I have a thing for looking at pictures and reading about abandoned places. I always find it hilarious when seeing something from Russia and finding out it was abandoned just a few years ago but looks like it had been abandoned in the '50s.
These facilities will probably never get fixed. What a legacy. At least the sporting facilities look like they're in good shape.
HAHAHA ok come on, the Russians are obviously just trolling now.
Solution! (spoiler for size)
Spoiler!
When I went to Moscow (and St.Pete) in 2006 to visit the country of my birth for the first time since 1976 this picture is basically the lasting impression I was left with. The Russians aren't interested in quality or beauty but rather the facade or impression of quality and beauty. Even the buildings I would go in that completed their construction or renovations, especially in St.Petersburg, would be beautiful on the outside and complete dumps on the inside.
I just got back from Phuket, Thailand which is overrun by "new money" Russians. They are literally swarming all over the island. I've never encountered a group of people that are so shallow and only concerned with appearances. It's what I imagine hanging out with thousands of Kardashians would be like. It was infuriating for me and a couple of locals confessed that they are very difficult to deal with.
I know these are generalizations on my part but it's really hard to escape these conclusions. Of course, there are plenty of Russians I met in Russia that are real, genuine people but I found that they are in the vast minority especially compared to the western cultures I come from. There's a lot of oil money in Russia and a lot of people who never had money have come into a lot of it in a relatively short period of time. I think it'll take another generation or two before the Russian culture recovers from it's Justin Bieber phase.
I think the Russian mentality will likely lead to many, many small embarassments (which will quickly be swept under the carpet) but no major catastrophes.
__________________
The of and to a in is I that it for you was with on as have but be they
Last edited by Red Slinger; 02-04-2014 at 07:42 PM.
My prediction is that the athletes accommodations, even though sparse, is ready for the athletes, and all the athletes should be taken care of very well.
However, which is rather enjoyable for me, the journalists and media are being given the ol middle finger by the Russians, which is kind of awesome, because most of the media and journalists are a-holes anyways. (not really though).
Ohh boo hoo CNN only has one room ready.
The Following User Says Thank You to flames_fan_down_under For This Useful Post:
So people must either be sleeping or walking around then? Where's the couches (or chairs with cushions), tables, TV? Very sad. The rooms look like giant prison cells.
My bet is that the games go off without much drama - much to the dismay of the media.
While odds are that nothing overly dramatic happens, treating the international media this way pretty much ensures that they are going to look bad in the eyes of the world.
These people should right now be cosied up to and spending time getting to know the venues, not wondering where are they going to sleep and take a shower. And reporters being expected to come up with stories, those are the stories they will go with.
It could easiliy get worse, if the conditions don't improve fast. At this point it's mostly laughs and giggles and exotic, but it will grow old very fast once the olympics start, the working days get long and they start getting complaints that the reports are not coming in fast enough and their bosses start sending messages in all caps asking WHERE'S THAT INTERVIEW?!? (Which I'm sure they get anyway.)
As for the price tag of the olympics, most likely most of that money was just stolen in what will go down as one of the great heists in history. Nothing I've seen so far seems to really compare to the admittedly very cool stuff they built in Beijing. (I'm sure the opening and closing ceremonies will be something to behold though.)
What's worse, even the Chinese government used more corporate sponsor money for their olympics than the Russians. This is pretty much all taxpayer money (assuming the reports I've read are true).
Another top rider, Torstein Horgmo of Norway, was forced out after breaking his collarbone during practice Monday. On Tuesday, Finnish rider Marika Enne was carted off the course with a concussion.
Really? I didn't know that man, but thanks for the update. Many times have the Olympics been whined about as the worst Olympics ever, just because they're in Russia now it was obvious Western media would be all over it.
Really? I didn't know that man, but thanks for the update. Many times have the Olympics been whined about as the worst Olympics ever, just because they're in Russia now it was obvious Western media would be all over it.
The point that you obviously missed is that this is a newly built 50 billion dollar showpiece for Russia that is still a pile of ####. Your apartment in Nice might have sucked, but this is the new crap they built to show off to the world. You don't see the hilarity in this?
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterJoji
Johnny eats garbage and isn’t 100% committed.
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to nik- For This Useful Post:
Really? I didn't know that man, but thanks for the update. Many times have the Olympics been whined about as the worst Olympics ever, just because they're in Russia now it was obvious Western media would be all over it.
I haven't seen anyone proclaim that this is the worst Olympics ever BECAUSE the baggage carousels in the arrival terminal don't circulate bags but dump them on the floor when they reach the end, door knobs fall off in your hand, light fixtures crash to the floor, electrical outlets that are just covers screwed into the drywall, urine coloured water, missing lightbulbs, completely open manhole covers on sidewalks...
Is it the media being the media or Russia being Russia? Yes, these issues are common around the world but those places aren't hosting a $51 billion Olympics.
