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Olympics backer hasn't read entire Olympics bid
By adamg on Mon, 12/08/2014 - 11:24pm
As the Globe reports on its forum on the 2024 Olympics proposal:
Perhaps the most jaw-dropping quote from the evening came from [backer Juliette] Kayyem, who admitted she has not read the full bid - she has only seen a limited portion of it - which hasn’t been public. Transparency was a key issue during the conversation.
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Comments
The bid needs to be approved.
so we can see what's in it.
That strategy should work just fine.
She Says, "The Olympics Can Galvanize Public Works"
The problem with upgrading our transportation infrastructure to handle a particular special event, the Olympics, is that those improvements won't be the things that are really needed to handle the everyday transit needs for normal residents, now and into the future.
Instead of toying with these silly "games", the elected officials should focus on repairing and drastically expanding the Ⓣ first, so it provides service good enough that most people will no longer wish to commute into or around Boston by car. A so-called "world class" mass transit system would yield far more benefits on its own than hosting the Olympics ever could. Only after they get the Ⓣ expanded and running really good, then maybe, they can start thinking about an Olympic bid.
Nonetheless, I'm definitely in favor of applying a protective zinc coating to bridges and other steel structures to stop them from rusting.
Whose $$
Trouble is all thee public works and transit benefits will still be paid for by tax dollars. No private investor is going to dump a few billion into public works projects. They're counting on the government, who says "no money for such things" now will suddenly be very happy to issue bonds to pay for these all these improvements when the Olympics arrive. We'll still get stuck with the bill
But...
The Olympic bid is so good, you'll just have to approve it to see what's in it!
You know when the salesman says "I have to have your answer now"
"or there's no deal"? The best advice is to walk away. This is one of those. Walk away.
Kayyem, BG, DHS, KSG
Those aren't British Royal Honnors. Julie has pulled off the trifecta. She has worked for the Globe, the Federal Government, and is now ensconced at the Kennedy School. Hate to get all Herald but I'm not shocked that she didn't read the bid.
The attitude seems to be Let's just top down it on the peasantry and move forward with the fiver year plan set forward by the vanguard elite.
No Boston Olympics.
We dodged a bullet with this one
I've heard her on the radio more than a few times. She's clearly the smartest person she's ever met. The absolute walking definition of "How NPR is it?" She ran in the Democrat primary, remember, for governor. Can you imagine how that would have turned out?
You mean, *didn't* run in the Democratic primary
She did not get the needed 15% vote in the first round of the Democratic State Convention, so she was not allowed on the ballot.
agreed
I don't know how you can be a cheerleader for something that you've never read. Just because the vague idea sounds good, doesn't mean it is.
The olympics are like sticking your hand on a hot stove. It may seem like a good idea at the moment, but the burns will last a lifetime.
If this is our biggest cheerleader.. boy are we in for a clueless treat.
Community Collaboration
OK - all - here's a quick first pass at Boston's 12 Days of Olympic Bids - feel free to chime in with your own lines and Adam can be the final editor if he is interested. Adam if you make t-shirts - I'll take Two!
The 12 Days of Olympic Bids - Boston Style
12 Romneys Railing
11 Kayyems Crowing
10 Zinc 'ed Bridges
9 Teams in Fenway
8 Fishes Fishing
7 Streets of silver
6 Eternal taxes
5 Olympic Rings
4 Green lines growing
3 Sports temples
2 Monorails
And Marty Walsh on a big Throne!
Cambridge City Council speaks
The Cambridge City Council has voted to oppose a bid without some public discussion:
https://www.cctvcambridge.org/NoOlympicsPolicyOrder
Let's see if our own Council can tear themselves away from issuing pointless subpoenas long enough to talk about something that their constituents actually care about.
Multi-Tasking
Or perhaps the council could do both things, but that might require them being there all day.
http://www.universalhub.com/2014/poll-city-councilors-say-theyre-extra-h...
How does this work anyway?
How do a few very privileged individuals decide something that ultimately requires a HUGE commitment of public dollars without getting it signed off on first by our public officials? (and don't tell me - private enterprise is paying for it - because as has been oft stated here - they are not paying for the public upgrades necessary and perhaps many other things)
What if we win the bid, it costs Mayor Walsh and other supporters their jobs and we tell the IOC - go to hell - you can have your Olympics at Harvard (hell - if it's such a great investment - their endowment should be very interested and could afford to fit the entire bill)?
How?
Isn't this how most government contracts work? Some company drums up an idea and then though PR and donations convince a politician that the public is "demanding" it so that they sign the bill written by the company's lobbyist?
The whole thing is a joke. It's irrelevant what this private, self-selected olympic committee says. The IOC is only going to talk to government officials who have signed off. Even if the commission's recommendations are all supported by Beacon Hill other cities have less opposition and more public dollars committed. Boston doesn't stand a chance of being America's nomination let alone the city selected for the games.
Hmmm ... I wonder
I wonder if pissing off the universities with subpoenas IS their way of monkey wrenching the Olympics, since the general idea of this relies on them dumping all their usual summer programming to accommodate the monster?
Decide first, read later
I believe the Obama administration is taking some heat today because of big ticket items going forward in the same way.
Unlike a lot of you, I am willing to hear the proponents out on this, but without knowing how much and who will be paying, the skepticism is good.
If the process isn't transparent, I say screw it, and that coming from a guy willing to endure 3 weeks of madness in 2024!
She saw the important part
All the reading she needed was on the front of the check.
It bears repeating.
The workers who built the facilities for the winter games in Sochi have been cheated of their wages and deported from Russia.
The IOC has shown no interest in remedying the injustice.
Welcoming these people to Boston would bring us dishonor.
Do you have a link....
... for this claim?
It was all over the news. Here's a sample
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF...
Thanks
I pretty much ignored that Olympics.
That's far from the worst thing that has happened there
Putin totally trashed the place, displaced people, etc - read here