A Few Monday Morning Links

Hope you are all keeping warm.  Get your week off to an Olympic start with some links for your edification:

• Moscow is looking to double its geographical size.  That's the link to The Guardian article about the plan by president Dimitri Medvedev and Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin to drastically expand the borders of the city.  This is the heart of a scheme to ease the chronic gridlock and congestion that has become a staple of Moscow life.  The plan is to move essential government offices and big businesses out to the suburbs over the course of twenty years, as the city swallows up dachas and forest around the city.  Naturally, this doesn't thrill said owners of dachas or people who like trees but, hey, once that Russian eminent domain machine gets rolling...
• For all you philet, filatell...all you people who like stamps, the official Sochi 2014 stamps will be available in six languages.  The first of the four planned stamp sets will be released this fall and will feature well-known natural scenes and cultural sites.
• This link is my favorite and it probably deserves more words than I'm about to give it, but here goes.  There are increasing signs, as reported by The Moscow Times, that St. Petersburg is considering an Olympic bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.  Now other than fake job security for me, this development is interesting for a few reasons.  Russia, of course, is already on the hook to host the 2013 Universiade (World Student Games), a grand prix F1 event in 2014, the 2016 World Hockey Championships, and  the 2018 World Cup.  Why would Russia want to lay out even more cash to host another event?Well...

Alexander Zhukov, head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, told Around the Rings, the official Olympic news site, that the country believes major events play a vital role in improving the quality of life for all Russians.

 “Our policy is to have more big championships to promote a healthier style of life in Russia and have more children in different kinds of sports,” he said. “That is our aim as an Olympic committee and an Olympic movement.”

Ok, fine. But surely there must be dramatically cheaper ways to promote healthier lifestyles than hosting mega bucks sporting events.  For example, instead of hosting all of the above, the Russian government could probably afford to buy a year's worth of organic groceries for everyone in Russia.  Or just drop vegetables out of helicopters.  Or make vodka more expensive.  Oh, wait.

Or, maybe, Russia's picking up all these mega events shows the government's commitment to improving the nation's infrastructure.  Dmitry Belousov, of the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting, points to the upgrades in rail services in advance of the World Cup, improvements to airports and new roads as evidence that these events are driving infrastructure improvements.  

I don't say this to pick on Russia, because it happens all the time in the US as well, but the logic behind this is colossally bad.  Either infrastructure improvements needed to be made, or they didn't.  It shouldn't require a $30+ billion investment in the Olympics to improve road or rail travel to Sochi.  Similarly, you shouldn't need to host a hockey tournament to improve your country's airport or the World Cup to build more swimming pools.  And, unfortunately, when hosting events such as the Olympics, the infrastructure improvements will remain after the Games have passed but so too will the completely or partially unused facilities that the government will have to pay to maintain.  And I understand, to a point why Russia wants to host all these events; everybody likes to see their name in the paper and sports are really fun.  Not to mention, there are certainly some intangible benefits to hosting these events.  And, sure, there are a few cases kicking around of how a baseball stadium helped spur development in a city.  But city (or in this case, national) planning revolving around hosting big league sporting events, doesn't really make much sense.  Hell, the article even notes that Mr. Belusov "concedes that it is unclear why this long-term planning revolves solely around sport, but adds that this is, at least, better than nothing."

As long as 'better than nothing' is good enough, that's what you'll continue to get. 

Russian Budget Minister Warns of Cost Overruns for Sochi

Oh, snap.  Radio Free Europe has pulled from various reports the news that the head of Russia's Federal Service of Financial and Budget Oversight, Sergei Pavlenko, has admitted that the final price tag of the Sochi Games will be somewhere between $13 and $18 billion.  This is due to, as the article notes "greedy contractors and sloppy management," including rising costs to "prevent buildings from sinking into the ground."  (Here's a Russian language report on the same topic.)

As you might recall, the company in charge of the build, Olimpstroi, is on its 3rd chief in four years and Russian president Dimitrii Medvedev ordered an official probe into corruption surrounding the Olympic build earlier this year.  Not to bombard you with links, but corruption in Russian build projects can only be described as "endemic."

Just a bit of clarification on that final price tag of "$13 to $18 billion;" RIA-Novosti, a news mouthpiece for the state, previously stated that the cost would be north of $30 billion dollars in at least two articles. Therefore, it's hard to get a handle on what, exactly, that 13-18 price tag refers to.  I noted yesterday that the operating cost of the Games would be about $2 billion US.  My guess, just from experience, is that the above price tag refers to Olympic specific building projects and that the missing $15+ billion is considered as 'infrastructure improvements' that would have been done regardless of the Olympics.  That, of course, is dubious.

