Should we boycott the Russian Winter Olympics?

Just starting another thread on this since the last one got deleted from Current Events.

 

What reason would there be to do so? I find it kind of sad how the West wants to bully every other nation around over disagreements, in particular with respect to those nations' domestic policies, even while the West is engaged in nefarious acts such as arming and otherwise supporting religious extremists where ever it happens to be economically convenient for them to do so.

 

No. The Olympics are supposed to be above politics.

Though, I'm kinda doubting Sochi will even be ready. What the hell was the IOC thinking? This could potentially be the worst Games ever.

 

What the hell was the IOC thinking?​

I would surely like to know the answer to that question.
The idea of the IOC granting the Olympics to some place that must build obnoxious structures that will just deteriorate after the event is an absurdity and a crime against the people of that nation.

When the Olympics was last in Los Angeles I was opposed. But, it came off seamlessly.
And people really seemed to like that one too, as something special. Well Hollywood was there

An improvement would be if a venue was granted several Olympics or
Olympics assignments rest more on the ability of the host to do so without new mega construction.

For nations like Brazil or China or Sochi - Russia, the Olympics seems more like a special opportunity for connected profiteers and the IOC should do better in establishing "social responsibility" .


Moi

No ​

 

I don't see any real reason to. I'm assuming this is about that law about gays. Well...the way I see it is...it's Russia. They don't care what we think. They never did. The only effect of us not attending the Games....Russia winning more medals. All we do is hurt the pride of our athletes to trained for the event. Us not attending is not going to make the slightest impact and even less of a political statement.

 

The leaders of Germany and France are.

 

Remind me in which winter sport they are competing again?

 

They are apparently ready (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2013-12/17/content_17178761.htm)

I saw some TV thing a year or so ago about Oleg Deripaska's drive to make sure everything was ready. He apparently has pulled out all stops to make sure that the construction was done. Most of these buildings and structures will fall into disrepair as soon as the games are over though. The Olympics are a massive waste of resources in most of the places they land, especially the winter games.

As for the OP, no we should not boycott the Olympics. We shouldn't have boycotted them in 1980 either.

 

could you please elaborate on how did those manage to pull off such a thing while, say, London and Los Angeles and Vancouver didn't ?

 

Pull off what and who didn't? ?
I cannot speak for London or Vancouver.
I am only speaking to awarding the Olympics to sites that have facilities.
Not to nations who will invest so much in building facilities that then rot after the event.
The later does people no good but rewards government corruptions via contracts.
I hope that makes sense. I am having difficulty writing at the moment.

Moi

No ​

 

why?.. should in fact have started from these two.

tell that to Los Angeles and Vancouver and London Olympics in the first place, for it was them that set the example.

 

There is one reasonalbe motivation to boycot all profi sport events, these are doping exhibitions. But as long as people like it, le them have a nice festival.

 

There would be plenty of reasoning to boycott an Olympics held in Russia. They haven't exactly been cordial with us over the last 5 years and they continue to jab us in the eye anytime they get a chance. They'd lose millions/billions of dollars if the United States doesn't attend, which would send a large message. Of course, at this point, they probably wouldn't care, as they seek to eliminate us on the international trading front.

 

Maybe our Olympians should all wear pink tutus to protest Russian treatment of gays... since that seems to be the only group American libs are concerned about.

Lots of folks suffer in Russia. Otherwise it wouldn't be Russia.

 

That'd only make Putin laugh at us. He doesn't care about what we think about gays. lol He probably laughs at our chickification of football, too, especially on the days where our players wear pink shoes.

 

Really seems stupid. We're going to attend the Olympics in China, no problem, but Russia isn't as gay-friendly as we are and we're going to boycott the Olympics? The whole point of the Olympics is to encourage peace and friendly relations. And you want to boycott it?

- - - Updated - - -

source?

 

No, I don't want to. But it appears you do, according to your vote?

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.politicalforum.com/showthread.php?t=334915

 

I regret I do not get your point.
Would you please spell it out, s-l-o-w-l-y.
Thank you


To review, my point was the IOC should stop awarding Olympics to sites that will require public arenas to be constructed and the IOC should award them to sites that have the facilities.
"People" do not benefit when some few, connected persons get contracts to build venue sites that will be rotting after the events.
Agreed?



Moi

No ​

 

you got my point alright. stop pretending you didn't.

 

that point of yours is what indeed lacking reason and substantiality here, because, for godsake, why any of the built Olympic sites should end up 'rotting' at all???

 

Yes tehy should be boycotted. Our president doesn´t go there and i´m sure most will ignore the games this time. I also think it will be the most pathetic games ever.

 

I have read articles repeatedly about this or that specially built Olympic venue falling into disrepair immediately after the games.
I hope we are both around a year or so after the Sochi games to compare notes.
Meanwhile, the usual oligarchs will no doubt profit from the construction contracts.

Best Wishes

Moi

No ​

 

Why Moi, you mean it's wrong for people to earn money by giving other people what they want? That would be capitalism. Your communism would do what - offer life-time jobs to an army of bureaucrats who would decide what was good for the public, regardless of what those pitiable fools thought? Over time, this would cost more than the one-time construction cost.

The Olympics is entertainment, just as all sporting events. Since ancient Rome, governments have understood that "bread and circuses" are how to keep the loyalty of the people. So the people want the Olympics, even though they haven't obtained your consent. That requires facilities for residence, training, events, tourists, etc.

This profits the whole country, which is why governments compete to get the Olympics. The host country earns vast sums from tourism, broadcast rights, and business attracted by the high profile the Olympics confer on the country. Yes, the builders make a lot (why does it scandalize you if people get paid for the work they do?), but the money often comes from voluntary contributions, as it does in the US. People understand that the Olympics confers prestige, which is why the populations of host countries often celebrate the award of the games. It's why Barack Obama went in person to plead for the games for the US. Americans may be blase because they think they already have so much, but most other countries experience the Olympics as a great distinction. This is true even if some of the facilities are unused after.

 

This profits the whole country, = The Big Lie
Good Numbers for Wall St. = Profits for the whole country = similar lie

Questions?




Moi
The Dow went up over 100 points today, and I feel richer

No ​

 

My question: how does it NOT benefit the whole country? How much business do you think happens that wouldn't have happened without the Olympics to heighten a country's profile and bring in business and government people from other countries? How much do you think the tourism dollars are worth, both during and after the Olympics? What about all the jobs building Olympic facilities? Aren't those jobs just like Obama's "stimulus" spending?