[Magnetonium]

All your discussions on Winter Olympics go here 'CAUSE ITS MY HOMETOWN, BITCHES!




Countdown to the most expensive Olympics has began!

I'd like to start off with my prediction for the medals table.
1. Canada (both the golds and medal totals);
2. Russia (medal totals, third in gold);
3. USA (medal totals, second in gold);
4. Norway
5. Germany

I also expect some terrorist attacks/bombings in the next 3-4 months, along with plenty of gay/lesbian love at the Games themselves - because both the same-love people and the terrorists would want to promote their respective causes. Police (uniformed and undercover) in Sochi will probably outnumber Olympians by at least 1000:1 ratio for the duration of the Games and the amount of cameras and digital surveillance will make even London and NSA look like a joke. So if you're going to the Games and need a selfie for Facebook, don't bother bringing a camera (it might be mistaken for a terrorist bomb or an American spy device) and instead kindly ask an FSB agent (easy to spot) to email you some photos from one of their 134,304 cameras. Don't bother mentioning your email address, they already know I assure you. If he/she gives you a funny look or a "njet" response, just stuff a $50 in their pocket and expect an email within a few hours. Trust me, it will be of better quality than that Instagram shit.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/o ... e15149563/

In 100 days, the eyes of the world turn toward Sochi, a beach resort in southern Russia nestled on the Black Sea and against the towering Caucasus Mountains.

The 22nd Winter Olympics, which open Feb. 7, will be the most expensive Games ever, summer or winter, with the price so far estimated at more than $50-billion (U.S.). They have also seen their share of controversy, after Russia last year passed a law banning “homosexual propaganda,” setting off a firestorm that has yet to cool. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week attempted to tamp the anger by promising that gay visitors, including athletes, will be free to be themselves – an Olympic bubble for a couple of weeks.

Amid the strains that accompany the Olympics when they are held in authoritarian countries such as Russia or China, athletes maintain a narrow focus on the task at hand, to travel halfway around the world and deliver as best they can. And after Canada’s 14 gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Games – the most of any country at a Winter Olympics – Canada once again is poised to be among the top winners in Sochi.

Infostrada, a Netherlands sports-data consultancy, predicts Canada will rank third in the total medal count, behind Norway and Germany and ahead of the United States. The rank would be the same as 2010 but with 34 medals, eight more than Vancouver. Infostrada predicts 11 golds for Canada, also third among countries.

In 2010, moguls skier Alex Bilodeau was the first Canadian to win gold on home soil, a stirring victory that elated the country.

“We always say winning Olympic gold is hard,” Mr. Bilodeau said. “Winning it again is harder. But I see it differently. I’ve tasted it. I loved it. And I want it again.”

Canada’s goal at Sochi is big: to win the most medals. Steve Podborksi, the downhill skier who won bronze at Lake Placid in 1980, is chef de mission for Sochi and acknowledges that winning the most medals is an “enormous goal” and will require all of Canada’s contenders to reach the podium, as well as unexpected names.

Lowering expectations isn’t an option for Mr. Podborski: “You mean, strive for mediocrity?”

“Canada has changed. The Games in Vancouver really highlighted that, that we’re really happy to want to be No. 1.”

[Travesty]

Ever since it was announced I've had a creeping suspicion that it will be a disaster. This entire project is a gargantuan waste of resources, a corrupt black hole where billions disappear in kickbacks. So I've adequately lowered my expectations and I'm now anticipating an epic failure. If this thing just goes through as planned without any major disaster then I will be very pleasantly surprised. I don't really have any expectations for the actual sports part of this. Growing up in the former USSR also taught me to adequately lower my expectations when it comes to Athletic performance as well.

[Magnetonium]

Ever since it was announced I've had a creeping suspicion that it will be a disaster. This entire project is a gargantuan waste of resources, a corrupt black hole where billions disappear in kickbacks. So I've adequately lowered my expectations and I'm now anticipating an epic failure. If this thing just goes through as planned without any major disaster then I will be very pleasantly surprised. I don't really have any expectations for the actual sports part of this. Growing up in the former USSR also taught me to adequately lower my expectations when it comes to Athletic performance as well.

