Medal Rush at Parapans; Continued Dow Sponsorship Criticism; Police Seize Favela

Parapan Medals Rush in Guadalajara

The U.S., Brazil, Canada and host Mexico all vie for the lead in the medals table in day two of the Parapan American Games in Guadalajara.

More than 1,500 athletes from 24 countries are competing in the Games this week, two weeks following the close of the Pan American Games, which has supplied key venues.

On day two of competition, Brazil held the overall medal tally at 9, followed by the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Argentina. The calendar for Monday includes medals in athletics and swimming.

Tennis, basketball, goalball, boccia, and table tennis are among the other sports on the 41-event calendar for Monday. There are 13 in all on the program for the 4th Parapan Games which end Nov. 20.

The opening ceremony was held Nov 12, with International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven and Pan American Sports Organization President Mario Vazquez Rana on hand, both IOC members.

Live action from the Games can be viewed here.

Indian Athletes Rally against Dow Sponsorship

LOCOG is facing more demands that Dow Chemical’s Olympic sponsorship be cancelled.

The Associated Press reports that 21 Indian athletes wrote the London 2012 organizers urging them to end the partnership over a disaster in Bhopal, India.

In 1984, a plant owned by Union Carbide India Limited spewed toxic gas into the town, killing 3,000 people in the following days and 15,000 people subsequently, according to the Indian government.

In 2001, Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide, which owned half of the stock of the company responsible at the time of the disaster.

On Monday, hockey Olympians Vasudevan Baskaran and Charles Cornelius critiqued the Olympic partnership, according to The Times of India.

"Message to the Olympic Committee of England is to at least reconsider the option of not allowing them to be a sponsor," said Baskaran, adding that Bhopal victims have yet to receive compensation for the disaster.

This recent protest is part of a mounting criticism of Dow’s sponsorship.

Five Bhopal advocacy groups are calling for the deal to be cancelled andAmnesty International attacked the sponsorship last month.

The advocacy group wrote on its website that the chemical company’s relationship with LOCOG is a "slap in the face for the survivors of India’s Bhopal poison gas disaster."

In August, Dow told Around the Rings in response to criticisms over the Bhopal disaster: "Although Dow never owned nor operated the plant and the legal claims surrounding the incident were resolved in 1989, long before Dow acquired Union Carbide, we — along with the rest of industry — have learned from this tragic event, and have helped to drive global industry performance improvements to ensure that such incidents never happen again."

RioPolice Seize Favela

On Sunday, Rio de Janeiro police successfully occupied the city’s largest favela, or slum.

The Rocinha favela is home to a reported 10,000 Cariocas. Rio’s favelas are infamous for their crime and poverty."Pacifying" them has been a key component of Rio’s preparations for the 2016 Olympics and 2014 World Cup.

"We returned to society areas that for 30 or 40 years were in the hands of a commando, a parallel evil empire," Jose Mariano Beltrame, Rio de Janeiro state’s security secretary, was quoted by Bloomberg news agency.

"Our triumph was the combined action of all the institutions that have been working together and the breaking of the territorial paradigm, without spilling a drop of blood."

Ignacio Cano, a sociologist at Rio de Janeiro State University who studies violence told the agency: "There’s symbolic value in Rocinha because of its strategic location. It also confirms that the police’s priority is to secure areas near the high-class neighborhoods and those near where the Olympic events will take place."

However, media reports say some favela residents are growing upset with the city for targeting only the sites near Olympic venues, "ignoring" other favelas in the far-flung parts of sprawling Rio de Janeiro.

Written by Ed Hula.