So this is all well and good and it's always interesting when someone in Russian government speaks out against construction.  The problem, from where I'm sitting, is that this is unlikely to produce interesting news; odds are that this minister is not going to be fired and odds are the building will continue as it has.  Mr. Pavlenko is not going to be disappeared for saying this; rather, he'll probably get a pat on the back from president Medvedev.  Generic complaints of corruption/fraud/waste against big companies, so long as the president and prime minister have sufficient distance from them, is more than likely welcomed by those in power.  Broad campaigns against corruption are as old as, well, birch trees in Russia.  Shit, it's how this guy ended up in jail 

Ticketing Process for Sochi 2014 Based on London 2012 Model

Well, welcome back.  Thank you, thank you.  I've actually been away; job interview in NY, an unplanned night at a hotel bar in Queens after Delta cancelled my return flight and a trip to Cincinnati over the weekend all took priority over the Olympics.  I know, I know, shame on me.  Also, I'm also working on my other website at www.wtfisadebtceiling.com (warning: not a real website).  So, I've had that going for me, which is nice.

It does, however, mean that I remain behind in the news cycle (what's new?) to the intrepid reporters over at aroundtherings.net.  Mark Bisson reports that Sochi 2014 plans to emulate the controversial 'ballot' ticketing scheme that has been something of a nightmare for London 2012. 

Speaking of WTF, WTF is a 'ballot' when it comes to buying tickets?  The Telegraph printed something of a FAQ to the first round of ticket purchasing opportunities but I'll summarize it in this space because the process is confusing to the point that the paper created an interactive app to help navigate it: Over a 42-day period in March and April, one could fill out a form to apply for the 6.6 million tickets made available for 645 sessions and there was no penalty for applying late in the process.  One would then fill out what sport/venue/day/price point they wanted, while also indicating whether they would be willing to accept more or less expensive tickets if the tickets they want are not available.  One could do this, obviously, for more than one session if they so chose.  Sessions that were oversold would have tickets allocated on a lottery system, while unsold tickets (of which there were about 1 million after this first round of the process, for less desirable sports and sports such as soccer, which will be played in massive stadiums) are available in a second-chance ballot.  Simple enough, right?

Well, there were/are a couple problems.  The obvious and most fixable one is the fact that the ticketing site crashed on the last day, overwhelmed with last-minute ticket seekers.  The other problem, as evidenced by the number of buyers who blew up twitter, is what I would call "Holy shit, I hope I don't get all the tickets I ordered."  That is, many people over-ordered, operating under the assumption that they would not actually get tickets for all the sessions they picked.  Not that there was much they could do about it, because London organizers were debiting/charging your Visa for whatever you were awarded.  Accounts that came back with 'insufficient funds' got a bit of grace period but, other than that, you got what you got.  There will eventually be an official secondary market set up where you can sell tickets you don't want/had to sell your car to get, but that won't be for another year.  Until then, you're paying interest on Olympic tix.

As we square the circle here, naturally none of this has deterred Sochi 2014 president Dimitri Chernyshenko:

Sochi 2014 president Dmitry Chernyshenko says Russia's Winter Olympics organizers will sell tickets via the controversial ballot system adopted for London 2012 Olympics.

Thousands of people missed out on tickets in the first and second round of ticket sales for next year's Games when the official ticketing website buckled under heavy demand.

But London's experience has not deterred Sochi Olympics chiefs, who are shortly to launch the tender for the 2014 Games ticketing agent.

"I believe we will use the best practices and the same approach in our ticketing campaign," Chernshenko said.

Asked if that meant using a ballot system, he added: "We are certainly going to use it."

 Well, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.   And there are other items in the first article I linked on aroundtherings.net, namely that Chernyshenko says that Sochi 2014 is on pace to have some venues completed even by the end of this year.  Also, he reports that Sochi 2014 has already raised $1.1 billion toward the projected $2 billion operating expense to run the Games and that no private money will be used.  Then again, when the cost of the Games is north of $30 billion, does anyone really give a shit about operating costs?  Though I guess it must feel good to say the words 'privately' and 'financed' in the same sentence; not often you can say that about any operation in Russia.

Weekend Links

Some links to peruse at your leisure late in the weekend...

• The Associated Press gathers reactions to Pyeongchang's winning bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
• The AP also reports that IOC head Jacques Rogge would be 'delighted' if the US put together a bid for the 2020 Summer Games.  The US, of course, has not hosted since the Richard Jewel games in 1996 in Atlanta.  You might also remember Chicago's failed bid to host the 2016 Summer Games, despite the appearance of Barack Obama at the IOC vote in Copenhagen in 2009.  At issue, yet again, is the lingering worldwide resentment that the United States Olympic Committee takes a 20% cut of all Olympic sponsorship deals and nearly 13% of broadcasting fees.  The IOC, and basically all member countries, would like to see those numbers drop considerably. At present, only Rome is considered to have officially thrown its hat in the ring for 2020.  I can't recommend the site gamesbids.com enough if you want to stay on top of this; the site is already reporting that Istanbul, Madrid and South Africa are entertaining the idea of bidding.  Oh, and the Netherlands would like to bid for the 2028 Olympics, which are expected to be held in space.
• While the entire IOC voting process is a different essay for a different time, German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer was none too pleased with the other European IOC member not voting for Munich.  Beckenbauer was all fired up (and I've now read this in a few places) at countries like Italy, which allegedly cast its ballots for Korea in order to protect its Rome 2020 bid.
• The Netherlands Antilles lost their IOC recognition at the IOC meeting in Durban.  Why?  Well, it has to do with the fact that the Netherlands has done some government restructuring; as of late last year, the Dutch Antilles is no more.  The union of islands was dissolved and all the islands are now explicitly under the Dutch Crown and, since the IOC changed their constitution in 1996, a land must be explicitly independent to gain a National Olympic Committee.  As such, the few athletes that competed for the Netherlands Antilles in 2008 in Beijing will have the right to compete in 2012 under the Olympic flag and then beyond that under the Netherlands flag.  What that really means, more than likely, is the end to any Olympians from the islands. 
• And finally, the IOC sent a delegation to the West Bank to work their diplomacy magic.  The IOC is hoping for greater cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian sportsmen and to allow easier passage for coaches, athletes and equipment in and out of the West Bank.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and the afterglow of the big US win in the Women's World Cup.

