian Mussum mocks Obama's slogan, and on the right hand side the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge with the same phrase "Yes, we créu!" that has been doing the rounds on the Internet and has even gained an entry on Wikipedia. Below, the character Blanka also as as mascot. Captured from blog Pombo sem Asa

Art by @eviljovemnerd

Check the meaning of “Yes We Créu” in a previous Global Voices post.

Despite being worried about all of that, Josselene Marques [pt] hopes that the country and the city manage to organize a great games in 2016 and that Rio overcomes most of its problem in the forthcoming years.

Particularmente, vejo como principais pontos positivos, desta conquista, a geração de novos postos de trabalho, melhorias na parte urbana da Cidade Maravilhosa, aumento do interesse pelo esporte e mais investimentos na segurança. Será muito bom também para os nossos países-irmãos, pois a atenção do mundo estará voltada para a América do Sul.

No entanto, surge uma preocupação: grande parte dos meus compatriotas, indubitavelmente, se distrairá com o megaevento. Sem querer estereotipar e já estereotipando, o brasileiro se envolve de maneira apaixonada em tudo quanto faz. Uma vez entretidos, por todo esse período, muitos se esquecerão de refletir, questionar e continuar reivindicando melhores condições de vida. Cientes disto, precisamos ficar atentos a fim de evitarmos que o emprego de recursos financeiros em setores essenciais seja relegado em virtude das reformas que deverão ser feitas na cidade.
Pergunto: como estará o nosso país daqui a sete anos? Infelizmente, não posso responder a esta indagação. Espero e desejo que esteja bem melhor que hoje. (…)
Uma coisa é certa: no que depender dos brasileiros, atletas, oficiais, jornalistas e espectadores serão recebidos de braços abertos não só pelo nosso povo hospitaleiro, mas também pelo próprio Cristo.
Sejam todos bem-vindos ao Brasil!

I see mostly the main positive aspects of this victory: new job opportunities, improvements in the urban area of the Wonderful City, increase in sport interest and more investment in security. It will be very good for all neighboring countries too, because South America will be the centre of the world's attention.

Nevertheless, there is cause for concern: many of my compatriots will, doubtless, be distracted by the huge event. I don't want to stereotype them, but Brazilian people do get involved so deeply and passionately in everything they do. Amused for all this time, many of them will forget to think, raise questions and keep asking for improved living conditions. Aware of this, we need to pay attention to avoid the use of financial resources in essential areas being dismissed in the face of the redevelopment that the city will undergo.

I ask: how will our country be in 7 years from now? Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question. I hope and wish that it will be much better than today. […]

But I know one thing: if it is up to Brazilians, all athletes, officers, journalists and spectators will have a warm welcome, not only from our hospitable people, but also from Christ the Redeemer himself.

Welcome all to Brazil!

Lessons from Rio 2007

To curb corruption and public administration mismanagement in the run up to Rio 2016, sectors from the government and civil society have already created online forums for the population to follow closely the public spending on the games. Among them, there is the Twitter account @FiscalizaRJ2016 (Rio de Janeiro 2016 Supervision, in English), which has been updating about the games project. There is also the website Transparência Olímpica [pt] (Olympic Transparency, in English) created by the Olympic Committee in charge of organizing the 2016 Olympics.

Nevertheless, the main worries making some specialists pay double the attention to the way that Rio 2016 is going to be organized are the memories of the Pan-American Games which took place in Rio in 2007. To begin with, the initial budget for Rio 2007 of almost R$ 600 million (approximately $ 350 million) ended up as bill of R$ 4 billion (approximately $ 2.4 billion) in the pockets of taxpayers. José Roberto Paraíso [pt] explains to Hugo, a reader of his blog, that despite the risks of mismanagement, the Games is worthwhile and that the problem is not the sporting event itself, but the way that the government and citizens behave:

O número representa, mais ou menos, 800 % a mais do previsto. Quer dizer, houve um erro muito grosseiro no calculo, o que deixa – e com muita razão – brasileiros, como o Hugo, desconfiados, desanimados e indignados.

Desconfiados por achar que os bilhões a mais não foram para a realização do evento e sim para o bolso de alguns ratos. Desanimado ao imaginar que a roubalheira pode acontecer em dose pior nas Olimpíadas de 2016. E indignados por não ver ninguém atrás das grades.

