Russia Decides on Sochi Mascots

Well, it's official.  There are five mascots for the Sochi Winter Olympics; the Hare, Polar Bear and Leopard will represent the Winter Olympics proper, while the Ray of Light and Snowflake will be representing the Paralympic Winter Games. 

A blog over at the Village Voice stacks up the mascots against some other iterations from Games past, giving proper due to Vucko, the ski-toting wolf who represented the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo.

As for what I think, well, it could have been a whole lot worse.  At least these things are actual, well, animals, and not creepy made-up non-animals.  Some of my least favorite: Izzy, the blue, um, thing at the 1996 Atlanta Games and the utterly terrifying Hidy and Howdy, two bears who represented the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary and look like they want to invite you into their cave to murder you.  Reminds me of "Bear City."  Anyone?  Just me again, huh?

Bloomberg Picks up on Terrorism in North Caucasus

Interesting perspective on what certainly seems to be an environment that is ripe for an escalation in terrorism leading up to the 2014 Winter Games, this time from Bloomberg.com.  The piece is something of a primer on the situation in the North Caucasus, touching on issues I've discussed to varying degrees (particularly Russia investing $15 billion on tourism in the region, which is something I really want to revisit).  It does also throw some numbers around, discussing the number of suicide bombings/bombers in the region over the last couple of years.  Plus, there's a bonus quote from Chechen head of government/Moscow-backed strongman/comedian Ramzan Kadyrov on the current state of security around Sochi: "There are no serious problems."  Comedy gold. 

All of that you can read for yourselves.  What really got my ski poles up was that the article is the first (at least in my reasonably-exhaustive search) to draw the line directly from the recent events in the Middle East/North Africa to an expected uptick in terror in the North Caucasus.  So, let's talk about that for a second because, really, it's just a throwaway couple lines. 

Grigory Shvedov, chief editor over at Caucasian Knot:

The uprisings across the Middle East may encourage extremists in the predominantly North Caucasus further, according to Shvedov.

“The successful turnover of elites in the Middle East is mesmerizing not just militants, but also hundreds of thousands of practicing Muslims” in the region, he said.

And that's it.  Now, I could spend 5,000 words getting into the specifics on these statements, but my refusal to do that is what separates me from actual academics.  Plus, nobody reads this as it is.  What I will do is throw a few thoughts at the wall and see what sticks. 

Doku Umarov, who heads the non-state Caucasus Emirate, has, as I understand it, at best a vague goal of uniting Muslims in an as yet undefined state under his rule.  There aren't even any clear boundaries for this state.  There are no goals the bring down Russia, simply to end its influence in the region and expel the Moscow-backed regional leaders. 

While some Muslims may, in face, be "mesmerized" by what is happening in the Middle East, Umarov was promising that there would be "rivers of blood," at the very latest, right around the time things got dicey for Mubarak.  Umarov and his followers have taken credit for last year's metro bombing in Moscow, the attack on Domodedovo airport and, from what I read, for the recent attack on Russian tourists.  The first certainly has nothing to do with unrest in the Middle East.  The last two, well, the connection is dubious at best. 

Now, Russia, after years of fighting in the North Caucasus, apparently decided on the innovative strategy addressing this issue through bribery, banking that they can subdue the region by easing the rampant unemployment and turning it into a tourism center.  It is clearly not working and, if Umarov gets his way, it won't get the chance to work.  And, unfortunately, I firmly believe that Medvedev will be forced by both internal and external (read:IOC) pressures to step up the military's presence as 2014 nears.  I think the attacks are going to continue and that I'm going to be writing about this an awful lot in the near future.

Olympic Torch in Space?

Lighter note today, as numerous media outlets reported that Russia was maybe, possibly, thinking about considering a plan to send the Olympic torch to the International Space Station as part of its trip around the world in the run-up to the 2014 Olympics.  The deputy head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, Vitaly Davidov, has said that the idea is "theoretically possible."  In the understatement of the year: 

"The idea itself is very interesting and, in theory, could be implemented. But ways of its realization must be studied painstakingly," Davydov said. "Frankly speaking, we have not studied possibilities to deliver [the] Olympic flame to the ISS. This is a very specific issue. Naked flame onboard the space station is prohibited for safety reasons," he added.