Initially I was very pumped up for the Games, actually. And why wouldn't I? Residents of Sochi celebrated a full week when Sochi won the bid in 2007. People were happy about many aspects of the upcoming Games - there was some concern of possible environmental issues but not overly. But gradually, the elation wore off (corruption, serious environmental damage, cronyism, misspent money, huge inconvenience for the locals, temporary jobs, higher taxes/living costs, etc) and the locals just can't wait for the Games to be done and over with (I know a bunch of people there).

That being said, everyone is looking forward to the Games. With that kind of bill, they should be impressive to say the least. I will be definitely watching them, but my expectations are not very high. I think that in the end these Games will be interesting to watch but otherwise it will be a huge waste of money for a one-month show. The big winners here are corrupt officials, Olympic committee (who was paid off rather well), and various companies who scored contracts for this project; independent Abkhazia is making bucks with supplies sales. The economic and job market crash for Sochi when the Games end will be very much felt ... all those temporary jobs.

So it might as well be one fucking awesome show, $2 billion or so per day (if you count the Paralympics as well)! Still looking forward to it, despite the political and economic bullshit attached, this a sports show so thats what I'll be keeping my eye on. Russia is still a sports superpower, and though they're not like the Soviets (due to lack of funding and lighter training), Russia should still do very well - much better at least than how they did in 2002.

[Magnetonium]

And we have our first story, very amusing!

http://news.yahoo.com/russian-police-ha ... 05498.html

Russian police harassed Norwegian journalists reporting on Sochi: rights group

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police harassed and detained two Norwegian journalists on their way to Sochi, venue of the 2014 winter Olympics, a rights group and their television station said on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must demand an explanation from authorities and insist that no further incidents of this kind occurred.

HRW said police accused one of the journalists from Norway's TV2, the country's official games broadcaster, of taking drugs and both had their luggage searched.

The Krasnodar regional police, who oversee Sochi, were not available to comment.

A TV2 representative confirmed its crew was in Russia last week to report on Olympic preparations, but was not allowed to do their job by police.

"There is no doubt is that their main purpose was to obstruct our work," news director Jan Ove Aarsaether told Reuters. "Of course they haven't been drunk or on drugs, they had been working very professionally."

Russia has spent more than $50 billion in preparations for the games and President Vladimir Putin has staked his international reputation on the success of the event in the Black Sea resort town.

Jane Buchanan, HRW's associate director for Europe and Central Asia, said the International Olympic Committee, "needs to demand a full explanation from the Russian authorities about the bullying of an Olympic broadcaster's staff and insist that no other journalists suffer this kind of intimidation and harassment."

Russian media has focused almost exclusively on the successes of the games preparations. Any criticism of the increased police presence and the environmental impact of construction for the games has been limited mainly to personal blogs.

JOURNALISTS DETAINED SEVERAL TIMES

The HRW statement said that the journalists had been detained several times travelling in and out of the Sochi region, which borders the volatile North Caucasus.

One of them was forced to drive to a local drug clinic after officers claimed he might be on narcotics. This incident ended only when another officer arrived at the centre saying there had been a 'misunderstanding'.

Police did not give clear reasons as to why the reporters were targeted, according to the HRW report.

However the journalists were quoted as saying that an unidentified officer had told them their rented car's plate had been notified to police posts by the Federal Security Service, a successor of the KGB.

Another policeman inquired if they were planning to report "anything negative" on the Olympics, the journalists said.

"The Russian authorities tried almost every pressure tactic in the book to try to scare these journalists away from critical reporting on Sochi and other Olympics-related topics," Buchanan said.

Russia ranks 148th out of 179 countries on the World Press Freedom index compiled by the journalist watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Pressure on the media in Russia has increased since Putin returned to power last year following an unprecedented wave of opposition protests.

[Varax]

Ever since it was announced I've had a creeping suspicion that it will be a disaster. This entire project is a gargantuan waste of resources, a corrupt black hole where billions disappear in kickbacks. So I've adequately lowered my expectations and I'm now anticipating an epic failure. If this thing just goes through as planned without any major disaster then I will be very pleasantly surprised. I don't really have any expectations for the actual sports part of this. Growing up in the former USSR also taught me to adequately lower my expectations when it comes to Athletic performance as well.

