It's Rio! It's real!

Olympics will finally go to South America. I feel a bit sorry for Tokyo and Madrid. They are both well-prepared, and I believe they can hold the best Olympics. But Brazil's development really deserves this recognition. Nowadays, sports is inextricaby connected with politics. Rotation of continents make sense, and giving it to a rising power who hasn't held any should never be a bad idea.

Chicago doesn't deserve this Olympics, for none of the candidate cities would have this kind of opposition from their citizens. It's funny to hear the CNN's anchor screaming "what" when he heard the name of Chicago as the first one to be eliminated. For Obama, it's pretty tricky. Republicans are now attacking him leaving when there is such an important debate. But if he didn't go and Chicago lost anyway, he would be criticized of not supporting the city enough. According to game theory, going is a dominant strategy, isn't it?

It's great to see a city, even a country, celebrating every two years for their success in getting the privilege to hold a global sports event. But the way of deciding which city to host it should be more transparent.

Another big news is Irish voters finally support the Lisbon Treaty. Now, no one could be to blame for any failure of further integration. Who can become the new President of European Council as well as the High Representative of Foreign Affairs would be a very interesting topic, and I believe there will be some very fierce discussion on that.

Election watch:

In this month, no important elections will be held. The elections in Greece and Uruguay could be the focal points because of their intensity. The Greek government is expected to lose according to the polls.

October 4, Greece, Parliament
October 16, Botswana, Parliament
October 20, Niger, Parliament
October 25, Tunisia, President and Parliament
October 25, Uruguay, President and Parliament
October 28, Mozambique, President and Parliament