Unfortunately, I can already report that "tradition prevented Russia from taking the novel step of lighting the torch in space from sunbeams."  I don't even really have a joke here for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that this story kind of stands on its own.  But close your eyes and imagine an open flame in a space shuttle for days on end.  Then hit yourself in the head for even thinking about it.

Of course, I guess it's no more or less silly than projecting and evaluating Russia's 2014 hockey roster in February.  Of 2011.

3 Skiers Dead Following Terrorist Attack

I really do hate to say I told you so.  Within 24 hours of my post on Medvedev searching for someone to blame for any future security problems around the Sochi Winter Olympics, there is distressing news that three skiers were gunned down in Russia’s Kabardino-Balkaria region.  In addition to that, 3 undetonated explosives were found in a car at a hotel near Mount Elbrus, also in the Kabardino-Balkaria region.  From the Moscow Times:

One of the three victims of the shooting was Irina Patrusheva, who shares the same name as the daughter of former FSB director Nikolai Patrushev. Since bandits in the region do not generally kill women, according to a police source cited by Komsomolskaya Pravda, there are suspicions that this bus was targeted because of her.

And Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported that people posed as police officers and specifically asked for Patrusheva.

However, the dead woman was not a relative of the FSB man, and a police source told RG that the terrorists had been unable to confirm exactly who she was before the attack.

What makes these attacks particularly distressing is that the area around Mount Elbrus, while in the Caucasus, has traditionally avoided the types of attacks that have plagued Chechnya and Dagestan, for example.  This region relies on tourism to drive the local economy and, obviosly, some folks are concerned about the effect this will have on the industry.  In fact, just last month the federal government pledged to spend $15 billion to build up the tourism infrastructure in the region.  But even the head of the North Caucasian Federal District, Alexander Khloponin, wants to stop receiving tourists until the security issue is addressed.  However, others, such as Moscow-backed Chechen leader/strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, offer a different perspective.  From the earlier Moscow Times article:

 “But our enemies do not like it when our lives are getting better.

“This will not slow down [the development of resorts]. I want to say that we will do everything to ensure that the Caucasus is not associated with terrorist threats.”

Kadyrov added that while Russia needed to sharpen up security in general, there was a religious dimension to the issue in the North Caucasus.

“Terrorists call on Islam when they have no relationship with the religion,” he added. “Therefore we are going to the mosques, universities and schools to show the true colours of these devils.”

Huh.  Well, that's another take.

What is clear is that this issue isn't going away and that the terrorists from the North Caucasus have identified Olympic-related attacks as a primary means of garnering international attention.  The question is: will the IOC or Russia blink?

Medvedev Flails about for Sochi Threat Boogeyman

Over at Rueters (and, in fairness, a lot of other places) comes unsurprising news that Russian President Dimitri Medvedev has his eye on a certain special someone this Valentine month.  With Russia (and the IOC, privately) jumpy about the security situation for the Games, an apparently desperate Medvedev reached out to his old fling from the summer of 2008: Georgia!  I guess he was unsatisfied with how things ended.  Regardless, per Medvedev, in addition to unspecified internal threats to security (Muslims/dark people), in his mind the biggest risk rests in Georgia:

"Forces that would impede holding the Olympics must be identified and brought to justice, if we are talking about citizens of our country," Medvedev told his Security Council at a meeting in the games venue Sochi, up the Black Sea coast from Georgia.  "You all understand that there are also certain problems connected to our neighbour, Georgia."

Ah, 'certain problems.'  What might those be?  Ok, let's back up briefly.  You can read all the gory details of of Russia's issues with Georgia at the above link but I'll summarize the important stuff, as it relates to the 2014 Winter Olympics. 

There are two so-called 'breakaway' regions within Georgia: South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, South Ossetia operated as the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.  The South Ossetians declared independence after the fall and formed an unrecognized separatist government.  This led to a war with Georgia in 1991-1992, in which there were plenty of human rights violations to go around and one in which the South Ossetians were supported militarily by Russia.  Ultimately, an uneasy truce resulted, with Georgia and a South Ossetian government unrecognized by Georgia controlled different parts of the region.  This conflict flared up again in 2004 and again in 2007 and Georgia resolved to firm up control and, thus, the 2008 war. 

