Time to kick muddah-f*cking Russia out once & for all?

[sebastien1214]

20 minutes ago, Guilga said:

You can participate, but you doesn't count... Y'know, is this better or worse than just being banned?

This is the reason that pushes me even more to think that the Russians will end up boycotting the Olympics. Because clearly, I don't think there is any greater humiliation than being told "you're going to participate but if you win you don't count".

The only thing that scares me is that if Putin says "we boycott we don't want to see Russians participate in the Olympics", what will happen to those who dare to defy this ban from Putin (so who for the coup would really be dissidents)? When we see the repressive machine of the Putin regime, we can worry for them and their families.

[Quaker2001]

40 minutes ago, Guilga said:

Also, something i saw just now: (sorry for the double post, bu this is important)

HOLY MOLY, You can participate, but you doesn't count... Y'know, is this better or worse than just being banned?

You still get the medal as an individual, but it doesn't count for a nation.  Rest assured, Putin will do his best to try and propagandize those medal winning athletes

[Guilga]

4 minutes ago, Quaker2001 said:

You still get the medal as an individual, but it doesn't count for a nation.  Rest assured, Putin will do his best to try and propagandize those medal winning athletes

But even regular neutrals before had their spot in the medal tables even if their medals did not count for their nation. This feels different, it's a "you doesn't count" for real. A cold, bitter neutrality, perhaps too tired by the Russian state actions to even bother caring anymore.

Imagine, after you give them a suspension because they just had to do the biggest state-sponsored dopping scandal ever uncovered in olympic history, they decide to not collaborate very much. You suspend them, with some benefits because you still like their company very much. When that is going to expire soon, oops, they decide to do some business in Ukraine! All your european neighbours are politically and definitevely pissed, despite you claiming "neutrality!", not wanting to step in. You externalize this by a fear that it might open a can of worms, especially if you look outside Europe, but in the end, you just want the good times with your dictator buddy back. Still, you have to ban them because your immediate neighbours are livid with them, renember that committee is still located in Switzerland. Also still, you want to given their athletes a shot, because individuals ain't nations, they can not support that mess, and collective sports are all off the table after all that happened anyway. Then they throw a fit, decide to go rogue and make their own "Friendship Games", collecting some political allies to make a multi-sport event of their own. Now you snap. You, foolishly, belive that sport and politics doesn't mix very well, despite having to live in both worlds all the time, but also, rage starts to boil in your heart for other reason. Doing multi-sport events is your job. Then, the Russian Olympic Commitee decide to annex regional olympic commitees of occupied Ukraine. Now you are livid. Now you finally suspend that NOC. Now it's done, a bond shattered yes, but what did him expect from that friend who could not be bothered to respect the Olympic Truce between the Ollys and the Paras? Three times... One of them while they were hosting... Actually, this one is evem more significant, because that was when him took Crimea.

Perdon my long prose, but at the very least, i hope that our participating neutrals can make the most of their games in Paris. If they are there, is best to assume that they do not support the war and if they do, may they get the boot. ASAP. However, i feel that they might doesn't even need a boycott from Putin to give up at this point now.

[baron-pierreIV]

And still the latest DOPING discovery. 

Poistogova-Guliyev could lose Olympic medal in historic doping case (insidethegames.biz) 

When will it end?    What about all those East German gals who eventually had to become men as they were used by the GDR system, were they ever penalized for use of banned substances?  Or will Caitlin Jenner just give them a mwah-mwah kiss?  

[krow]

the casual obsessive transphobia apropos of nothing is certainly one reason gamesbids has never been more alive these days.

[sebastien1214]

News from Russia... well from the Belarusian vassal but it amounts to the same thing.

Eh, we will say that this is more or less a confirmation of the fact that Russia will not boycott, otherwise how can they “smash the faces” if they boycott?

[Karenina]

On 2/28/2024 at 7:25 AM, Quaker2001 said:

Agreed.  Do it when the figure skating community is gathered together, or at least the Winter sports community rather than at the Summer Olympics where it will get lost in the shuffle.

Here's a neat idea.. use it to kick off festivities at the medals plaza.  They're going to have this great venue in front of the cathedral.  Do something the night before the Opening Ceremony when the figure skating team event has likely started and they can get their own time and place to get their medals that they rightfully deserve

Catching up on this thread...  Agreed that, at this point, this summer in Paris isn't looking likely for the 2022 figure skating team event medal ceremony.  

I know some here seem to be pushing the idea of doing it at Worlds in Boston next year but I don't envision the USOPC and USFS accepting that for this team.  They are going to want a full-on medal/victory ceremony at an Olympics medals plaza so if it's not this summer then it will be in Milano-Cortina.  And, frankly, all of these skaters - not just from the USA but also Japan (and Canada) deserve their moment on the Olympic podium.

