Russian Officials Fire Back at Olympic Critics

reply to post by MrSpad

Seems that 47% of Russians polled agree with you on the corruption part...

The Levada Research Group poll found that "47 percent of people believed the cost of hosting the Games, widely expected to pass $50 billion, has soared because funds have been embezzled or mismanaged." The survey found that "only 22 percent said they believed officials or businessmen responsible for pilfering funds would be brought to justice after the Olympics, and 17 percent said they thought Russia had bid for the Games mainly to boost Putin's image."
The poll was conducted from January 24-27, and it also found that "43 percent oppose the country bidding to host a summer Games" while only 32 percent are in support.

LINKY

chiefsmom
While I can understand being upset about having a sub par hotel room, isn't the safety of all of the competitors and visitors the main thing Russia should be focusing on? And aren't they doing that?

Just wondering

Games just getting started. Well see if the safety is better than the hotels.

reply to post by ATSmediaPRO


Yeah no #, what gives them the right to install cameras in the bathrooms in the hotels??? Does any one know if that is legal in russia? If it isnt, then people have every right to get mad and even sue the hotel or even government for violation of privacy.

Maybe the camera was in the bathroom wall, the person caught on, and kept the shower water running on it all day.

And if one person ran the water all day, I'd guess nobody else in the neighborhood had water that evening. Russia, visit it at your own risk (and bring a friend!).

luciddream
American "We must destroy anything that might promote Russian to be a normal country" Propaganda Machine is spinning!! Right wing seems to be the #1 contributors!

Actually, the one doing the 'spinning' is you. Which is really strange. The big bad right wing is the #1 contributor to an anti-Russia campaign, eh? Yeah, right .... it's NBC and CNN who are doing the most reporting about problems. And there is no way any sane person can say that NBC and/or CNN are 'right wing'. Get real.

THe fact is, it is NOT in the best interests of news teams to report problems from Russia. Russia doesn't like the press telling the truth over there. Russia is likely to yank their press passes in the future. CNN and NBC get NOTHING out of their tweets about how bad conditions are in the hotel. Not a darn thing.

reply to post by Rodinus


I agree with you 100%!

The ONLY thing that bugs me about this thread is that the Deputy Prime Minister said that they have surveillence cameras in the hotel rooms. Is that not an invasion of privacy?

It could be lies or truth from both sides.

Who's to say that the crews that were setting up the rooms just didnt have the time to get to those few rooms yet. What if those journalists showed up earlier then expected? What if those people were in a privatly owned hotel that has nothing to do with the government?

Sence when do we, people of ATS, believe anything that the mainstream media says?

I think the only controversy that is going on here is that no one is really looking into both sides of the story. I am 100% sure that peope are not getting the whole story.

Plus that liquid in those glasses could be ANYTHING as they did not show it coming out of the taps.

The more I think about it the more I realize that those last two pictures could be just fake pictures, anyone can dilute something in water to make it that colour and some one can easily take a curtain rod down at one end.

The first picture, looks like it is an unfinished room. Maybe what happened is that there was ONE room that was unfinished then they decided to embelish the rest to make it look WAY worse then what it was.

I am not a fan of Putin or his colleages, but come one people dont jump to conclusions when the stories come from MAINSTREAM MEDIA.

P.S

GO CANADA GO!

reply to post by Rodinus


You have a better attitude towards it
I don't think it's just journalists , but atheletes as well.
Russia responded today with the Americans making up terrorist threats as well. Re: the toothpaste bans on flights.

Maybe the westerners are just snobs and used to better surroundings; it's only their perceptions.

If the stories are true it is most definitely unacceptable conditions.

chiefsmom
While I can understand being upset about having a sub par hotel room, isn't the safety of all of the competitors and visitors the main thing Russia should be focusing on? And aren't they doing that?

Just wondering

Manholes with no covers. Probably not.

In Russia, the TV watches YOU! ( in classic Yakof Smirnoff accent)

reply to post by ATSmediaPRO


I know this is humour (well, i hope it is?)...

However, I personally take off my blinkers and take media bla bla with a pinch of salt AP.

16 years ago, I had the possibility to visit St Petersburg for a week with my second half and stayed in a 4 star hotel... YES the water was brown and yes I found cigarette butts under my bed... Did I complain or start yelling out to the world how uncivilized Russia was?

NO...

The reason being was that I understood that the people who actually worked in those hotels were on very poor pay and could not do much about it... A job is a job... and in post Soviet Russia people will do anything to live and make a couple of Rubles or dollars... The amount of times we visited historic monuments and met old age people outside asking for DOLLARS....

The reason being was that I understood the fact that they were doing their best (even 16 years ago) to show the world "another" and in their eyes an even better type of Russia...

When I arrived at the hotel and went down to the reception to explain (not complain)... that brown water was running out of the taps, they explained that the pumping station was not working correctly for lack of funding (state funded)...

HOWEVER, they did underline the fact that FREE bottled water, (as much as we needed) was available by simple request... (they were even willing to heat it for our bath...)

During my weeks stay, (we were with roughly 20 other colleagues), the Russian people were so nice to us and were extremely proud to share their history and patrimony without getting all MEGA big headed and patriotic as some other countries tend to do...