Como se pode ver, meu caro Hugo, o Pan 2007 não é exemplo para ser seguido nas Olimpíadas no que diz respeito a transparência, e no gasto, do dinheiro público.

Agora, o superfaturamento do Pan, contudo, não pode ser motivo para ser contra as Olimpíadas. Se a ganância de alguns não atrapalhar, a competição pode trazer muitos benefícios para o país, como empregos, turistas e respeito internacional.

Os brasileiros, portanto, devem ser contra a corrupção. Cobrar punição dos ladrões do colarinho branco e, em 2010, não eleger os sugadores do dinheiro público.

The [PAN games] cost was, more or less, 800% over the expected budget. In other words, there was an awful miscalculation, which makes many Brazilians like Hugo become suspicious, discouraged and outraged – fair enough.

They are suspicious because they think that the extra billions didn't go to the event organization itself, but they ended up in the pockets of some ‘rats'. Discouraged because they imagine that the robbery can happen again on a much worse scale during the 2016 games. And, outraged at not seeing anybody behind bars.
As you can see, my dear Hugo, concerning respect, transparency and public spending, the Pan 2007 is not an example to be followed by the Olympic Games.

However, the Pan going over budget cannot be a reason for us to oppose hosting the Olympic Games. If the greed of some people doesn't get in the way, the Games may bring many benefits to the country, such as employment, tourism and international respect.
Brazilians have to be against corruption though. By demanding that white-collar thieves be punished and not electing public-money leeches in 2010.

Benhur-Rava [pt] agrees with this point of view, adding that the best way to avoid corruption is applying precaution and supervision:

Por isso a lembrança da precaução, já que estarão em jogo – juro que não é ironia – quantias consideráveis de recursos públicos e a incerteza sobre a sua correta aplicação pelos órgãos públicos. Corre-se o risco da malversação e desvio se não houver controles rígidos para evitar o desperdício, a fraude e a corrupção. Invariavelmente, o valor orçado de obras e compras termina custando o dobro ou o triplo. Quem conhece a Administração Pública sabe que isso não é fato isolado; é triste regra que afronta os princípios constitucionais da legalidade, da moralidade, da publicidade, da impessoalidade e da eficiência.

Uma força-tarefa com Ministério Público, Tribunais de Contas e Poder Legislativo pode detectar eventuais problemas, acompanhando e controlando investimentos e gastos. Precaução e fiscalização. O antes e o depois. Sete anos é tempo razoável para antecipar e precaver problemas. A lição de gastos superfaturados no Pan 2007 e o planejamento da Copa das Confederações, em 2013 e a Copa da Fifa, em 2014, ajudarão.
Agradece o esporte, fortalece-se a cidadania.

That's why we need to be reminded about precaution, because the Olympics will involve huge sums of public resources and the doubts the [money] will be spent correctly the public powers. There will be risks of mismanagement and the misuse of money if there are no strict controls to avoid waste, fraud and corruption. Invariably, redevelopment projects and purchase budgets end up costing double or triple first estimations. Those who know Public Administration, understand that this is not an isolated fact - it is a sad rule that disrespects the principles of constitutional laws, morality, publicity, impersonality and efficiency.

A taskforce made up by Public Ministry, Accountancy Courts and the Legislative power may spot possible problems, follow up and supervise investment and spending. Precaution and supervision. Before and after. Seven years is enough time to foresee and to avoid problems. The lessons learned with overpriced bills during Pan 2007 and the planning for Confederation Cup in 2013 and the World Cup in 2014 will give some support.
Sports thank all for that, and citizenship is strengthened.

The other worry it is about the destiny of the sporting facilities that, to start with, the public should have free access to, once the games have finished. The Pediatrist Daniel Becker, in an interview to Terra Magazine [pt], explained this. He said that most of the facilities built and refurbished for the Pan 2007 have been sold to the private sectors or shut. One of the arenas was acquired by HSBC bank and turned out to be now a stage for concerts and the Maria Lenke Aquatic Park, where the swimming, diving and other competitions took place during the Games in 2007, has been shut down. For him, the Olympic Games hosted in Barcelona in 1992 should be an example followed by Rio 2016.