This seems to be the reaction from many people living in the host countries for the last several games - waste of resources. It's gotten to the point here were many Americans don't even care or want us to host the Olympics anymore and we haven't even been trying all that much to bid for them the last several times. This post gives me major deja vu.

[Oxymoron]

If gays boycott this the winter olympics, the only sports left will be Hockey.

[Travesty]

This seems to be the reaction from many people living in the host countries for the last several games - waste of resources. It's gotten to the point here were many Americans don't even care or want us to host the Olympics anymore and we haven't even been trying all that much to bid for them the last several times. This post gives me major deja vu.

You don't think its a waste of resources then?

[Varax]

You don't think its a waste of resources then?

I didn't say that - merely that this seems to be the standard complaint for the last several Olympics. The exception seems to be China which welcomed the opportunity to showcase itself to the world as a rising power and therefore had an easy time justifying the expense to itself. I would agree that that the cost has become bloated out of control and that a lot of blame is to placed on the bidding process and shady politics of the IOC and national committees. The bidding process needs to do a much better job allow existing facilities and infrastructure to be used by hosts and not constantly push for extravagant facilities to be built for a 2 week event. The process encourages ever inflated proposals to the detriment of the budget and economies of the host. The back ended disputes has gotten to the point where the USOC didn't even bid for the 2020 Olympics due arguments with the IOC over revenue despite the fact that there where several US cities interested and the IOC was considering the US for the 2020 games.

I just find it sad that the games have come to be overshadowed to some extent by all these disputes. The spirit of the Olympics is supposed to about bringing athletes together to compete and rising above all the political bickering. Now if it isn't bloated costs or back room revenue deals it's complaints about the host's domestic policies or something.

[Travesty]

I'm not against Olympics games in general. I'm against Russia hosting them because Russia is special.

[Magnetonium]

And the torch has lift off! For the first journey of its kind ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24846606

Sochi Olympic torch blasts off into space

A torch for the Sochi Winter Olympics has blasted blast off into space - as part of efforts to showcase next year's games in Russia.

A Soyuz rocket is delivering the torch to the International Space Station.

On Saturday, two Russian cosmonauts will take it on a historic first spacewalk. The torch will not be lit.

The event is part of a rebranding exercise by Russia, designed to portray it as a strong, modern country, says the BBC's Daniel Sandford in Baikonur.
'Beautiful manner'

The Soyuz rocket blasted off at 04:14:25 GMT from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Three cosmonauts - Russia's Mikhail Tyurin, American Rick Mastracchio and Koici Wakata from Japan - are taking the torch to the ISS, which it is due to reach in six hours.

The Olympic symbol will be handed over to fellow cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky, who are already on the orbiting station, when they go on the spacewalk on Saturday.

"Our goal here is to make it look spectacular," Mr Kotov said earlier.

"We'd like to showcase our Olympic torch in space. We will try to do it in a beautiful manner. Millions of people will see it live on TV and they will see the station and see how we work."

The Olympic torch has been carried into space twice before - in 1996 and 2000 - but it has never left a spaceship.

The Sochi torch will then be returned to earth and used to light the Olympic cauldron in February next year.

It is all part of the elaborate preparations for Russia's first Olympics since the Soviet era. It is also the most expensive one so far, costing around $50bn (£31bn; 1,620bn roubles).

The run-up to the games has been marred by controversy over a new Russian law that restricts the spread of information about homosexuality, as well as allegations by rights groups that authorities have rounded up migrant workers who helped build the Games venues in Sochi.

In yet another minor setback, the flame has gone out several times since the torch relay began last month.

[Magnetonium]

So this is what Sochi Olympics look like from air, over Black Sea. Copy image location into browser to view closer.

[Magnetonium]

Notice in my original post, I was correct at predicting the couple terrorist attacks that have hit Russia, sadly. I really hope there will be nothing like that in Sochi itself, but something tells me that Islamist extremists have something planned, another attack or bombing to happen during the Games ...

And another thing: in a country that bans any dissemination of homosexuality to minors, this is mildly amusing:

It started off as a simple trip to the bathroom - but BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg's photo of two toilets side-by-side at Sochi's Winter Olympics site, has become famous on Twitter in Russia and beyond.

