The State of Affairs in Russia

[Neil]

I would think that the financial industry would be far more prone to corruption than construction.

[The Brain]

There's a lot of ethnic people in Russia.

[celedhring]

I would think that the financial industry would be far more prone to corruption than construction.

Government is a much bigger player in the construction industry (public works, permits for private works...) than in the financial one, where it only acts as regulator.

[DontSayBanana]

I would think that the financial industry would be far more prone to corruption than construction.

You'd think that, but then again, the financial industry reports numbers.  The construction industry only really reports the numbers at the very end, so they don't need the cooked books to serve as a cover story that the financial industry does.

[DGuller]

The financial industry excels at the art of scamming, which is different from the art of corruption.  Often it's not even illegal.

[Alcibiades]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/journalists-at-sochi-are-live-tweeting-their-hilarious-and-gross-hotel-experiences/

Journalists at Sochi are live-tweeting their hilarious and gross hotel experiences

Amid continued debate over whether or not Sochi is prepared to host the 2014 Olympics, which begins Thursday, reporters from around the world are starting to check into local hotels — to their apparent grief. Some journalists arriving in Sochi are describing appalling conditions in the housing there, where only six of nine media hotels are ready for guests. Hotels are still under construction. Water, if it's running, isn't drinkable. One German photographer told the AP over the weekend that his hotel still had stray dogs and construction workers wandering in and out of rooms.
This is the one hotel room @Sochi2014 have given us so far. Shambles. #cnnsochi pic.twitter.com/RTjEkmyan3
— Harry Reekie (@HarryCNN) February 4, 2014


CNN booked 11 rooms in one @Sochi2014 media hotel five months ago. We have been here for a day and only one room is available. #cnnsochi
— Harry Reekie (@HarryCNN) February 4, 2014


Still waiting for "preparations" on hotel room to finish. Hoping they're origami-folding toilet roll, rather than, say, putting the roof on.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014


I have a room! No heating or internet, but it has a (single) bed at least...
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014


Got back to hotel. Lift broken after half day in use. Trekked up stairs. Door to my floor (that'd be the fire door) locked. Utter farce.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014


Water main break means no water at our hotel in #Sochi. Could take awhile to fix. #CTVSochi
— Rosa Hwang (@RosaHwangCTV) February 3, 2014


The reception of our hotel in #Sochi has no floor. But it does have this welcoming picture. pic.twitter.com/8isdoBuytl
— Kevin Bishop (@bishopk) February 4, 2014
@bruce_arthur Hotel issues have been happening to a lot of people. Left out on the street, you risk being poisoned or trapped like the dogs.
— Wayne Chow (@wayne_chow) February 2, 2014


Miss you, hot water in my hotel. You were great.
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) February 4, 2014


People have asked me what surprised me the most here in Sochi. It's this. Without question ... it's ... THIS. pic.twitter.com/1jj05FNdCP
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 4, 2014


Ok, so my hotel doesn't have a lobby yet.
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) February 4, 2014


For those of you asking, when there's no lobby in your hotel, you go to the owner's bedroom to check in. #Sochi2014
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) February 4, 2014


My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous." #Sochi2014
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014


Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014


Also on the bright side: I just washed my face with Evian, like I'm a Kardashian or something.
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014


Made new pal from La Presse as we struggled to find hotel. When we got to our (temporary) rooms his doorknob came off in hand #roadtosochi
— katiebakes (@katiebakes) February 4, 2014


Congrats to @Dave_Schwartz only media personality who's arrived in Sochi with a hotel room that's ready, with doorknob that doesn't fall off
— Ryan Stanzel (@rstanzel) February 4, 2014


Watch your step @Sochi2014 -- I've noticed on walkway and on sidewalks that not all man holes are always covered. pic.twitter.com/a5Nv4wu5iA
— Jo-Ann Barnas (@JoAnnBarnas) February 1, 2014


The disarray seems to contradict repeated promises from both Russian and Olympic officials that Sochi is ready for the games, despite terrorist threats, unfinished construction and concerns over human rights abuses in the country. The Sochi Olympics have also run way over budget — to a record $51 billion — which seems particularly remarkable when you consider that some of the work isn't actually done. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has of course denied that, insisting both that the "stage is ready" and that many concerns, including those over safety and construction, are overblown. Meanwhile, Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of Sochi's Olympic organizing committee, had this Twitter exchange with a CNN producer who complained that only one of the network's 11 requested rooms was ready for them:

@DChernyshenko Our media hotel is not ready Dmitry....11 rooms booked five months ago, only one ready. Please help.
— Harry Reekie (@HarryCNN) February 4, 2014

Highlights: 








The water coming out of the faucets...

[Grinning_Colossus]

That's very similar to the sort of thing that I encountered in Georgia: Prestige projects are built quickly and with a maximum amount of graft and fall apart almost immediately. Big restaurants are mysteriously closed within a few weeks of their completion (http://www.inyourpocket.com/Georgia/Batumi/Batumi-Sightseeing/Essential-Batumi/Alphabet-Tower_117628v), 'modern' schools become unusable when mold starts growing from every wall, etc. The leader will visit them when they open, and once they survive his guided tour that's the end of their utility. It's really a cultural issue, and one that predates even communism. This is a Potemkin olympic village.

[Berkut]

I love the inevitable comments from the Russians. Not "God damnit, my country is fucking up and full of corruption!" but "Damn that western media for focusing on such negative things! We are so oppressed!"