With post-Soviet Abkhazia, the situation is much the same.  A breakaway region of Georgia supported by Russia, there were conflicts after the fall and the 2008 war in South Ossetia spilled over into Abkhazia, with military support rendered by Russia. 

Georgia (much as Russia does when it comes to Chechnya, etc) resents Russian intrusion into what it considers to be internal matters in both regions, especially with regard to military support provided.  In August of 2008, Russia recognized the independence of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia and this thoroughly pissed off the Georgians.  Official diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia are no more and that, briefly, is how we get to today.

And now, for the really juicy bit...

As the folks over at Nosochi2014.com remind us, the Sochi Games coincide with the 150th anniversary of what they term the 'Circassian Genocide,' though it has not been officially recognized as such by any international body that I know of.  They call for the removal of the Games from Sochi on grounds that Sochi is on the lands once inhabited by the Circassian people.  They assert that, at the conclusion of the Caucasian War in the mid-19th century (in which Tsarist Russia finally subdued much of the Caucasus), 400,000-1.5 millioni Circassians were deported and/or killed.  Russian government records do indicate that there were mass deportations of people from the Caucasus and the closest Russia has come to acknowledging this was a statement by Boris Yeltsin in 1994 affirming the 'legitimacy' of the Circassians resistance to Tsarist Russia, but explicitly refusing to acknowledge the genocide. 

And so, belatedly, to bring the issue full circle, Medvedev's current problem with the Georgians is that the Georgian Parliament is considering recognizing this act as genocide.  This is, no doubt, a response to public grumbling from Russian authorities about alleged collaboration between Georgia and al-Qaeda/Muslim extremists in carrying out terrorist attacks within Russia.  These accusations remain unsubstantiated.  And so it happens that a truly tragic story that deserves to be told is caught up in the mess that is Georgia-Russia relations in 2011. 

I am certain of only a few things in this world: 1) Russia is not going to acknowledge any 'genocide.  2) The IOC is not going to strip Russia of the Games.  3) This move by the Georgian Parliament is purely politcally motivated to get back at Russia for its support of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. 4) This will come up again after the next terroist act in Russia (and there will be one) and will provide convenient cover for the Russian government as they struggle to contain their own breakaway regions in the Caucasus.

It sure seems like 'foreign agents' have been in the news a lot lately, doesn't it?

Putin and Medvedev Test Olympic Ski Run, Listen to Deep Purple and Avoid Avalanches

A little weekend fun for you, as Sochi hosts its first major skiing competition since the completion of the downhill course.  Putin reports that the "specialists say it is one of the best slopes in the world." 

You know, except the article leads with: "The ski slopes for the 2014 Olympics got a cautious thumbs-up after the first international test event Friday, though a second competition had to be canceled due to the threat of avalanche after heavy snowfall." 

So, uh, hopefully there either won't be any snow during the Olympics or downhill skiing won't be held on mountains in 2014.  Of course, I guess it would just be cross-country skiing at that point.  And nobody except me and the Norwegians watch that shit. 

Anyway, here's your fearless leaders testing the slopes...

Lukashenko Still in Sochi - World Remains Safe for Irony

Be not afraid!  In what is almost certainly a delicious coincidence and not because he heard the corruption dinner bell calling him home, Europe's Last Dictator™, Alyaksandr Lukashenko, is still safe and sound in Sochi.  What's he doing in Sochi, you ask?  Well Belarus' official news agency reports that the strongman is skiing with his 6-year old at Krasnaya Polyana, of course.  Lukashenka has taken an "indefinite leave of absence" from benignly tending to his flock and, if he can get himself off the slopes, "the president would familiarize himself with the progress of the construction of Belarusian sports and tourist facilities there and meet with representatives of Russian government and business circles."

Wait, what? 

Oh, I'm sorry.  Maybe I should have mentioned that, in addition to being the freely-elected leader of Belarus, Lukashenko is also head of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus.  And an award-winner.  Straight from the awkwardly-translated horse's mouth over at the Belarus NOC website:

President of Belarus Receives Special Prize from International Olympic Committee (08.06.2006)

By the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has been awarded the special prize “Sport and Society” for the year 2006.
This award has been conferred on the Head of State in recognition of his great personal contribution to the development of sports in modern society.
The special prize is an annual award by the IOC upon proposal of national Olympic committees to a person or an organization which have made great contribution to the propagandizing of sports in their countries and in the whole world.

