Word: brazil
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...Brazil's time," President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted in his pitch before Friday's International Olympic Committee vote. "It is time to light the Olympic torch in a tropical country." The IOC agreed - and that lit up a frenzied carnival in Rio de Janeiro, a city that knows how to party perhaps better than any other. As the decision was announced, the world forgot Rio's problems for a moment, especially its frightening murder rate, and watched tens of thousands of its residents, known as Cariocas, exult on Copacabana Beach, dancing to deafening music in tanga...
...indeed Brazil's time - but not just because it was about time that the Olympics go the South American Way. In fact, there's a reason that it's been four decades since a Latin American country, or any Third World country, has hosted the games. That was the Mexico City Olympiad of 1968, when Mexico convinced the IOC that it was a modern republic ready to stand alongside Britain and Japan and Australia - only to have its army massacre hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators 10 days before the opening ceremonies. The bar was set much higher for Latin America...
...that end, local governments are forging connections among themselves. A main focus of this year's Governors' summit is deforestation, another key issue in the run-up to Copenhagen. Eleven governors from states and provinces in Brazil, Indonesia, Canada and the U.S. issued a collective call for national governments to stop the loss of tropical forests, which accounts for up to one-fifth of global carbon emissions. On Friday, the last day of the summit, local leaders will sign agreements to work together on clean transportation and climate adaptation. With prospects for a complete treaty in Copenhagen diminishing - due largely...
...cycling, weightlifting, hockey, mountain biking and modern pentathlon. Rio has promised to spend $427 million on an athlete's village that replicates "the outdoor lifestyle of Rio's beachside neighborhoods" (and no doubt swings to the sounds of samba and bossa nova). And, for an even greater taste of Brazil, a dedicated shuttle bus will take athletes to a beach set aside exclusively for participants...
...work has yet to start on the 12 stadiums needed for that spectacle. Meanwhile, a much-talked about bullet train linking São Paulo and Rio is yet to leave the drawing board. Many officials now doubt whether it will be ready in time for the World Cup. Brazil and Rio can party now and celebrate. But then it's time to roll up sleeves. There's a ton of work to do if they want to throw an even bigger party...