I do think it would be nice to use it to kick off the festivities at the medals plaza in Milano and doing it the day before the OC could work - the Team Event usually starts the same day as the OC so it shouldn't affect any of the 2022 medalists who are also competing in 2026 (best guess at this time - Chock/Bates USA and Miura/Kihara JPN will do the Team Event again, and if Canada is upgraded to bronze then you can include Gilles/Poirier in the group of returning medalists; and yes, before anyone mentions Sakamoto or Kagiyama, I know they're likely to be competing in Milano but I'm not sure they'll also be entered in the TE since Japan has so much depth in Women and Men that both Kaori & Yuma could choose to focus on their individual events).

[Karenina]

On 3/6/2024 at 6:50 PM, Quaker2001 said:

That all said.. looking forward to July when we no longer have to talk about this subject.  It's something that gets a lot of traction in the lead-up, but once the games start, it won't be a dominating narrative.  Nor should it be.  And speaking of things that shouldn't be..

Oh, I doubt that July is the end of it, especially if Russia goes forward with their "Friendship Games" in September, and not especially with about 18 months before the Winter Olympics come 'round again.  And, heading into the fall, the qualifications for 2026 will begin in earnest.  I don't think Russia will be invited back to competition by most of the winter sports feds anytime soon and we're going to have the same steady diet of whining from Russian winter athletes that we've had from their summer athletes.

[StefanMUC]

The federations doing their things and the IOC watching with their eyes closed.

https://x.com/chuprinroman/status/1786657542174585191?s=46&t=gplp3yLYx26445hjltwmnQ

[StefanMUC]

So apparently all the Russian wrestlers that had qualified as "neutrals" for Paris have yesterday announced that they will not start. I think they would have been in almost all 18 weight categories, many of which with serious medal chances, so good riddance I say.

All in all, there will now be 33 "neutral" athletes, almost exactly 50/50 split between Belarus and Russia (which is quite hilarious given the size difference, but I guess Lukashenko wants to make a point of his athletes participating - see a few posts further up here - while the Tsar is in full playing the victim mode). Biggest group from those 33 are the 7 Russian tennis players, who are probably also the most credible in terms of being "neutral", as they clearly don't depend on state/military sponsoring.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Neutral_Athletes_at_the_2024_Summer_Olympics

[Durban Sandshark]

Russians (and very likely the Belarussians too) ain't getting their Olympic TV this summer. Channel 1, VGTRK, and Match TV have all rejected showing the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics with only 15 athletes selected under the independent banner:

SORRY, NO RUSSIAN OLYMPIC TV COVERAGE FOR US RUSSIANS THIS TIME BECAUSE THE IOC HATES US!

[Ikarus360]

Maybe try not invading independent countries next time?

Just saying.

[Quaker2001]

1 hour ago, Ikarus360 said:

Maybe try not invading independent countries next time?

Just saying.

This was their choice, not the IOC's.  But good try Russians once again trying to pretend you're the victim

[sebastien1214]

What's great is that in the end, even if tomorrow there were no more Russian athletes participating, no one would care. The real big defeat for Russia, that they have become insignificant in the worldwide sport.

I mean, a lot of people (legitimately) expected that the Russia issue would make Paris 2024 a very tricky game, but in the end no one cares.

I mean, in France, I think the story of people wanting to poop in the Seine has gotten more articles recently than all the stories around Russia...

[Quaker2001]

2 minutes ago, sebastien1214 said:

What's great is that in the end, even if tomorrow there were no more Russian athletes participating, no one would care. The real big defeat for Russia, that they have become insignificant in the worldwide sport.

I mean, a lot of people (legitimately) expected that the Russia issue would make Paris 2024 a very tricky game, but in the end no one cares.

I mean, in France, I think the story of people wanting to poop in the Seine has gotten more articles recently than all the stories around Russia...

My thoughts exactly.  This was a hot button issue for awhile and the fact it has been reduced to almost nothing is a wonderful thing.  Typical pre-Olympics fear-mongering.  And as I suspected, as we get closer to Games time, it has become background noise at best.  I expect it to stay that way

[Sir Rols]

It sure is satisfying seeing Russia’s absence barely eating a shrug now. More like relief.

That said, I’m still wary what spoilers they’re going to try and pull. A cyberattack out of Putin’s troll farms is still a likely scenario. And of course, the disinformation and troll campaigns will be in full flight.

1 hour ago, FYI said:

Well, again. There's no cure for TES, no matter how much repeated information is provided on the subject from whatever articles to quench concerns.

On the contrary, they choose to link an article from ITG's instead (which lately is nothing more than an anti-Paris 2024 propaganda machine; like yesterday, they posted about the OV's poor air quality 'issues'. What will it be tomorrow) to continue their hysteria of their disapproval of the OC's plan (as if anyone here even cares what they have to say about it anymore). 

Speaking of ITG, did you see the other headlines in today’s news roster as well?

