Fair enough.

I’ll check your blog which I periodically read.

I believe that going to Moscow would’ve been a better propaganda bonanza for the Carter Administration.

For example, the opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympics saw some countries walking into the stadium with either a black ribbon on their flag pole or presenting other flags like their respective national Olympic federation flag or the Olympic flag. The latter two scenarios had instances of a black ribbon on the flag pole.

I know that what follows is easier said than done: in general I believe it’s best to keep politics out of sports as much as possible.

In any event, post-Soviet Russia isn’t Nazi Germany or the USSR. I don’t envisage Russia becoming less free over the long haul.

Your reply is appreciated.

Best,

Mike

In my piece on Sochi 2014, I mention three Olympic Games that I associate with political propaganda: Berlin 1936, Moscow 1980, and Los Angeles 1984. That I do not address the US athletic programmes is because the piece – as indeed my blog – is not about the US.

As for Romania, I totally agree with you. In retrospect, the whole affair is tragi-comic. My own country – Sweden – was no better than others in believing in the benefits of this relatively independent WP-country. Only years before Ceaucescu was overthrown, he was awarded Sweden’s most prestigious order.

Yours,

Vilhelm

I don’t frequent houses of worship very often myself.

Like it or not, they’ve a clear place in many societies as do rec. facilities. The society at large needs releases.

I want teens and pre-teens to engage in organized, well rounded activities, as opposed to hanging out in the streets; with no one caring about their having nothing better to do.

I very much believe in the Greco-Roman ideals of a well rounded person.

I’ll once again reference what motivates some people into purchasing gym memberships.

re goldrush: sure, but there was no gov money involved, and people didn’t settle for long.

I oppose all religion, and spending money on religion. I oppose public works in general as well. I’m pretty radical free-enterprise-no-subsidies-for-anybody kind of person.

So, there you go. if somebody with private money wants to build a solid gold copy of the St. Peters cathedral, so be it. but not gov money.

Good points. In turn, I predict a greater number of bookings in Sochi’s hotels and revenues in Sochi’s bars will increase as a result of them hosting the games.

The overall health of Russia’s population will not be hurt by having it.

Another good point. On a similar note, the overall health of Russia’s population will not be hurt by the Sakhalin II LNG/OET project commissioning the jetty, utility area, and cryogenic tanks this week either.

I predict that Sochi’s tourism and Russia’s Winter Olympic prowess will be enhanced with the 2014 bid. The overall health of Russia’s population will not be hurt by having it.

Since the financial debacle of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, other Olympiads have fared better in cutting monetary losses.

Still, I’m somewhat concerned of how Moscow might exploit the games for political purposes.The history of soviet sports is not very nice, and Putin’s generation was brought up with these ideas.

Yours,

Vilhelm

Imagine how the Cold War would have played out if there had been a million or more Soviet soldiers on the Canadian border…

I agree. Russians generally get a lot of exercise, as they must inevitably walk all over the place, and half the apartment blocks don’t have lifts. Overweight Russians are a sight, but not a common one. Russians’ poor health is far more of a factor of appalling diet, excessive drinking, and universal chain smoking.

I predict two things:

1) The health of Russians will not improve in any statistically noticeable manner following the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

2) The facilities, much like the new ones being constructed in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk right now, will be the preserve of the wealthy Russians and the masses will not go anywhere near them, either because they don’t want to or cannot afford to.

There was also the Alaska Gold Rush. America did well in that transaction. Especially given Alaska’s strategic importance in terms of location.

American football is a guy thing. Olympc sports have a greater appeal. After the 2014 Olympics, those facilities in Sochi will be in place for use by (at least hopefully) the masses.

There are several other ways to value a society than simply monetarily. The US consistently lags in quality of life surveys compared to Europe, but the US has a great per capita GDP.

Also, I started to call BS on the claims about Alaska and its subsidies before checking the numbers because of the quantity of oil Alaska exports to the rest of America, but the numbers seem to back you. The NPV of the original purchase is too big of a claim to even tackle in five minutes.

I’m not so sure of your Alaska claim and you’re grossly under-representing the enhanced tourism and better health which will come with the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Regarding your church comment, are you also negative on the building of mosques, temples and other houses of worship in Russia? Houses of worship, tourist spots and rec. facilities positively help many in a given society. It gets back to the earlier point of why some people spend money on gym memberships. In the long run, the better maintenance of one’s health saves money.

Sports at a major level can and has benefitted greater mass participation at recretaional/athletic activties. For sure, there’s the couch potato viewer/non-participant aspect as well.

On a related note, an American journalist in Moscow recently wrote about how he was initially annoyed with Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov because his back yard space now has an ice near its view. He has since changed his mind in lieu of his daughter taking up figure skating.

Check out the amount of GPD the place generates, and compare that to the subsidies it receives.:)

The place is useless for human settlement in general… unless you stop subsidizing the people who live there and simply focus on digging out the goodies, it will remain a loss operation….

The Sochi games are about as useful for Russia as having the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, or Velki Usytuk… I like both of the latter, but I would never venture to even suggest they are useful.

For reasons previously expressed at this thread, it’s good for Russia that it won the 2014 Winter Olymopics bid. I suspect that polls will confirm most Russians being in agreement.

everything else is smoke and mirrors. countries with high gdp tend to be countries that are more pleasant to live in for most people most of the time.

Frankly, i think russia needs the olympics about as much as it needs alaska.

It’s neat, and probably makes people feel a bit better, but all that money could be put to better usage, i agree.

Public recreational facilities aren’t created for the purpose of making a profit. People don’t pay money for gym memberships for a financial return. These references relate to improving the health of the society at large.

The development of Sochi via the 2014 Olympics makes perfect sense.