Or maybe you prefer his 2008 prize from European Olympic Committees for "Outstanding Contribution to the Olympic Movement.  Believe it or not, those wet blankets over at Play the Game didn't think that one was such a good idea.

Now, this is a perfect segue for me to launch into a discussion of what that means and what on Earth a National Olympic Committee does, how in the hell dictators win awards from the IOC (or get to be president of the IOC, for that matter), etc.  I'm going to take on these issues in my next posts but, suffice it to say, it is unusual for the head of a nation to also be the head of said nation's NOC.  Like, I can't think of one off the top of my head.  This is gonna be fun.  

In the meantime, I'm surprised that the Russians haven't made a bigger deal out of a head of state and head of an NOC testing out their newly-built slopes and touring the lack of progress made so far on the Olympic build.  Hell, at this point I'm not sure who comes off looking worse.
 
***Bonus unrelated political opinion:  How fun is it to go through Lukashenko's life in quotes in light of everything happening in Tunisia/Egypt/Yemen/Bahrain/Iran?  Super fun.  It's almost like he was cloned from a Middle East leader and dropped in the snow in Belarus.  Pulled directly from the all-knowing Wikipedia:

Lukashenko himself commented about the criticism on him by saying: "I've been hearing these accusations for over 10 years and we got used to it." Before the polling he said: "We are not going to answer them. I want to come from the premise that the elections in Belarus are held for ourselves. I am sure that it is the Belarus people who are the masters in our state." He warned that anyone joining an opposition protest would be treated as a "terrorist", adding: "We will wring their necks, as one might a duck".

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Replaces Olympic Building Head

Yesterday's news, today here at Sochi Watch! 

A couple of weeks ago, Taimuraz Bolloyev, head of the state-owned "Olimpstroi," the company in charge of all the Olympic Construction in Sochi, resigned from his post, citing health reasons.  Pretty benign, right?  Well, except for the fact that this means that Olimpstroi is now on its fourth CEO in three years.  Oh, and the fact that corruption rumors continue to swirl around the company and the project.  Thus spake the newly renamed Moscow News (formerly Moscow Times):

Clouds are gathering over the state-owned company in charge of delivering the Sochi Winter Olympic complex following the resignation of Olimpstroi CEO Taimuraz Bolloyev.  Bolloyev is stepping down on health grounds – but his departure came just two weeks after Dmitry Medvedev demanded an audit into government spending for the 2014 games.

And the very day Bolloyev bowed out Olimpstroi were facing the fraud squad. 

The Krasnodar region Investigative Committee has filed 27 cases of corruption among government circles and companies in Sochi.

“There has been considerable work to identify the facts and investigate cases of corruption among local government employees and the law enforcement system in preparation for the Olympic games in 2014,” Alexei Kramarenko, Sochi Investigation Department head, told Interfax on Monday.

Six criminal cases have been opened against senior members of the state corporation Olimpstroi, over a fictitious project which involved fake documents and which siphoned off more than 23 million roubles, he said.

This entire situation deserves a bit of background before we dive headlong into this most recent allegation of corruption

In the summer of 2010, an article on Christian Science Monitor (which drew heavily on a Novaya Gazeta story) was, as far as I can tell, the first widely-disseminated report in English on corruption in the bidding process for contracts in Sochi.  The complainant, Valeri Morozov, who owns a company that bid for a building contract in Sochi, is the rare individual speaking out against the entire process.  And here's the interesting part: Morozov freely admits to paying a bribe in order to secure a construction contract.  His gripe is that, despite all this, he was denied the contract.  Morozov even fled the country after speaking out, a testament to the particulary precarious situation for whistle-blowers within Russia.

In response to this entire episode, President Dimitri Medvedev lauched an investigation into the bidding process.  All of this was an extension of Medvedev's campaign promise to root out corruption within Russia, something that has become a fact of life businesses and people in post-Soviet Russia; you pay the bribe, account for it, and move on.  Cost of doing business.  Since his election, there's debate as to whether Medvedv is serious about rooting out corruption or whether this is a pr campaign.  That debate is a whole 'nother ball of wax. 