Pyeongchang, South Korea Will Host 2018 Winter Olympics

The ultra, double secret ballots are in, and Pyeongchang, South Korea will be the sucker host of the 2018 Winter Olympics.  This isn't much of a surprise, as it was considered the favorite for quite a while now and, indeed, the South Korean bid beat Munich and Annecy, France on the first ballot.  Pyeongchang also bid on the 2010 and 2014 Games and the IOC definitely rewards persistence.

Over at the indispensable gamesbids.com, there's the note that the South Korean city has already spent nearly $1.5 billion on a ski resort and another $1 billion on sport and infrastructure in their pursuit of the big prize.  For their troubles, the South Korean government now gets to spend another $8 billion plus to get ready for the Games.  Another indispensable site, aroundtherings.com cites the bid site's layout and ease of getting from venue to venue in a short period of time as major determining factors in the win.  Despite the fact that the venue is nearly two hours from the nearest airport, there are plans to build a high-speed rail line to link the venue with Seoul.


So, take in the official promotional video for Pyeongchang and high-five a Korean guy today!

NATO-Russia Meet in Sochi, Olympic Guy There Too

For the millionth time in the last 20 years, NATO (with secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen) met with prime minister Dimitri Medvedev to discuss, among other things, Russian displeasure with the NATO campaign in Libya and the intractable issue of a European missile defense system.  So, uh, how did it go?

Well, it went really well, thank you very much. 

Wait, scratch that.  It was awful, just awful. 

The Russian issue with regard to the NATO bombing campaign in Libya is relatively straightforward; Russia is irritated with what it feels is NATO's ever-expanding presence in Libya, arguing the mission's objective is to protect innocent civilians in Libya.  Russian officials protest that the delivery of arms to the rebels, as well as the presence of foreign military instructors in Libya, are in direct violation of resolutions passed by the UN earlier this year.  NATO, of course, does not see things way.  Russia, naturally, has decided to go with the 'Bobby Fischer' approach to diplomacy, so hopefully that works out better than Mr Fischer's last press conference.

The other biggie, and one that is the main thrust of the second and third links, is the future of a NATO-sponsored European missile defense system.  I'll spare you the gory details but, suffice it to say, NATO and Russia still have a pretty wide gulf to bridge if this thing is to ever get off the ground.  Here's NATO's official statement about the future of missile defense.  And here is an article claiming that the proposal is not only ineffective, but might also actually endanger Russia. 

What's interesting is the throwaway article at The Voice of Russia about NATO praising the security measures implemented by Russia for the 2014 Sochi Games.  What's interesting to me and, in addition, something that I've had a hell of a time finding more about, is Russia's demonstration of what's known as STANDEX; that is, Stand-off Explosive Detection.  One of the larger pursuits of the NATO-Russia council is the development of this technology.  It is hoped that this technology will be successful at "identifying and recognizing explosives on a suicide bomber or on a movable object in urban transport." 

With security issues already a major concern for the 2014 Games, it will be interesting to follow the development of this technology to see whether this might change the way potential terrorists are caught in the act before they have the chance to reek Munich '72 style violence in 2014. 

Slopestyle Approved for Sochi 2014

That vanguard of XTREME!!! sports, The New York Times, is first to report the addition of slopestyle events for the 2014 Winter Olympics.  What is slopestyle, says you?  Why, it's when you stick shit that isn't normally on a mountain (rails, for example) and combine that with bumps and jumps.  All these things are known collectively as 'features.'  Slopestyle will be a part of both snowboarding and freestyle skiing, though the really important part is that the only snowboarder anyone has ever heard of, Target's Shaun White, says he'd like to compete.

Here's Bobby Brown's freeskiing slopestyle X Games gold medal run:

And here's Finland's Eero Ettala doing the same on a snowboard:

Enjoy the Long Weekend...

I'm compiling news throughout the weekend and I'll resume with an avalanche of posting starting early on Tuesday.  Have a good 4th.


-adam