Far-right extremist arrested over suspected Olympics plot

Paris 2024: Limited access and empty businesses

Artists' strike threatens Paris 2024 opening ceremony

Hijab ban at Paris 2024 deemed ‘racist gender discrimination’
 

 

[FYI]

10 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

Speaking of ITG, did you see the other headlines in today’s news roster as well?

Far-right extremist arrested over suspected Olympics plot

Actually, this one was reported first by France24, which I posted in the Paris 2024 thread yesterday.

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20240717-french-security-services-arrest-far-right-extremist-suspected-paris-olympics-plot-france

[Sir Rols]

Of course, most if not all have been reported elsewhere. ITG mainly just re-writes - in bad English - news agency reports and press releases these days anyway. I wasn’t posting those as “news” links - just to show how their editorial direction is so much in tune with their new Kremlin masters.

[FYI]

9 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

I wasn’t posting those as “news” links - just to show how their editorial direction is so much in tune with their new Kremlin masters.

Got it. You mean mainly just re-posting the bad & the ugly about Paris 2024, & not really the good. 

[sebastien1214]

26 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

Of course, most if not all have been reported elsewhere. ITG mainly just re-writes - in bad English - news agency reports and press releases these days anyway. I wasn’t posting those as “news” links - just to show how their editorial direction is so much in tune with their new Kremlin masters.

Theory: in fact ITG is not managed by Russians but just by ordinary Parisians (since yesterday and the establishment of the security perimeter I have never seen Parisians complaining so much - I even saw an eminent Parisian advocate  on Twitter saying that people who are responsable for this deserve prison for that 😄 )

[FYI]

The Olympics really have become now, the most disruptive sporting event in the world (a victim of their own success). As much as I love them, I sure wouldn't want to deal with them in my backyard. Many Angelino's are already starting to complain about the 2028 Games. And their voices of dissent will surely get louder between now & then.

[Quaker2001]

1 hour ago, FYI said:

The Olympics really have become now, the most disruptive sporting event in the world (a victim of their own success). As much as I love them, I sure wouldn't want to deal with them in my backyard. Many Angelino's are already starting to complain about the 2028 Games. And their voices of dissent will surely get louder between now & then.

Sometimes makes you long for the 20th century, doesn't it!

I've watched the LA 1984 highlight film numerous times.  They make a big deal at the start about how wonderful it was to say "the world is coming to Los Angeles."  Social media and the digital age have somehow ruined that idea because if I want to converse in real time with someone from another country or see highlights of an Australian decathlete, that's all at my fingertips.  So the notion of the world coming together in a certain place and time isn't as meaningful as it used to be.  

And especially for Americans, the Olympics of the 70s and 80s were very much defined by the cold war and an "us versus them" mentality.  We're never going to have another Miracle on Ice, because it's almost impossible to imagine all those circumstances coming together.

I would love to see the Olympics come to New York, but I say that in large part because they probably wouldn't be as disruptive as they are in most other cities (which is probably why we were never destined to get them).  I doubt it'll be that simple in LA, so I understand some of their frustrations.  For all the positives and the legacy of the `84 games, there are the less talked about aspects like increased police presence.  I've heard the argument before that you can draw a pretty direct line from the 1984 Olympics to Rodney King.  I hope we don't go down that road again

[Nacre]

Just now, Quaker2001 said:

Sometimes makes you long for the 20th century, doesn't it!

I agree that a big part of this is the internet. It has changed culture by creating echo chambers for subgroups; so now it's easier for like-minded people to parrot their shared ideas and easily ignore any annoying facts that don't fit their views.

The reality is that the economics of the Olympics are very complicated, and host cities can actually earn a good return on their investment through long term development. (Of course gentrification also has negatives too, as Barcelones and East Londoners can attest to.) Foolish host cities that have overspent on competition venues and underspent on infrastructure are as much to blame as the IOC. But it's hard for the media to blame the cities for getting themselves into trouble.

But I don't know that terrorist attacks and protests can be blamed on the Olympics. There are plenty of them around the world even without the games. It's more likely that they simply attract people who would be doing this stuff anyway somewhere else.

[Ikarus360]

7 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

A cyberattack out of Putin’s troll farms is still a likely scenario. And of course, the disinformation and troll campaigns will be in full flight.
 

They already tried it in Pyeongchang. There was a cyberattack targeted toward the Opening Ceremony which, fortunately, could be mitigated very quickly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/technology/winter-olympic-games-hack.html

https://time.com/5155234/hackers-targeted-pyeongchang-opening-ceremony/

I don't discard the huge possibility of a cyberattack during the Paris 2024 games. Attacks by pro-russian groups which consist mostly of russian sympathizers abroad the world have been on the rise over the last two years, specially now that Cybersecurity became an important topic since the Pandemic kickstarted. Hopefully the organizing comittee is aware of this and is already taking the necesary measures.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/07/russian_hacktivists_eu_elections/

[sebastien1214]

For the moment, it seems that the threat comes much more from an American engineer who uses the wrong button than from the Russians