And here we are again less than one year later, with a 'coincidental' resignation of Olimpstroi's 3rd boss, all while Deputy Prime Minister Dimitri Kozak, the man nominally in charge of the whole operation, denies any connection between the 27 pending fraud charges and Bolloyev's resignation.  Said Kozak: “There were no facts presented concerning abuse or corruption at either SC Olympstroy or any other authority body, despite the close scrutiny from a number of different bodies."  Sure.  

Bolloyev is being replaced by Sergei Gaplikov, another government lifer with no experience in construction.  There's not a lot out there in English about Mr. Gaplikov, but Novaya Gazeta mentions that he entered into public service in 1994 as member of the advisory council on the Budget Committee.  It also quotes an unnamed source as saying something to the effect that Bolloyev's resignation was not connected to his health but, rather, that he had planning his exit for more than a year, frustrated by having to balance three "centers of power:" the White House, Deputy PM Kozak and his staff and the leaders at Olimpstroi.

Or, you may prefer the reason given by oppositionist and former Sochi mayoral candidate Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of the environmental trauma to the region brought on by this project.  In his mind Bolloyev left for the same reason the other two former heads of Olimpstroi did: when they realized the scale of the damage being done to the environment, they left -  "They don't want that sin on their soul."

CBC Investigates Luger's Death at Vancouver Olympics

In the not-so-subtly-titled episode "Death at the Olympics," on Friday the Canadian Broadcasting Company sets its sights on uncovering the true story behind the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the morning of opening day for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics (follow the link for a video preview).  The official version is relatively cut and dry; essentially no deficiencies in the track were found by the International Luge Federation.  In other words, operator error.  Another popular theory kicked around immediately after Kumaritashvili's gruesome death (and, fair warning, the above link contains the grisly video) was that he simply had not practiced enough and was ill-prepared for the course. 

And, despite some public grumbling from Kumaritashvili's father, this was generally accepted by the Olympic-viewing public. 

Now, however, the CBC has come forward with emails from VANOC head John Furlong that were obtained through the Canadian Equivalent of the Freedom of Information Act that appear to show Olympic organizers were privately concerned.  So says the CBC:

An International Luge Federation (FIL) report found his death was an unforeseeable accident, but internal emails obtained by the CBC through British Columbia's Access to Information Act suggest Olympic organizers knew the track might be dangerous.

VANOC had been copied on a March 2009 memo that the FIL sent to the track's designer. The federation said that speeds on the track were 20 km/h faster than expected.
The revelation apparently also worried VANOC head John Furlong, who wrote an internal email to senior staff. 

In an email sent after receiving a copy of the letter, Furlong wrote: “Embedded in this note (cryptic as it may be) is a warning that the track is in their view too fast and someone could get badly hurt. An athlete gets badly injured or worse, and I think the case could be made we were warned and did nothing.”

Now, of course, the issue is that VANOC "did nothing."  And all this while Furlong is pushing his official history of the Vancouver Games in his book Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics That Changed a Country.  (I'm assuming the premise is explained in the book.  Somehow I doubt he has a chapter entitled 'Balancing Budgets by Borrowing $187 Million from the Federal and Provincial Governments.')  Naturally, Furlong has claimed that all the correspondence was routine and that he never intended to convey that the track was unsafe.  If you're in Canada, you can watch on Friday the 11th; it looks like it will be posted on the web eventually.  

As for Sochi, organizers have claimed since the day of the tragedy that the Sochi track would slower and safer.  Everything I've found says the Sochi organizers were looking to bring the top speed down from 90mph down to 84 or 85mph, which would at least seem to indicate that maybe, just maybe, the track in Vancouver was a little fast.  I certainly think this is a cautionary tale we should never forget, clearly, however, not everybody agrees with me.

'Who Will Live in this House?'

I cold really use a light-hearted story today, so let's talk about the exciting world of Olympic mascots.  For those of you who can't handle stories over 500 words, I will now quote the entire ESPN story about the topic: 

MOSCOW -- The organizers of the 2014 Sochi Olympics have put forward an array of 13 cartoon candidates to become the games' mascot, including two bears, a bunny and a snow leopard.
The victors -- one for the Olympics and one for the Paralympics -- are to be revealed Feb. 26 after a public vote.
The characters were introduced to the nation Monday on state-run Channel One television.
They include traditional figures such as a polar bear and a brown bear, as well some seemingly longshot ideas such as a bullfinch and a dolphin who uses his flippers to throw a curling stone.
Also in the running are a gaggle of sports-loving matryoshkas, or Russian nesting dolls, and Ded Moroz, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus.

