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Considering that Olympic athletes eat thousands of calories a day, not having pipes wide enough to push the shit through is in itself, an act of terrorism.
When I first started reading journalists' tweets from Sochi, I agreed with the Russians' opinion that we were whining. Americans are spoiled if we expect Holidome luxury within a former Communist country, and everyone knows that much of the plumbing overseas is too small to accommodate both shit and Charmin. Crappy rooms are a given in any city that's booked to capacity, and I doubt that rural Russia has Target Greatlands that stock Martha Stewart accessories. As I mentioned in my recent blog about Dexter, even minimum wage Americans enjoy a standard of living that's straight from HGTV. Americans are spoiled, and I have no problem with that. I like my stuff. And I like the stores where I bought my stuff.
When I first started reading journalists' tweets from Sochi, I agreed with the Russians' opinion that we were whining. Americans are spoiled if we expect Holidome luxury within a former Communist country, and everyone knows that much of the plumbing overseas is too small to accommodate both shit and Charmin. Crappy rooms are a given in any city that's booked to capacity, and I doubt that rural Russia has Target Greatlands that stock Martha Stewart accessories. As I mentioned in my recent blog about Dexter, even minimum wage Americans enjoy a standard of living that's straight from HGTV. Americans are spoiled, and I have no problem with that. I like my stuff. And I like the stores where I bought my stuff.
My opinion changed a few days later when tweets became more serious, and Sochi's unpreparedness risked harm to visitors. Manhole covers were missing from public thoroughfares, leaving dangerous holes in the sidewalks. Elevator doors opened directly into empty vertical shafts - a great way to eliminate competition. In one case, hotel employees warned that the (urine-colored) tap water was unsafe to be used on the face: "the water contains something very dangerous." This pattern of failure was more than just missing light bulbs...it's a trend of shoddy, Soviet-style workmanship from the people who gave us ZAZ Zaporozhets...and of course, Chernobyl.
"Don't worry, Olga. The radiation can't get us inside the car!"
I read this morning that a US bobsledder had to kick through his bathroom door because it wouldn't open from the inside. He was naked, trapped, and without a cell phone; he literally had to smash through the door like the Kool-Aid pitcher crashes through walls. Like many athletes, he posted a photo of the door online. People thought the incident was funny, but the bigger picture is that if contractors can't get a bathroom door right, how safe is the actual building? What happens if there's a fire? Will the fire doors open? Will the sprinklers come on? What happens if that dangerous yellow tap water is...flammable?
Yesterday, Russian officials confirmed intentional invasion of privacy throughout the Olympic village, including cameras in bathrooms & showers. With the games being proceeded by terrorism, an increase in security is something to be expected...and that, unfortunately, has a proportionately-negative affect on human rights. And I say "human rights" on purpose; Russia has no qualms with targeting, harassing, and oppressing specific groups of people. Homophobia is the most obvious example, but the country as a whole is trying to capture the machismo of its past - and that's especially noticeable with Putin's intolerance for dissidents. If the world weren't watching so closely, Sochi's critical journalists would meet the same fate as Pussy Riot.
Or even worse, the city's stray dogs..
Yesterday, Russian officials confirmed intentional invasion of privacy throughout the Olympic village, including cameras in bathrooms & showers. With the games being proceeded by terrorism, an increase in security is something to be expected...and that, unfortunately, has a proportionately-negative affect on human rights. And I say "human rights" on purpose; Russia has no qualms with targeting, harassing, and oppressing specific groups of people. Homophobia is the most obvious example, but the country as a whole is trying to capture the machismo of its past - and that's especially noticeable with Putin's intolerance for dissidents. If the world weren't watching so closely, Sochi's critical journalists would meet the same fate as Pussy Riot.
Or even worse, the city's stray dogs..
This is the first year I haven't watched the Winter Olympics...and despite my general dislike of sports, I do enjoy figure skating, bobsledding, stories about the athletes, and the beautiful mountain panoramas surrounding the competition venues (especially on a HD TV). I'm not intentionally "boycotting" the games, but I honestly find it hard to watch the show when the director cares so little for his audience. I feel the same way about Streisand, Sarandon, and Woody Harrelson movies: I can't separate the artist from the art, and if you say bad things about people/things I like, I'm not going to buy your stuff.
I barely remember the Moscow Games of 1980, but I vividly recall the years that followed - Reagan at the wall, the Soviet Union's collapse, and the joy Russians felt in finding personal freedom. I started "paying attention" in the 80s, and I credit Rush Limbaugh (I found his show the year that Clinton got elected) for making me understand world events in the 90s. Now, I'm a news junkie. I read Drudge, Fox, CNN, the BBC, The Huffington Post, and Pravda; Pravda is a guilty pleasure because its stories are so sensational.
But even Pravda acknowledges the logistic challenges of staging world-class games, and some of their explanations for Sochi's unfinished projects remind me (humorously) of North Korea's struggle to build Kim's ski resort. In the end - yes, it's ultimately about the games, themselves...but the whole world is watching, and taking careful note. It's hard to hide from modern social media.
I barely remember the Moscow Games of 1980, but I vividly recall the years that followed - Reagan at the wall, the Soviet Union's collapse, and the joy Russians felt in finding personal freedom. I started "paying attention" in the 80s, and I credit Rush Limbaugh (I found his show the year that Clinton got elected) for making me understand world events in the 90s. Now, I'm a news junkie. I read Drudge, Fox, CNN, the BBC, The Huffington Post, and Pravda; Pravda is a guilty pleasure because its stories are so sensational.
But even Pravda acknowledges the logistic challenges of staging world-class games, and some of their explanations for Sochi's unfinished projects remind me (humorously) of North Korea's struggle to build Kim's ski resort. In the end - yes, it's ultimately about the games, themselves...but the whole world is watching, and taking careful note. It's hard to hide from modern social media.
I really do hope that the games are a success. I hope there's no terrorism, no athletes injured by Sochi's last-minute construction shortcuts, and I hope no gays are beaten & bloodied because they don't fit in with an antiquated search for Downton Abbey values.
More than anything, I hope that Russia isn't taking a big step backward. The world is a dangerous place, and the last thing we need is a shirtless guy on a horse yelling "CHARGE!" The Olympics encompass the best of the best competing in unity on a worldwide stage, but the world is interconnected now...and as Snowden revealed, we can't hide anything...not even true intentions.
Feed the dogs, Mother Russia.
More than anything, I hope that Russia isn't taking a big step backward. The world is a dangerous place, and the last thing we need is a shirtless guy on a horse yelling "CHARGE!" The Olympics encompass the best of the best competing in unity on a worldwide stage, but the world is interconnected now...and as Snowden revealed, we can't hide anything...not even true intentions.
Feed the dogs, Mother Russia.