As the History teacher Guilherme Scalzilli concludes on his blog, exaggerated patriotism on one side and political pessimism on the other are not the best ways to behave before the Brazilian Olympic reality:

Os debates sobre a escolha do Rio de Janeiro para sediar as Olimpíadas de 2016 começaram empobrecidos por radicalismos apaixonados. Entre a cegueira patriótica e o rancor político-partidário, há pouco espaço ao meio-termo responsável.
Podemos dividir as objeções equivocadas em três enunciados simplificadores, que assumem formatos variáveis segundo as circunstâncias, inclusive nas discussões sobre a próxima Copa do Mundo: a) os brasileiros são indignos do privilégio; b) o país não está preparado para tanto; c) possuímos outras prioridades ou urgências. […]

O terceiro preceito utiliza retórica bem-intencionada, mas ignora os ganhos potenciais para a saúde, a educação e a cidadania proporcionados pelo esporte. Mesmo que discutamos investimento público (o privado virá apenas por causa dos Jogos), como distinguir os gastos obrigatórios dos supérfluos? Alguém pode propor a suspensão dos campeonatos de futebol para bancar a alfabetização, ou que hospitais sejam construídos com as fortunas “torradas” em exposições e festivais de cinema, teatro e dança.(…)

Acima de tudo, evitemos os perigos da condescendência. Para empreendimento dessa importância é fundamental promover um amplo choque de civilidade, a começar pelo cidadão comum. Por exemplo, os imbecis que vaiaram Lula na abertura do Pan-americano (e depois cinicamente comemoraram sua vitória olímpica) retornarão às arquibancadas. E os motoristas cariocas precisam entender que europeus acreditam em faixas de pedestres. Porém, enquanto os governantes se contentarem com favelas muradas, ônibus disfarçados de “metrô de superfície”, lagoas e praias infectas e banditismo policial, o padrão de qualidade continuará baseado no improviso, no paliativo, na malandragem “ishpérrta”.

The debates around the choice of Rio to host the Olympic Games in 2016 begun impoverished by passionate radicalism. Between the patriotic blindness and the party-political anger, there is little room for a responsible and balanced point of view. We can categorize the erroneous objections into three simplified sets, which appear in different formats according to the circumstances, including in the debate about the next World Cup: a) Brazilians are not worthy of such privilege; b) the country is not ready for that; c) we have other priorities or urgencies. […]

The third point makes use of a well-intentioned rhetoric, but it ignores potential gains for health, education and citizenship offered by sports. Even if we discuss investments (private investment will come just because of the games), how can we differentiate between essential and non-essential spending? Can anybody propose a ban on football championships in order to subsidize literacy, or that hospitals be built with those fortunes “burned” in exhibitions and film, theater and dance festivals? (…)

Above all, we have to avoid the danger of being condescending. It is essential that a huge “civilization shock” is promoted in order to undertake such enterprise, starting with the common citizen. For example, the idiots that booed Brazilian President Lula during the Pan 2007 opening ceremony (and then, afterwards, cynically celebrated his Olympic victory) will be back in the stands. And the ‘carioca' drivers must understand that Europeans believe in zebra-crossings for pedestrians. Even though, while politicians feel satisfied with walled favelas, buses disguised as “overground” transport, polluted lakes and beaches and police banditry, the quality standard will remain based on improvisation, palliative solutions and street-smart malandragem [with Rio's accent].

Honduras: Miracle Qualification to World Cup

Eduardo Avila — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:45:19 +0000

Irina Orellana celebrates Honduras' qualification to the 2010 World Cup [es] and writes that for those that do not believe in miracles, then the goal scored by the United States in extra time, which vaulted her side to the finals, proves that miracles do exist.

India: Pedal For Rights And Climate Change Awareness

Rezwan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:30:25 +0000

“The Green Ride is a 1400 km cycling tour taken up by an environmental network in Kerala, India”, informs Indian Climate Solutions Blog. The main focus of this tour scheduled on the 24th of October, 2009 will be to raise awareness for climate change through the way. It will also lobby for the rights of cyclists and for laws that offer protection to cyclists.

Bolivia: National Team Plays to the Competition

Eduardo Avila — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:37:08 +0000

“Bolivia is a small team that gets bigger with the big teams and gets smaller with the small teams,” writes Jaime Galarza of Once a Once [es] a day after Bolivia's 2-1 victory over Brazil in a World Cup Qualifying Game held in La Paz, Bolivia.

Barbados: Take Note

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:19:12 +0000

B.C. Pires posts notes supposedly passed between Caricom leaders during the Caricom Single Market & Economy meeting: “I certify theses notes as authentic: I made them up myself.”