The journalists that are tweeting at the moment are just a bunch of Bull Sh******ers who have nothing better to do than spread propaganda crap to the sheeple from countries outside of Russia as they know this will make money for them.

I have read all of the posts here and to be quite honest I am ashamed to be a "westerner" when I read some of the snide remarks on this thread... I bet half of the people who have made those comments have never even taken of their slippers and set foot out of their own village/town/city???

Whatever happened to respect and tolerance?

I suggest that posters here read this article and also read in-between the lines :

www.theguardian.com...

I would also like to suggest to certain posters here that there is a thing called RESPECT of cultural differences and that YOUR country is not the only one in the world.

If I may, why not study this too : www.racismnoway.com.au...

But then again, some people will not even take a couple of minutes to read it and still continue to blab on about something that they do not wish to even TRY to understand... That is your choice and I respect your opinion, however, I feel certain sorrow for you.



Kindest respects

Rodinus

Ps. AND NO... for those closed minded people out there, I am not a Pinko Commy... those McCarthy days are well and happily over...

Deny ignorance (Proud to be a REAL ATSer)

Russia is a beautiful and wonderful country, unfortunately just got hit with a bunch of internet idiot trolls under the cover name of “journalist” sabotaging everything possible on their path.

Kind of “terrorism” for itself, isn’t it..?

amkia
Russia is a beautiful and wonderful country, unfortunately just got hit with a bunch of internet idiot trolls under the cover name of “journalist” sabotaging everything possible on their path.

Kind of “terrorism” for itself, isn’t it..?

And just to make money out of their gutter press "Tweets"...

I have just created a rant about this issue as it REALLY gets my gripe that people are so UNTOLERANT... and have no repect for countries out of their "drawn chalk line boundry" so to speak... shame on those people (IMO)

Kindest respects

Rodinus

My posts here and the thread that I have created will probably be taken away or 404ed shortly... It does not take a simpleton to realise why...

Deny Ignorance

amkia
Russia is a beautiful and wonderful country, unfortunately just got hit with a bunch of internet idiot trolls under the cover name of “journalist” sabotaging everything possible on their path.

Russia is a beautiful country and the people are nice. But that has NOTHING to do with the fact that the country has massive corruption problems ... that luxury olympic hotels were promised and paid for but instead people have either no hotel rooms or hovels .... that there are, according to the Russians themselves, CAMERAS IN THE BATHROOMS ... that corporations like CNN and NBC paid for dozens of hotel rooms that they were promised would be there, but are not there, and this effects their business.

Trying to blame the victim, which in this case are the hotel guests, instead of the corrupt Russian system is silly. Trying to blame the press for reporting the results of that corruption is strange. Every other country on the planet who has hosted the games has been able to get ready for it in time. Russia, which is a modern first world country, couldn't do it. This is newsworthy. The reporters aren't 'internet trolls' or 'terrorists'.

Rodinus
I bet half of the people who have made those comments have never even taken of their slippers and set foot out of their own village/town/city???

I lived in Japan for three years. I have traveled to Canada, Venezuela, Bolivia, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Serbia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Lichtenstein .. and have been in 47/50 US States. So I have been out of my town. Traveling has nothing to do with reporting the truth that Russias corruption has caused it not to be ready for the Olympics.

FlyersFan
The reporters aren't 'internet trolls' or 'terrorists'.

reply to post by defcon5




Thank you..

That was exactly my point but you beat me to it, all these trolling is the result of Russian’s anti-gay stand nothing more nothing less.

Same phenomena as 70’s feminist campaigns now pops as LGBT campaigns, humiliating persons and countries because they stand firmly for their meaning, not long ago these group of trolls laughing at ex Iranian president which said (we don’t have gays in Iran like the western nations does ) “emphasizing on bold” and suddenly his speech become (we don’t have gays in Iran) made by the same trolls.

Way to go Russia and wish you all a peaceful events.

reply to post by FlyersFan




Please do show me a country without corruption.

Do you think that you are not under the second to second surveillance in the USA (even in your private home) if the guest rooms (supposedly) security and surveillance systems there are under the question!?

The scandal of the Olympics are not the delays in the Construction of Hotels
and the Olympic Village but the whole decision to run the "Winter-Games"
in a Region of a huge ethical Conflict
and in a highly corrupted political System!

Putin is a Dictator with inhuman Laws, running Wars and Genocide
in more than one Country!

Putin and his whole Regime are Criminals/ War-Criminals,
they are undemocratic and highly fascistoid!

That this Place is in a Sub-Tropical Zone is only a smaller Problem
but need to get mentioned too, they even needed to store Snow
from the last Year, they killed a huge natural Habitat and they
stole the Home of hundreds of People!

Shame on you Putin!

Well, have no fear.
The video of the shower running comment was just a miss translation.

My question is then, what is the correct translation?

amkia
Please do show me a country without corruption.

I can show you countries that hosted the Olympics and managed to get the job done.
Um ... that would be every country except Russia.

Do you people seriously want to ignore the story about massive corruption causing problems for Russia?
Really? Deny ignorance. Accept the reality of it. It's just the way it is.