Welcome to Sochi....

[berettafan]

It seems the typical American just doesn't get how good we have it.

Should be that most look at this and think 'holy Christ I don't think we need to be assimilating to the ROW' and wake up to the fact that our 'president' is taking us directly down this path.

Our gov't can piss away $50 billion and have nothing to show for it...not even a goofy toilet. Gov'ts don't create cities and venues. private industry does.

Great big lesson for the big gov't lefties.

[Rikao4]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Because we have all heard how they spent 50 BILLION dollars to get to this point. It is laughable how horrible Sochi is. They have had years to get ready and this is the best they can do? It would not be news if they just went to a small city in a third world country. This is Russia's best effort?

so we laugh at them..BFD
the rest of the world laughs at us...
because when it comes to wasting $$$ or making a mess of things ..
nobody does it like we do.....

Rika

[widebody911]

[widebody911]

I don't know why people are surprised at the horrible living conditions in Sochi. If you ban all the gays from your town, your interior decorating is going to suffer.

[1990C4S]

[Baz]

SOCHI, Russia—Rooms without doorknobs, locks or heat, dysfunctional toilets, surprise early-morning fire alarms and packs of stray dogs: These are the initial images of the 2014 Winter Olympics that foreign journalists have blasted around the world from their officially assigned hotels—and the wave of criticism has rankled Russian officials.

Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic preparations, seemed to reflect the view held among many Russian officials that some Western visitors are deliberately trying to sabotage Sochi's big debut out of bias against Russia. "We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day," he said. An aide then pulled a reporter away before Mr. Kozak could be questioned further on surveillance in hotel rooms. "We're doing a tour of the media center," the aide said.

A spokesman for Mr. Kozak later on Thursday said there is absolutely no surveillance in hotel rooms or bathrooms occupied by guests. He said there was surveillance on premises during construction and cleaning of Sochi's venues and hotels and that is likely what Mr. Kozak was referencing. A senior official at a company that built a number of the hotels also said there is no such surveillance in rooms occupied by guests.

Rest of the story here:


Russian Officials Fire Back at Olympic Critics - WSJ.com

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by widebody911

I don't know why people are surprised at the horrible living conditions in Sochi. If you ban all the gays from your town, your interior decorating is going to suffer.

And Starbucks barristas.

[motion]

I'm sure there's some unfinished construction in Sochi, and other minor problems. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. But, I read some posting by an athlete about her trip from the US to Sochi via Moscow on Aeroflot and it was so full of BS, I decided that anything further she could say was also BS. I've been to many parts of Russia, and they have been the equal or better of many parts of the US, including Southern California, Texas, Louisiana, the South, etc. No, I'm not picking on the South or Texas. America is a large country, and everything can't be like Manhattan. Now, multiply that by 4 and you can see what Russia has to deal with.

I added Southern California just to appease the rednecks on the board

[porsche4life]

I'm just hoping it's better in Brazil... I'm trying to swing a spot on my companies team for 2016...

[motion]

Nice, positive read: Sochi 2014

[widgeon13]

Nothing wrong with this. If it was good enough when I was in the Army, it's good enough for the olympians. Heck, in the barracks we had four side by side. It build self confidence.

[Baz]

Thanks for your take, Motion.

When I looked at some of the news stories I know there was only one image I had in MY head....



Then again it's the media so what do you expect?

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

Nothing wrong with this. If it was good enough when I was in the Army, it's good enough for the olympians. Heck, in the barracks we had four side by side. It build self confidence.

You should see the special stall for the two man bobsled teams. They do everything in tandem!

[Rusty914s]

What's up with the political commentary? Feeling like i'm driving through the deep south when no other radio stations tune-in except religious and "kill that black president" stations come in. Have fun kissing your sister

This times a million...

Originally Posted by motion

I'm sure there's some unfinished construction in Sochi, and other minor problems. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. But, I read some posting by an athlete about her trip from the US to Sochi via Moscow on Aeroflot and it was so full of BS, I decided that anything further she could say was also BS. I've been to many parts of Russia, and they have been the equal or better of many parts of the US, including Southern California, Texas, Louisiana, the South, etc. No, I'm not picking on the South or Texas. America is a large country, and everything can't be like Manhattan. Now, multiply that by 4 and you can see what Russia has to deal with.

I added Southern California just to appease the rednecks on the board

[motion]

I took this photo on a flight from Los Angeles to Colorado last week. Nice, eh?

[Baz]

Exactly!

[porwolf]

Originally Posted by motion

I'm sure there's some unfinished construction in Sochi, and other minor problems. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. But, I read some posting by an athlete about her trip from the US to Sochi via Moscow on Aeroflot and it was so full of BS, I decided that anything further she could say was also BS. I've been to many parts of Russia, and they have been the equal or better of many parts of the US, including Southern California, Texas, Louisiana, the South, etc. No, I'm not picking on the South or Texas. America is a large country, and everything can't be like Manhattan. Now, multiply that by 4 and you can see what Russia has to deal with.

I added Southern California just to appease the rednecks on the board

Intersting observations by somebody who knows Russia compared to the comments from people here who only go by the hearsay they want to listen too.

[aigel]

I am with Motion. If anything, the US is getting run over by the rest of the world. The media is running a feel good campaign that reminds me of reality TV and Jerry Springer type shows. "Oh, look, how effed up this place is - don't we have it great?". I know nothing about Russia, but have you been to some of the better parts of Asia or Europe? Their standard of living is already above ours. And that includes the coasts.

G

[motion]

Its a simple fact that small, densely populated first world countries enjoy a better infrastructure than geographically larger countries. A country with 11 time zones and only 150mm people to generate tax dollars is going to spread its money thinly. In the case of Sochi, the region is far, far removed from the major population (money) centers, and the oligarchs have reportedly skimmed $40 billion of the $50 billion allocated there.

Try spending some time in Germany, then fly into say, Indianapolis, and go for a drive around the area. Eye opening, to say the least.

[motion]

And yes, aigel, I concur 100%. I used to (and still do, to a certain extent) have this built in perception of the US vs the rest of the world, and it is simply not true. If anything, we are becoming more and more like Russia, in the sense that our infrastructure, largely built 60+ years ago, is crumbling and in disrepair. We no longer lead the world in most categories, like we have in the past, for the most part.