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[Lyn Farel]

That was amusing 

[kalaratiri]

Finland are enjoying themselves.

[kalaratiri]

Over here is sunny (lol) England, Channel 4 have weighed in on the Russian homophobia debate. Fabulously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6RID82Ru-k

[Jace]

I've been surprised that there hasn't been any athletes spontaneously protesting in front of the media so far, at least not widely reported ones. I suppose they would fear not being allowed back on the team in future Olympics, but I figured it would have happened by now.

Also, that video is awesome.

[kalaratiri]

I've been surprised that there hasn't been any athletes spontaneously protesting in front of the media so far, at least not widely reported ones. I suppose they would fear not being allowed back on the team in future Olympics, but I figured it would have happened by now.

Also, that video is awesome.

There was a misinterpreted kiss at the Athletics world championships.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/russian-gold-medalists-kiss-medal-stand-world-championships-132337366.html

http://rt.com/news/russian-medalist-insulted-gay-claims-721/

[Jace]

Yeah, I just figured some aging athletes who probably won't be back to the Olympics haven't done anything yet. It seems unlikely that Russia would risk embassy issues of actually trying to prosecute an athlete for protesting at the Olympics. It would be a good time for it, if someone wanted to do it.

[Vincent Pryce]

It seems unlikely that Russia would risk embassy issues of actually trying to prosecute an athlete for protesting at the Olympics.

[Morwen Lagann]

I don't normally do this first thing in the morning, but +1 to Vince.

This is Russia we're talking about. Not quite as bad as North Korea, but still.

[Shiori]

Actually, the Russians appear to be using a relatively soft touch during the Olympics: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/gay-rights-activist-detained-twice-in-sochi.html

[Morwen Lagann]

Actually, the Russians appear to be using a relatively soft touch during the Olympics: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/gay-rights-activist-detained-twice-in-sochi.html

The last paragraph from that article is pretty telling. Just because the guy isn't being beaten half to death doesn't mean it's any better.

They're not exactly playing nice with their own citizens, either: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/18/278983058/pussy-riots-nadya-and-masha-report-being-detained-in-sochi

[Ché Biko]

3 sweeps.
That is all.

[Jace]

Putin is the most powerful leader in the world at this point. Despite his and Russia's varied reputation, he does have to maintain it. He isn't an insane dictator that wants nothing but attention, he actually has a calculated reputation to uphold that a dramatic international incident at the Olympics certainly would not help him with.

No matter their faults, never write off powerful leaders as insane or foolish merely because you dislike them.

Edit: Also, @Morwen: All leaders can play the hardest with their own citizens. Nobody else in the world really cares about someone else's citizens. Foreign athletes at the Olympics is a whole different thing.

[Morwen Lagann]

Athletes are there to compete. They don't - or shouldn't - have the spare time to waste on activism.

And if a country will treat its own people like shit, it says a lot about how it'll treat people from outside of it.

[Jace]

Athletes are there to compete. They don't - or shouldn't - have the spare time to waste on activism.

And if a country will treat its own people like shit, it says a lot about how it'll treat people from outside of it.

I don't really have an opinion on whether an athlete should protest - that's their choice. But treating one's own citizens poorly that you have ultimate control over is an entirely different circumstance than the citizens of another country during the most famous and media-covered international event in existence that you are already winning the regional media battle over. In EE, Putin is already coming out way ahead in the reputation game for Sochi - he doesn't need to try something so risky as poor treatment of citizens of other countries. He's not stupid.

Edit: An example: Many European countries are currently focused, regarding East vs. West, on the US. Chancellor Merkel recently said she would rather have Bush 43 back than Obama. That kind of international focus on US failure is far more beneficial to Putin than the international backlash and crisis that would occur for some draconian treatment of foreign athletes in his country. The worst that would happen is that they would be kicked out, most likely.

[Vic Van Meter]

Athletes are there to compete. They don't - or shouldn't - have the spare time to waste on activism.

And if a country will treat its own people like shit, it says a lot about how it'll treat people from outside of it.

I don't really have an opinion on whether an athlete should protest - that's their choice. But treating one's own citizens poorly that you have ultimate control over is an entirely different circumstance than the citizens of another country during the most famous and media-covered international event in existence that you are already winning the regional media battle over. In EE, Putin is already coming out way ahead in the reputation game for Sochi - he doesn't need to try something so risky as poor treatment of citizens of other countries. He's not stupid.

Edit: An example: Many European countries are currently focused, regarding East vs. West, on the US. Chancellor Merkel recently said she would rather have Bush 43 back than Obama. That kind of international focus on US failure is far more beneficial to Putin than the international backlash and crisis that would occur for some draconian treatment of foreign athletes in his country. The worst that would happen is that they would be kicked out, most likely.

Honestly, I think the opposite.  I think the U.S. government would have caught a lot more Hell for what they did if there was no Putin or Russia.  I mean, say what you want about U.S. spying, our government was only ancillary involved in torpedoing Ukraine's EU membership while Russia was directly involved.  I'd almost say that if the Ukraine situation hadn't happened, we'd still be higher on the shit list.

Lately, from what I've heard, my EU friends still hate Putin more than us.  It's not like the U.S. government isn't working hard to close the gap, but we just don't have the capacity to be assholes to the EU quite as directly as an actual nation in Europe can be.