When I went to spend a penny last week in the Caucasus mountains, little did I know that I would learn so much about Russia from one trip to the toilet.

The cubicle in question was inside the Laura Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon Centre - brand new, and built, of course, for next month's Sochi winter games. I tracked down the Gents' and went in. It was pretty much as you'd expect things to be, really, in a little WC. There was a sink, some paper towels, but oddly enough there were two toilets where you'd expect just one - full sized lavatories, they were, side by side - and no partition down the middle.

Equally strange, there was only one toilet paper dispenser - within reach of just one of the toilets. I didn't really know what to do. Which seat should I sit on? Was I allowed to sit on either of them? Or was this strictly a loo for two?

Well, needs must - and I chose - and powdered my nose. And before I walked out, I took a picture of this intriguing bathroom on my mobile phone and posted it online.

The reaction was unexpected and quite overwhelming. The photo triggered a wave of comments in social media, on Russian radio and even on television. This image of two toilets, with no dividing wall, in an Olympic rest room had somehow struck a chord with the Russian people. Some saw it as symbol of the country's rampant corruption and bad management. "This is what $50bn gets you!" wrote a prominent anti-Kremlin activist - a reference to the alleged cost of the Sochi games.
Putin and Medvedev above the double toilets

A different blogger used more colourful language: "There used to be a partition there," he suggested, "but people are so fat from all the backhanders they've been taking, that their backsides can't fit - so the partition had to be taken down."

To other people who saw my picture, these twin bowls seemed to represent the country's two leaders - the president and prime minister. "It's the tandem toilet", declared one tweet. "One seat for Putin, the other for Medvedev." One cheeky chappie in the Russian blogosphere took my original image and cut-and-pasted a portrait of the two leaders on to the wall above the loos.

There were many comments about Russian's controversial law that restricts the spread of information about homosexuality. Referring to the two toilets side by side, one social networker warned: "Be careful - this is gay propaganda." But there were other interpretations, too. One blogger thought the double loo reflected the tight security put in place ahead of the Olympics. "One toilet seat is for the athlete," he wrote. "The other is for the KGB officer secretly guarding him."

And yet this photo sparked more than just political satire. It seemed to remind some Russians of their youth - about toilets past, in kindergartens and schools where there were also no partitions, about basic bathrooms in Khrushchev-era Soviet apartment blocks. And perhaps most interestingly, it seemed to say something very deep about the Russian soul. About Russia's grand tradition of the collective.

Here's one comment I read:

"Two toilets, and just one roll of paper between them - hold hands and trust your comrades."

Communal toilets were the norm in the Roman empire, such as the one pictured above in Ephesus.

There were 144 public latrines in central Rome - well-established places for gossip. Instead of toilet paper, Romans used a sponge attached to a stick.

Which is exactly the kind of message that Russia wants to project to the world ahead of the Sochi games.

Now, I'll confess. I don't know the full story behind this unusual arrangement. The blogosphere is bubbling with possible scenarios. Perhaps there was once a partition, but it broke. Perhaps they simply forgot to put one in. Perhaps it was even meant to be one toilet and one bidet - but they just couldn't find a bidet. Perhaps we will never know…

But if this tale of two toilets has taught me anything, it is this - yes, Russians like to complain and to criticise people in power. But they also love to laugh - and that includes the ability to laugh at themselves.

When I returned to Moscow from Sochi, I went to meet the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov. We sat down for a serious interview about Olympic security, about gay rights, and about allegations of corruption in the run-up to the Sochi games.

When the interview was over, I showed Mr Zhukov the photo of the two loos which I'd snapped up in the mountains at the Olympic biathlon centre. When he realised there were two toilets with no partition, he gave a smile as big as the Sochi Olympic stadium and burst out laughing. "Well," he said, "after all, it is the biathlon!"

[Magnetonium]

Foreign dignitaries aren't too impressed with Sochi hotels ...
Some of their tweets are overly hilarious, click the Washington Post link for the Twitter feed and chuckle.