[Admiral Yi]

I bet Brazil is psyched they get to go next. 

[Duque de Bragança]

Well, for one, Brazilians were not so happy with the high costs for both the Olympics and the World Cup some months ago. there where some huge demonstrations where they wanted money to be spent in education (shocking!) and transportation on a long-term basis.

[Razgovory]

I'm surprised nobody is making bets on if there is a terror attack.

[Ed Anger]

I'm surprised nobody is making bets on if there is a terror attack.

I want to see a Spetnaz throw a axe into a a Black Widow.

[The Larch]

I'm surprised nobody is making bets on if there is a terror attack.

For what I've read an attack of feral stray dogs on somebody from the Olympic troupe is more likely.

[Syt]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/feb/05/activist-jailed-environment-sochi-olympics

An activist who has been shedding light on environmental fallout from the Sochi Olympics has been jailed for five days for resisting police.

Igor Kharchenko is the second activist to be detained in the region in three days.

Kharchenko was grabbed on the street in the regional capital of Krasnodar as he left his house and found his car smashed, his associate Olga Soldatova said on Wednesday.

Police took him to the police station where he was charged with resisting police orders.

Soldatova said Kharchenko was put on trial without a lawyer.

Like Yevgeny Vitishko, who was jailed on Monday for swearing in public, Kharchenko is a member of the Environmental Watch on the North Caucasus, a group that has been monitoring the environmental effects of Olympic construction.

Amnesty International condemned his treatment, saying his "closed trial was brief and blatantly unfair".

It added: "Amnesty International has reviewed video footage of his arrest, which contradicts the police's allegations that he resisted orders."

Sergei Nikitin, Amnesty International's Moscow office director, said:

"It took a judge only a few minutes, behind a closed door, to decide that yet another environmental activist should be behind bars when the Games begin. This happened precisely on the day when the Olympic torch arrived in Sochi. "Sportsmanship and fair play are hallmarks of the Olympic spirit, but the Russian authorities seem to have thrown out the rule book in favour of silencing critical voices ahead of the Games.

"This foul play must come to an end. The Russian authorities must halt their harassment of civil society activists, protect the right to peaceful freedom of expression, and release the Sochi prisoners of conscience: Igor Kharchenko and his fellow environmentalist Yevgeny Vitishko, who is currently serving 15 days in administrative detention on trumped-up charges."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/05/western-leaders-boycott-sochi-winter-olympics

Western leaders stay away from Sochi Winter Olympics
China's Xi Jinping and Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych will attend but many in west have been put off by Russian anti-gay laws

There will be no Barack Obama, no David Cameron and no Angela Merkel in the stadium when the Winter Olympics open in Sochi on Friday, but Vladimir Putin will have the company of the embattled leader of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, and the president of South Ossetia, a tiny breakaway state recognised as independent by Russia.

The Kremlin hoped to see dozens of world leaders at the opening ceremony, but the Winter Olympics is not regarded as a "must-attend" event, and many in the west have been put off by controversy in the buildup to the Games, notably the passing of a law banning "gay propaganda".

However, China's president, Xi Jinping, Japan's Shinzo Abe and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are expected to attend, as is the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon.

Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, hit out at foreign leaders boycotting the Games, accusing them of making an "ostentatious gesture" that "costs nothing but makes international headlines".

Bach, speaking in front of Putin and IOC officials from around the world, said: "We are grateful to those who respect the fact that sport can only contribute to the development of peace if it's not used as a stage for political dissent, or for trying to score points in internal or external contexts."

He spoke caustically of those who decided not to attend the Olympics, saying that their "contribution to the fight for a good cause consisted of publicly declining invitations they had not even received".

In a clear rebuke to Russia over its anti-gay laws, the US is sending a delegation that includes three openly gay athletes – the tennis legend Billie Jean King, the 2006 Olympic ice hockey medallist Caitlin Cahow and the figure skater Brian Boitano.

Norway announced that its health minister, Bent Hoeie, would head its official delegation to the Paralympics, which begin in March, and would travel with his husband.

Italy and the Netherlands are among the few European countries to send high-level representation to Sochi. The Italian prime minister, Enrico Letta, will attend the opening ceremony, as will the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander. The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, is due to meet Putin in Sochi, despite a highly turbulent year for Dutch-Russian relations and calls from the country's gay community to boycott the Games.

Protests against Russia's gay laws are expected in cities across the world on Wednesday.

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, is likely to attend the ceremony. He shares Putin's passion for ice hockey and took part in a practice match with Putin at the Olympic hockey arena last month.

Yanukovych is likely to meet Putin at some point in the coming days, according to the Russian president's spokesman. Yanukovych's decision to abandon European integration and pursue closer integration with Russia sparked the anti-government protests that have rocked Kiev for the past two months.

A spokeswoman for Leonid Tibilov, the president of South Ossetia, said he had been invited to the opening ceremony and to a reception for heads of state. Russia recognised South Ossetia as independent in the aftermath of the 2008 war with Georgia, but the territory is not allowed to compete in the Games.

At the same time Russia also recognised Abkhazia, another breakaway province of Georgia, which has a border a few miles from Sochi. Georgia has not sent a government delegation to the Games in protest, but is sending four athletes.

[Berkut]

Bach suck my dick.

Standing up for equal rights is not "political dissent". What a douchebag.