The Off Topic Topic

[The Brain]

I've been OD-ing on Isle of Man TT and Ulster GP videos on YouTube the past days. I can't get over those guys.

[alfred russel]

I think it sucks the Russians are banned. They cheat and still lose. It is great.

It is also a bad precedent. The Russians can easily (and correctly) point out that lots of athletes from other countries are doping. Coaches are likely involved. At what point will others be banned?

[grumbler]

What has the environment ever done for you?

You mean, apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health?

[dps]

I think it sucks the Russians are banned. They cheat and still lose. It is great.

It is also a bad precedent. The Russians can easily (and correctly) point out that lots of athletes from other countries are doping. Coaches are likely involved. At what point will others be banned?

Plenty of individual athletes and coaches can be banned if caught, and indeed have been.  The difference is that there was clear evidence of institutionalized, systematic cheating by not just Russian athletes and coaches, but the whole Russian Olympic apperatus.

There are probably other countries where there is systematic cheating going on.  If they get caught, ban them, too.  I think this sets a good precedent, not a bad one.

[DGuller]

Russia just got owned by the IOC of all things lol

Sucks to be a non-Russian athlete, though.  If FSB could swap dirty samples and clean samples for Russian athletes, they can probably do the reverse for non-Russian athletes as well.  We know how much the Russians believe in tit-for-tat, and they've already hacked WADA once to exact revenge.

[DGuller]

Agreed.  The environmental toll is  awful especially given the non-existent social utility generated.

If bitcoin is the alternative to building and flipping condos in condo towers that stay dark every evening, then it's a good trade.

[Josquius]

Russia just got owned by the IOC of all things lol

Sucks to be a non-Russian athlete, though.  If FSB could swap dirty samples and clean samples for Russian athletes, they can probably do the reverse for non-Russian athletes as well.  We know how much the Russians believe in tit-for-tat, and they've already hacked WADA once to exact revenge.

[FunkMonk]

Russia just got owned by the IOC of all things lol

Sucks to be a non-Russian athlete, though.  If FSB could swap dirty samples and clean samples for Russian athletes, they can probably do the reverse for non-Russian athletes as well.  We know how much the Russians believe in tit-for-tat, and they've already hacked WADA once to exact revenge.

Fuck

[DGuller]

Russia just got owned by the IOC of all things lol

Sucks to be a non-Russian athlete, though.  If FSB could swap dirty samples and clean samples for Russian athletes, they can probably do the reverse for non-Russian athletes as well.  We know how much the Russians believe in tit-for-tat, and they've already hacked WADA once to exact revenge.

If you read the Russian sports media, which I occasionally peruse, you will notice that the talking point for some time has been that Americans are hypocrites and all their athletes are doped up, while all Russians did was take some pill that wasn't even illegal at the time.  A lot of seemingly respectable sporting officials and athletes say things like "Look at Williams brothers, are you honestly going to tell me they're not doped up?"

It doesn't take much of a leap to think that the Russians will find the reputation of American athletes an attractive target for retaliation, given that they already doxed them in the past.  Every time Simone Biles is mentioned in the Russian media for whatever reason, there is always a paragraph mentioning how her Ritalin use was exposed by some hacker group.

[Valmy]

Man do the Russians never get tired of blaming us for their crimes?

[derspiess]

I know what I'm getting garbon for Christmas this year!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/572170991/hillary-clinton-christmas-angel-tree

[garbon]

I very much doubt that you'll buy me a gift.

[grumbler]

I very much doubt that you'll buy me a gift.

He's hoping that you'll reciprocate with his heart's desire:

https://www.zazzle.com/donald_trump_45_president_plate-256487182733221362

[Razgovory]

Today is a bittersweet day for Roy Moore.  It marks two important anniversaries.  Today in history the 13th amendment was ratified.  On the other other hand, Nabokov completed his masterpiece Lolita, which really speaks to him for some reason.

[derspiess]

I very much doubt that you'll buy me a gift.

He's hoping that you'll reciprocate with his heart's desire:

https://www.zazzle.com/donald_trump_45_president_plate-256487182733221362

Need to move some Obama plates to make room for that one.