Amid continued debate over whether or not Sochi is prepared to host the 2014 Olympics (here are 15 alarming signs that Russia might not be ready) reporters from around the world are starting to check into local hotels — to their apparent grief. Some journalists arriving in Sochi are describing appalling conditions in the housing there, where only six of nine media hotels are ready for guests. Hotels are still under construction. Water, if it’s running, isn’t drinkable. One German photographer told the AP over the weekend that his hotel still had stray dogs and construction workers wandering in and out of rooms.

The disarray seems to contradict repeated promises from both Russian and Olympic officials that Sochi is ready for the games, despite terrorist threats, unfinished construction and concerns over human rights abuses in the country. The Sochi Olympics have also run way over budget — to a record $51 billion — which seems particularly remarkable when you consider that some of the work isn’t actually done. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has of course denied that, insisting both that the “stage is ready” and that many concerns, including those over safety and construction, are overblown. Meanwhile, Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of Sochi's Olympic organizing committee, had this Twitter exchange with a CNN producer who complained that only one of the network's 11 requested rooms was ready for them: (CLICK LINK)

After reading the following (below) article, I just hope that the Western media will actually have something positive to say sometime in the next 1-2 months about Sochi Olympics instead of their never-ending negative anti-Russian diarrhea. I know its fun for Americans and others to poke fun at Russia's problems, but there's been waaaaay too much negative coverage of Sochi Olympic preparations so far ...

The winter Olympics kick off in the Russian city of Sochi on Thursday, whether Russia is ready for them or not. And it increasingly appears that Sochi might not actually be all that ready. Here are 15 signs – some of them superficial, some legitimately alarming – that the Olympics could get off to a bumpy start.

1. The Olympic flame went out 44 times

Russia's bold plan to run the Olympic torch for thousands of miles, including to the north pole, made it the longest run in history. But the flame kept going out, including in front of the Kremlin, just moments after Russian President Vladimir Putin helped light it. This video shows a well-meaning guard trying to re-light it with a pocket lighter as the entire world watches.

2. An official Olympic hub isn't even finished

As of Sunday, Gorki Plaza — the transportation and housing hub for thousands of visitors — was still under construction. Organizers blamed 10 days of recent rain.

3. No one knows how bad the environmental damage is

Environmental experts predict the breakneck construction in Sochi could cause significant environmental damage — but because of Russia’s opaqueness on the issue, they really have no idea how big the problem is. Observers from organizations like the WorldWatch Institute and the World Wildlife Fund, however, have voiced concerns about illegal waste dumping, contaminated drinking water, dangerous construction on unsound ground, light pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and disruption to native animal populations and habitats.

4. Allegations of corruption with Olympic funds

Officials in Russia, and observers around the world, have accused organizers in Sochi of widespread corruption and mismanagement of Olympics funds. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, an opposition group founded by activist and politician Alexei Navalny, has gone so far as to publish an interactive map on all the alleged embezzlement, a screenshot of which is above.

5. Woman displaced by construction mishap living in shack

A 58-year-old woman from outside of Sochi is living in an aluminium shack after construction errors caused her two-story house to collapse. She’s one of several demanding compensation for homes ruined, she alleges, by Olympic subcontractors.

6. Construction workers deported, possibly unpaid

More than 100 construction workers from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were detained and deported back to their countries — often, they claim, without being paid for their work.

7. The mass campaign to "dispose" of stray dogs

Sochi’s stray dog problem is so severe that local organizers had to contract a pest control company to “catch and dispose” of the animals, which have been spotted everywhere from hotels to Olympic venues. Said Alexei Sorokin, the director of the pest control firm: “God forbid [a dog runs in the stadium] at the actual opening ceremony. This will be a disgrace for the whole country."

8. Political activists barred from even watching

The Russian Olympic Committee denied fan passes to several Russian political activists — basically denying them any access to the games, even as spectators.

9. Sochi filled with construction debris, unfinished buildings

Recent photos from the neighborhoods around the Olympic Park, where athletes will live and compete during the games, show streets filled with trash, loose wires and uncovered manholes.

10. Oh, and there may be loose terrorists

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for the Games, after reports of three “black widow” suicide bombers targeting Sochi and several online threats from terrorist groups.