Taiwan: Baseball past and present

David Reid — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:19:14 +0000

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Taiwan. The View from Taiwan analyses a paper on the history of baseball in Taiwan. Sponge Bear reports on watching a professional league game in Taichung.

Brazil: Pictures of the Rio2016 celebration

Paula Góes — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:08:02 +0000

Brazilians have spent the last week celebrating: Rio de Janeiro won the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games, which for the first time will take place in South American soil. If a recent Forbes magazine survey had already shown that Rio was the World's Happiest City, now it must be the most elated place on Earth.

See below a selection of Twitpics and Creative Commons pictures posted on Flickr showing the celebration, the Brazilian sense of humor and also the concerns that the news have brough.

Brazilians wait the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to announce its decision and then celebrate on the streets of Copenhagen:

Copenhagen Countdown. Photo: comawe

Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, an Obama lookalike holding a flag of surrender and a cutout Michelle wearing a Rio2016 outfit were caught on Twitpic:

Photo by @SuzanaLinhares

@sergiofonseca commented on his own similar picture:

Obama saiu às pressas de Copenhagen. Mas tinha motivo. #RIO2016.

Obama rushed away from Copenhagen. But he had a good reason for it.

And thousands celebrated in Copacabana, by the Sugar Loaf mountain and the Christ the Redeemer statue, up to the small hours of Saturday:

Twitpic: @sergiofonseca

Messages of support to Rio2016 bid have been left by those visiting the Rio 2016 Wheel, located at Copacabana Fort, which publicized the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. More than 150,000 visitors were able to admire the landscape of Rio de Janeiro from the 36 meter high in the month it was opened.

Photo: Marco Pompei

The Galactic Empire shall win the Olympics in 2016, according to Flickr user Stéfan in his daily shot of Stormtroopers:

Vader says: "2016 push-ups for Rio 2016". Photo: Stéfan

The Olympic Committee just announced that Rio de Janeiro will be hosting the Olympics in 2016. Amongst the four finalists, Chicago was the first city voted out, then Tokyo. The final choice was between Madrid and Rio.

Congratulation for Brazil, the first south-american country to host the Olympics!

Now, everyone get ready, as the Imperial team has already began its intensive training program. They will own these Games.

The man in the poster below is Mussum, a deceased Brazilian humorist, member of the Brazilian comedic quartet Os Trapalhões. “Créu” is a Portuguese slang made popular by Funk music lyrics and meaning, in this context, ‘nailing it’ but in a very funny way. A take off from Barack Obama's campaign slogan of ‘Yes We Can’ but with a quite different meaning,”Yes, We Créu” made it to the Twitter trends on the days following the announcement.

Photo: ursonate

Leodf explains the meaning of the bilingual word play in a language web forum:

it is a funny way to say you “got it”

I went out with that girl and “créu” her: that means I had *** with her
I went to that test and “créu” it: that means I got most of the questions, it was easy
I “créu” the opportunity: that means I was selected for the opportunity

ok it is most used in Rio… but a very famous Funk Music brought it to our routine as we had a lot parody of this music […]

And I doubt who started the “Yes We Créu” had intentions to offend Obama or USA, that was just a joke, a nice one for our context that only brazilians will get its spirit

Brazil will host the two most important sporting events of the next decade, as the country will also host football's 2014 World Cup. Many critics say Brazil does not have the necessary facilities or the level of security and safety required, and doubt the country can offer more than a spectacular setting with stunning beaches and famous landmarks, despite its positive evaluation by the International Olympic Committee in its final report on the four finalists for 2016. The series of pictures Rio 2016: We are already ready! published by Twitpic user @microcontoscos portray this worry:

Cyclism. We are already ready. Twitpic by @microcontoscos

Whereas Nelson Correa, from Pomeu, highlights the extreme poverty that many cariocas – as Rio citizens are known – live in.

Panis et Circense. Photo: pomeu.

The text in the picture above reads:

Copenhagen, 2nd October 2009

“…Rio being chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games makes Brazil stop this mania of thinking we are small” (Luis Inácio Lula da Silva)

Date: 30 September 2009

Time: 1:30 pm on a rainy afternoon

Local: Rio de Janeiro, in a side street on a corner with an important avenue in the Southern area of the city, where competitors and supporters will pass through during the Olympic games.

Taiwan: Bike culture is growing

David Reid — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:56:02 +0000

Bike Hugger reports on the growing bike culture in Taiwan and comments that the growth doesn't seem to include bicycle commuters.