Not only that but, in the upset of the year, the potential mascots have their own website here.  I'm a big fan of the matryoshka that is also, apparently, a curling enthusiast.  Anything for curling I say.  Regardless, on the 26th of February, the winners will be decided by a nation-wide SMS vote.  So, who's it gonna be?

Not to beat the environment theme into the ground, but the smart money is on the leopard.  Why, you ask?  Well, google 'Putin snow leopard' and sneak a peek at the patron saint of leopards.  Apparently (I can't find the link now), as part of the environment PR attack, Putin and Russia are overseeing the reintroduction of some Persian leopards into their natural habitat somewhere around Sochi. 

So, there you have it.  You can, of course, always peruse the creepy history of Olympic mascots here, but only if you'd like to have your dreams haunted by asexual bears. 

Remember, two of these mascots will be selected; one for the Olympics and one for the Paralympics.  Of course, if I know Russia, the leopard will be chosen for the Olympics and the Paralympics' mascot will be a leopard on crutches.  Or a leopard missing a leg.  Ah, jokes.

More Coming Soon

Cross-country move has really slowed down the post frequency.  Always have ideas in the hopper, so hopefully I'll get something on here now that I'm comfortably settled in my parents' basement...you know, like everybody else with a blog. 

Environmental Watchdogs Allege "Greenwash" at UNEP Meeting

I've written some about the environment already, and I'm going to return to it now and for the next few posts, most likely.  It's not that I don't care about the pending unveiling of the mascot for the 2014 Winter Games, because I do (and who doesn't?).  It's just that effect of the massive construction projects in and around Sochi are shaping up to be the critical story of the next 3 years.  These projects, overseen by the Soviet-sounding Olympstroy, are already proving to be the one aspect of this project controversial enough to draw international scrutiny.  Yuri Trutnev, Russia's Environment and Natural Resources Minister, of course reports that everything is ship-shape down there in Sochi; no problems at all.  Now, you may be surprised to hear this, but not everybody agrees.

As I've mentioned before, the United Nations Environmental Programme was in Russia a couple of weeks ago to meet and greet, listen to the public, talk to environmental bigwigs overseeing the construction, as well as some international environmental watchdogs.  Well, apparently some environmentalists didn't want to play along.

In an article from the Moscow Times, Greenpeace accuses UNEP of a "greenwash."  Catchy, isn't it?  At any rate, both WWF and Greenpeace boycotted the process, and Environmental Watch of the North Caucasus (EWNC), that itch that neither the Russian government nor UNEP can scratch, left less than impressed.

Environment Watch North Caucasus, the main green pressure group in the region campaigning against the adverse environmental impact of Olympic construction projects, met with four delegates from the UNEP's Sochi group Sunday evening.

“We met with four experts from the UNEP,” said Suren Gazaryan, a spokesman for Environment Watch who was at the meeting, “but the organizing committee, which arranged the visit, did all it could to delay and limit the amount of time we spent with them,” including delaying announcing the meeting till the very last minute and timing it for the end of the last day of the delegations' visit.

Greenpeace Russia and the WWF boycotted the UNEP visit amid concerns that the inspections have become part of a so-called “greenwash” of the controversial project.

 The UNEP has sent a delegation to Sochi annually to inspect the environmental impact of the Olympic building sites.  But after an October 2010 visit, greens said the working group had “failed to establish a dialogue between officials and the public.” WWF Russia called on the UN group to “admit that attempts to make the Sochi Olympics environmentally friendly have failed.”

“It is difficult to say whether the UNEP is being manipulated or what. But we do not want to be part of a green PR for the Olympic projects,” Pyotr Gorbenko, managing director of WWF Russia, told The Moscow Times.

And so it goes, back and forth.  What I'm interested in seeing is how much traction statements from groups like WWF and Greenpeace on this topic gain internationally.  Generally speaking, and much to the IOC's liking, the Olympics don't tend to elicit negative reactions from the general public, despite the enormous costs that the hosting countries are expected to bear and the amount of that which is passed on to the taxpayer.  People tend to remember the athletes and the performances and, it could be argued, rightly so.  But scores and medals are the easy part; hopefully I'll be able to help you better understand how the sausage is made.