Tony Katz, Sochi, site of the Winter Olympic Games, has all the markings of being a total disaster. Like Ishtar, but with a bigger body count. Though the Games have not yet begun, reporters from around the globe are beginning to descend on the so-called resort town. What has greeted them is nothing more than […] Read More →
A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said. The hijacking drama came as the Winter […] Read More →
Russia’s Winter Olympics officially got underway on the Black Sea coast on Friday with a grandiose opening ceremony that President Vladimir Putin hoped would dispel fears of militant attacks and a row over gay rights that marred the buildup. Putin has staked his reputation on hosting a safe and successful Games in the resort town […] Read More →
No, they haven’t forgotten the 1980 Winter Olympics in Russia. Then again, it would be a miracle if they had. The in-flight magazine of Russian airline Aeroflot offered a breakdown this month of past Winter Games, with blurbs on each and of course including the 1980 Lake Placid Games. The 2002 Salt Lake City Games […] Read More →
A record number of world dignitaries are coming to the Sochi Olympics, triple the amount that attended the 2010 Vancouver Games, Russian organizers said Thursday on the eve of the opening ceremony. Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Sochi organizing committee, told the IOC that 65 heads of state and government and international organizations are expected […] Read More →
Being a reporter at the Sochi Olympic Games just got even worse. NBC News’ Richard Engel said that upon arriving in Russia to cover the upcoming event, he was hacked “almost immediately” — and privacy is not something visitors should expect to have. “It doesn’t take long here for someone to try to tap into […] Read More →
Michael Schaus, The decedent past of Soviet Russia, it turns out, is not that far behind us. Oh sure, Russians might have Wi-Fi, post-soviet sedans, and Hugo Boss… But it’s not exactly the revolutionized and reformed former communist state we’re supposed to believe. And Sochi, home to this year’s Winter Olympics, is not exactly the […] Read More →
Despite our endless blather about democracy, we Americans seem to be able to put our devotion to democratic principles on the shelf, when they get in the way of our New World Order. In 2012, in the presidential election in Egypt, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood won in a landslide. President Obama hailed the […] Read More →
Norway’s health minister will make a point about gay rights in Russia by attending the Sochi Paralympics with his husband, but the Dutch king and prime minister are under pressure to boycott the main Winter Games. President Vladimir Putin has faced calls for a boycott of the Olympics, which open on Friday, over a law […] Read More →
The Black Widow and Russia’s Ring of Silly Putty President Putin and Russia’s security forces have made a big deal out their “ring of steel” in Sochi, the Black Sea resort where the Winter Olympics will be held next month. Earlier this month, the Russians announced they had dedicated $2 billion to their ring of […] Read More →