11. Athletes say snow jumps are dangerously steep

Sochi organizers were forced to modify a snowboarding course after a top Norwegian snowboarder, Totstein Horgmo, crashed in practice and fractured his collarbone. Multiple athletes complained that the jumps were too steep. Horgmo, who had been a medal contender, will probably not compete.

12. Photos of "Sochi problems" are going viral online

Public perception of the games online is so bad that a Twitter account called @SochiProblems has already racked up more than 11,000 followers. The account’s bio: “I’m a mess, and not prepared for you!”

13. Journalists are live tweeting gross and hilarious hotel mishaps

Some journalists are being warned that the water in their hotels is too polluted to bathe in — let alone drink. “I just washed my face with Evian, like I'm a Kardashian or something,” tweeted the Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair, minutes after posting a photo of the cloudy yellow water coming out of her tap.

14. At least one hotel has no floor. But it does have a prominent portrait of Vladimir Putin.

15. Russian Olympics officials are not really controlling the story

One CNN producer who tweeted a hotel S.O.S. call to Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president of the Sochi organizing committee, got this response: “media hotels are opened, undergoing final testing. Apologize for inconvenience. Pls contact press operations or accomodation service.” When the producer incredulously asked “can you believe this is the Winter Olympics?” Chernyshenko helpfully encouraged him to look around at the mountains and “believe.”

[Oxymoron]

Spoiled fucking assholes

[Red_Army]

FUCK YOU CANADA. USA ALREADY HAS ONE GOLD MEDAL.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Magnetonium]

Western media is truly envious and hateful of Russia. I watched the very impressive opening ceremony and noted that it was mostly full of negative and critical commentary.

Our CBC's anchor, Peter Mansbridge, mentioned every single possible political dispute between Russia and each individual country as athletes were parading and being announced to the world. He mentioned everything negative that could have been mentioned, as one of my friends pointed out - lackluster audience, empty seats, and failure of one of the rings to open somehow hugely negatively impacted the spectacle---those are minor for all those billions. Truly strange reporting. And then there's a couple athletes like Bode Miller, complaining that Russian piste courses "can kill", and of course its a headline in the Western media. Fucking pathetic. And of course it was just a handful of athlete-complainers, most found the challenging courses to be fine.

I think that the opening ceremony equals if not exceeds that one of China in 2008. Truly exceeded my high expectations.

[Soulflytribe]

Spoiled fucking assholes

Those fags would not survive one week in Chernobyl or Fallujah...

But, in truth, since is already clear that Brazil won't have sufficient energy output to supply the country during the World Cup*, I'm kind of happy that Russia is setting the standard for a global event that low. The impression I'm getting is that Sochi is a fake scenographic city that has been entirely built for the purpose of this games! What the hell are those hotels with "twin toilets"? Is this happening because Sochi is a small city and they had to build half of the city from scratch to host the Olympics? If yes, wouldn't it have been easier if they had selected St. Petersburg or Moscow to host the event in the first place?

*:http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Hopes-dim-for-Brazil-s-infrastructure-after-blackout

[Magnetonium]

I've lived in Sochi for over a decade. Its a summer resort with Soviet-era infrastructure that includes winter sports hub in the mountain suburbs, a truly stunningly beautiful city (in the summer). There is no better place in Russia for a Winter Olympics site, it was a no-brainer choice. A considerable portion of the $51 billion price tag was for infrastructure upgrades.

The mountain ski slopes are very dangerous and challenging partly due to extreme terrain, and that explains why some athletes were whining about them (even though organizers went out of their way to adjust the courses in time for the final rounds). A lot of money went to building tunnels and roads heading there, as you can imagine how much it would cost to completely rebuild anew roads right through tall Caucasus Mountains - before than it was a simple gravel road overlooking deep cliffs, very dangerous driving conditions.

[Brio]

A considerable portion of the $51 billion price tag was for infrastructure upgrades.

I would say a considerable portion of the $51 billion price tag was used to line the pockets of corrupt officials.

[Red_Army]

Sochi is an amazingly beautiful city. I think these whiners should man up and try to find something to enjoy instead of complaining at every opportunity.

I would love to be paid to go to Sochi and cover the olympics, I don't care what the conditions are like. Hopefully Putin has them all killed.