Rob2012 Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Amnesty International also refused entry. For a government that says it has nothing to hide, it's doing a great job at creating the opposite impression, It was the Guardian's Chief Sports Writer who was banned. Where's the logic in that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Serves The Guardian right. SOmetimes they are too liberal for their own good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galandar Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 hello Galandar... Hey there Baku Olympic stadium prior to the opening of EG 2015: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galandar Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Amnesty International also refused entry. Not Amnesty International and not the Guardian but those writers who over and over wrote those copy-past political articles in connection to the European Games. That is a big difference Where were all those so-called journalists (with no investigation but copy-paste bashing) when Azerbaijan was in a deep s..? Do they remember to screw the country down only when it comes to the moment of Azerbaijan? True, Azerbaijan is still facing political problems and tbh not that all have to do with the local government. All in all, I strongly believe that Azerbaijan will benefit from these games and from many other events it is organizing nowadays. In a long term it all will pay off with liberalization and democratisation of the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikarus360 Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 How deluded people can be. Someone like me and the others here who have seen dozens of these sport events hold by authoritarian regimes in order to make themselves look good (Argentina '78, Beijing 2008, the 1987 Med Games in Syria, Sochi 2014) knew from the very beggining where this was going to. As if large stadiums which will most likely left forgotten (at least most of them) after the circus is done are going to feed people. And don't make me talk about how they explicity celebrated the murder of an armenian some years ago and made the guy a national hero. This says a lot of how fucked up this society is (and yeah yeah yeah i know about Nagorno but still, the murdered guy had nothing to do with it) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galandar Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 How deluded people can be. Someone like me and the others here who have seen dozens of these sport events hold by authoritarian regimes in order to make themselves look good (Argentina '78, Beijing 2008, the 1987 Med Games in Syria, Sochi 2014) knew from the very beggining where this was going to. As if large stadiums which will most likely left forgotten (at least most of them) after the circus is done are going to feed people. And don't make me talk about how they explicity celebrated the murder of an armenian some years ago and made the guy a national hero. This says a lot of how fucked up this society is (and yeah yeah yeah i know about Nagorno but still, the murdered guy had nothing to do with it) Don't make me speak about the conflict with Armenia, better keep talking about sports here!!! You care about that murdered soldier, I care about thousands of murdered civilians, hundreds thousands of refugees, cemetries, hourses, lands which those people can never visit again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanMUC Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 I care about the fact that once again sports lets itself happily get raped (harsh, I know) by a questionable regime hiding its agenda behind glittery peace & friendship PR. Nobody forced the EOC to organise it, and to organise in Baku. The Aliyevs foot the whole bill, just like Turner did the Goodwill Games, which were also of dubious athletic relevance, IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) Not Amnesty International and not the Guardian but those writers who over and over wrote those copy-past political articles in connection to the European Games. That is a big difference So your country is not letting journalists in because the quality of their work isn't of a high enough standard? Where were all those so-called journalists (with no investigation but copy-paste bashing) when Azerbaijan was in a deep s..? Yes, it's fair to say international events provide a spotlight and these journalists have other focuses which means they're not always going to be writing about Azerbaijan. I'm guessing they're grateful for that since it seems real journalists within the country are not treated all that well. I know you'll say you know the country better than me, it's all made up....bla bla bla....but I have two sets of sources here. The combined efforts of brave journalists inside and outside the country, HRW, Amnesty, Free Press Organisations on one side. And Baku 2015 and the Azeri government on the other. I know who I believe. All in all, I strongly believe that Azerbaijan will benefit from these games and from many other events it is organizing nowadays. In a long term it all will pay off with liberalization and democratisation of the country. Here's hoping. But banning one of Europe's best sports writers because he (or his publication) doesn't write what the government likes is an appalling start. It doesn't bode well. Edited June 11, 2015 by Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikarus360 Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 If they're really such a great and friendly government, then why all the nervous attitude? Why banning all those organizations? There is a thing called tolerance or just ignoring their opinion. When you can't show that and instead try to attack or cover what they say just because its different to your point of view, then we got your typical little dictator with inferiority complex. Whats sad is that, after the spectacular show of tomorrow, a lot of people is going to forget about whats going on and will get hypnotized once again by the glitz and glamour. If the EOC wanted to give a confidential good start for the European Games, then they screwed this up very bad. PS: Sorry for my remark of the Nagorno conflict before, Galandar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor15 Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Please, can we just stop talking about the bad things and reflect on the good things about these games? Anyway, I'm thinking, where will they put the cauldron tomorrow night? Inside or outside? How would it be lit? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galandar Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Less than 24 hours left till the opening of the inagural European Games in Baku Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacholympic Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 The aereal view... I can see the stage very similar to the one used in Torino 2006 ceremonies... ?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galandar Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Galandar and anyone else please the Opening Ceremony local time please!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Is anyone showing the OC in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Is anyone showing the OC in the UK? I got the livestream site from youtube.... I hope it works for you : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUi1_bGiJSg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) From the Official Baku 2015 Journey of the Flame book, "This cradle of Azerbaijani culture and history is now a disconnected lozenge of Azerbaijan...: I LOVE (sincerely) how the book describes the exclave of Nakchivan as a lozenge! New use of the term. So every time I suck on a cough lozenge, I will think of Baku 2015 and Nakchivan!! http://www.baku2015.com/Document/Documents/Documents/03/50/71/Baku2015EuropeanGamesJourneyoftheFlame_English.pdf Edited June 12, 2015 by baron-pierreIV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Well I've finally found out one reason why they call themselves 'Land of Fire' - there's so much oil & gas under Azerbaijan that the ground has been known to spontaneously combust if some of it escapes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacholympic Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 The stream is blocked in my country!!!!! What can I do!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanMUC Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 The stream is blocked in my country!!!!! What can I do!!! Pretend being a Guardian journalist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 The production of the OC so far looks very sleek, surrounding ground running track is clean and sleek, unlike london 2012 cluttered with props. Reminiscent of Athens 2004.. It's very classy so far. Great they are live streaming it on youtube! OMG seems like they are lighting the cauldron already! Wow that's quite cool! The torchbearer light a hole in the ground which has cracks all over the stadium ground. The other guy close the lid and the cracks suddenly lit up with 'fire'. Azerbaijan= Land of Fire. Great metaphor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 And it seems as if the fire beneath the performers and the marching athletes will burn throughout the ceremony and come up again at the end. Clever move! I was at first surprised why they let the torch enter the stadium so early in the ceremony, but that way it makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Another parade. Idk how I feel about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Slight disappointed dimitris papaioannou recycled the float pageantry again......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 One can see that the Athens 2004 production staff has choreographed this ceremony. The parade on floats looks very, very Athens-ish. Gosh, can't they invent something new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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