New York is reported to have moved up on a list of cities competing to host the 2012 summer Olympics.
That is at least according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg who said:
"The report will be very complimentary on New York, but the one caveat is a question about the stadium,"
The stadium is the proposed $1.9 billion football stadium on Manhattan's West Side.
The mayor is counting on the stadium for the National Football League's Jets as a centerpiece in New York's bid to win the Olympics, but the project has met strong opposition from some politicians who say it would leave other needs neglected.
A key vote on the stadium could be held as early as next week by a state board.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Ken In Olympic Row
Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has managed to land himself in trouble over the Olympics bid by London for the 2012 Games.
There is a row going on about how many jobs will be lost, if the Olympics comes to London and various commercial sites are redeveloped.
Mayor Ken has accused some firms of inflating the number of jobs at stake, and of trying to hold the 2012 bid to ransom by excessive amounts of money for their land.
The Mayor said some firms were seeking a "huge windfall".
Angie Bray, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, has said to the Mayor:
"I think your tone is slightly unfortunate and does imply you regard them with distaste."
Mayor Ken has been accused of being hostile in his negotiations with 300 or so firms based around Marshgate Lane in Stratford, near where the Olympic stadium and athletes' village would be built.
If London wins, the London Development Agency will be able to compulsorily purchase the 250 acres of land required and the firms will get market value.
The counter claim is that the businesses will be forced out by 2007, but have to wait five years for a land tribunal to decide on the amount of compensation they will receive.
Bottom line, the Olympics is a total pain in the backside to host.
There is a row going on about how many jobs will be lost, if the Olympics comes to London and various commercial sites are redeveloped.
Mayor Ken has accused some firms of inflating the number of jobs at stake, and of trying to hold the 2012 bid to ransom by excessive amounts of money for their land.
The Mayor said some firms were seeking a "huge windfall".
Angie Bray, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, has said to the Mayor:
"I think your tone is slightly unfortunate and does imply you regard them with distaste."
Mayor Ken has been accused of being hostile in his negotiations with 300 or so firms based around Marshgate Lane in Stratford, near where the Olympic stadium and athletes' village would be built.
If London wins, the London Development Agency will be able to compulsorily purchase the 250 acres of land required and the firms will get market value.
The counter claim is that the businesses will be forced out by 2007, but have to wait five years for a land tribunal to decide on the amount of compensation they will receive.
Bottom line, the Olympics is a total pain in the backside to host.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
A Close Call
International Olympic Committee President, Jacques Rogge, has said that the race to host the 2012 Olympics is "very close."
Quote:
"I do not expect many votes difference between one and two,".
He was attending an unveiling of a memorial, honouring the winning medallists of the 1908 London games.
Quote:
"I do not expect many votes difference between one and two,".
He was attending an unveiling of a memorial, honouring the winning medallists of the 1908 London games.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
More Corruption
Mercedes Bresso, regional governor of Piedmont, is offering his support to the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
She plans to increase help for the February 10-26 Games.
Unfortunately she has an uphill task, Turin’s Olympic ambitions have been marred by cash problems and building delays.
Bresso is quoted as saying:
"The building work is going well now, there have been some difficulties but now it’s all going according to schedule and all the construction will be finished by the end of this year,".
Last year a row broke out over the hole in the Olympic budget, and an investigation was launched into possible bid fixing for building contracts.
The probe into bid fixing for Olympic building works is still ongoing, there are also reports of illegal labourers working on some of the construction sites.
Money corrupts, and the Olympics is about nothing but money these days.
She plans to increase help for the February 10-26 Games.
Unfortunately she has an uphill task, Turin’s Olympic ambitions have been marred by cash problems and building delays.
Bresso is quoted as saying:
"The building work is going well now, there have been some difficulties but now it’s all going according to schedule and all the construction will be finished by the end of this year,".
Last year a row broke out over the hole in the Olympic budget, and an investigation was launched into possible bid fixing for building contracts.
The probe into bid fixing for Olympic building works is still ongoing, there are also reports of illegal labourers working on some of the construction sites.
Money corrupts, and the Olympics is about nothing but money these days.
Monday, May 23, 2005
IOC Avoids Further Corruption Embarrassment
The IOC, always a "tad mired" with the stench of corruption, has managed to avoid some embarrassment by the resignation of their vice president Kim Un Yong of South Korea.
Kim was due to face a vote for expulsion on corruption charges, his resignation saved the problems that this vote would have brought; namely the fact that he probably would have won it.
For those of you who don't have long memories, Kim was implicated in the Salt Lake City bribery scandal; where he was found to have made the organisers arrange a job for his son and musical appearances for his daughter, he had been resisting the IOC's attempts to expel him.
He currently resides in jail in South Korea, on charges of bribery and embezzlement. The good people at the IOC did at least manage to suspend his membership a year ago, when he was jailed.
Hardly an effective counter corruption policy, is it?
His resignation means that the vote on expulsion will now no longer be required. That vote would have, for reasons that only the IOC can explain, seen him supported by the membership.
Despite being corrupt, he was elected an IOC vice president two years ago.
Doesn't this tell you something about the IOC?
However, Kim was convicted of embezzling from the World Tae Kwon Do Federation, including $676K that had been donated by Samsung.
It seems that he used the money to buy the votes that won him the vice president's job!
I tell you, it really is about time that the Olympics were cut down to size and the IOC reformed.
Kim was due to face a vote for expulsion on corruption charges, his resignation saved the problems that this vote would have brought; namely the fact that he probably would have won it.
For those of you who don't have long memories, Kim was implicated in the Salt Lake City bribery scandal; where he was found to have made the organisers arrange a job for his son and musical appearances for his daughter, he had been resisting the IOC's attempts to expel him.
He currently resides in jail in South Korea, on charges of bribery and embezzlement. The good people at the IOC did at least manage to suspend his membership a year ago, when he was jailed.
Hardly an effective counter corruption policy, is it?
His resignation means that the vote on expulsion will now no longer be required. That vote would have, for reasons that only the IOC can explain, seen him supported by the membership.
Despite being corrupt, he was elected an IOC vice president two years ago.
Doesn't this tell you something about the IOC?
However, Kim was convicted of embezzling from the World Tae Kwon Do Federation, including $676K that had been donated by Samsung.
It seems that he used the money to buy the votes that won him the vice president's job!
I tell you, it really is about time that the Olympics were cut down to size and the IOC reformed.
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