It couldn't have been an uglier or more depressing sight. The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at Canada House in Sochi.
Being greeted by our athletes as if he was some kind of rock star.
And they were his groupies...
Oh boy. I've given up hoping that any of our athletes would make any statement no matter how small in defence of Russia's brutalized LGBT people.
It's only about them, and how many shiny medals they can hang around their necks.
And the greater glory of Harperland.
But did they really have to embrace him so warmly?
And what is it about our shallow celebrity culture that makes so many young people act so stupidly or so shamelessly?
And confuse a fascist dwarf for a famous person.
Of a filthy bigot for a mayor...
But then in Sochi they are not alone. It seems that the international media is also failing to see the forest for the fascists.
The new issue of the Economist magazine has some frightening things to say about the state of Russian media, suggesting that it has taken on “a whiff of Orwell’s ‘1984.’”
“Just as Vladimir Putin’s greatest project has been protected from terrorist attack by a 'ring of steel,' so the president himself is protected from political subversion by a virtual 'ring of steel' surrounding the media,” the magazine charges.
The magazine goes on to outline the virtual stranglehold on national media and the television advertising market enjoyed by friends of Putin, as well as a new law that permits Russian authorities “to block Internet sites without a court order on the grounds of vaguely defined ‘extremism.’”
Great eh?
C'mon Brittany, you still have time to ask Putin to be your Valentine !!!!
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14 comments:
you have to wonder who let the ugly fucker into Canada House. on the other hand, it might be said its just like having oil can stevie in the House.
It is disappointing the athletes were having their pictures taken with him, but then like they say, when you sleep with dogs you get up with fleas. the Os haven't been about good well and fair play and all that stuff for a very long time. It all about making money and that includes the athletes. if they do well, the media likes them, they get great exposure, they will have signed contracts and lots of money when they get home. In the end that is what matters to many. Some of them just happen to be athletes who represent Canada.
Simeon, many would have walked out when Putin arrived, but you know it doesn't always work out the right way.
As always, Simon, an eloquent comment on our society. As to the athletes, I hang my head in shame. Putin, or Harper, I would spit on. At the very least, throw a shoe at.
Jian Ghomeshi’s Olympic interview: Too generous and apologetic
But put him up against a politician possessed of Olympian concentration and gold medal-worthy talking points, and he seems to be out of his league.
But when he tried to turn to the tough questions, he seemed overwhelmed by the opportunity.
That’s how it went all the way along, with either weak or non-existent followups.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/jian-ghomeshis-olympic-interview-too-generous-and-apologetic/article16835520/
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And don't forget, boys and girls, that if you aren't the ever-smiling ingratiating lap dog on camera, regardless of what idiotic monster you're required to suck up to, you won't even have a spot on the Canadian Olympic team next time around. No big cheques, no endorsements, nada. Just go back to living like the rest of us anonymouses (new word - fuck off if you don't like it.) And it also is SUCH a bad idea to piss off Putin. harpie is taking notes of every one of Vladmir's new and improved activities regarding social uprising or LGBT doings.
Fraternally yours in christ,
I. Gottawoodie
The dictionary definition of 'useful idiot' should come replete with a photo of a Canadian Winter Olympic athlete and the adage 'smart like dump truck'.
Why are you even surprised, Simon? The mere fact that they are involved in the 'owe-limp-icks' tells you everything you need to know..they probably shop at MalWarts, and accept endorsement money from any PR hack from any company (can you say 'Nike?) that gets waved in their faces..These people aren't about making a statement re homophobia, dictatorships or anything else..the last time the Olympics showed any class at all was Berlin, 1936...since then it's been nothing but a money-pit for taxpayers. Every time someone is shilling for our money for 'athletes' I want to vomit..our tax dollars should never go to these hyped-up corporate welfare wannabes..The extent of their ambition is to win a medal, not for their 'country' or their personal satisfaction, but so that they can get lucrative endorsement deals..just like the pros, except that we are asked to support them financially unless and until this economic windfall, minus anything like a conscience, comes through due to their good looks or ability to do something a fraction of a second faster than someone else...really?
This Western First World cult of celebrity is nothing more than a substitute for that other opiate, organized religion..and why be shocked and appalled that it's 'disciples' are constantly shilling for mo' money? Isn't that what televangelists do in the name of their mythical gods?
Yes Simon, I'm also cityprole..your blog wouldn't let me sign in that way, so my ID is from my crafting blog, also on blogger..I characterized the 1936 Games the way I did because Hitler's 'superior white race' was shown to be the joke it truly was...his pure Aryans were left in the dust by a certain black athlete...you know the rest..that is how you stand up to fascists and bullies, not by kowtowing to them on Twitter...
hi e.a.f...to be fair I don't they had any choice. Apparently he turned up with a group of the scariest bodyguards anybody has ever seen since Goldfinger. If I had been there I might not have said anything but I sure would not have embraced him. Unless I wanted to say I'm gay and I had a crush on you, but now that I've seen you up close you're too small and too ugly for me...;)
hi theo...thanks, but what can you do eh? As I said in my post, we live in a shallow and vulgar celebrity culture where being famous is all that counts. Only that can explain why Rob Ford is mobbed everywhere he goes. But it certainly is depressing...
hi anon....well thank goodness I didn't see that interview. Because at the point where the Russian says:“We’re wearing the rainbow uniform. You know, we’re very tolerant.” I think I would have vomited...
hi anon...yes you're probably right. If anybody had spoken up the Canadian Olympic Committee would have been furious, the IOC monkeys would have fined the whole team, and the Russians would have seized their passports before they left the country. And yes you're right I bet Harper does have a bad case of Putin envy as well as the other...
hi Omar...I don't blame them for getting their pictures taken with the fascist dwarf, but Brittany joking about making Putin her Valentine really was the limit...
hi mizdarlin....Here's the shorter version of the comment I left on your blog...I’m glad I’m not the only one who found that scene at Canada House objectionable. Although I would describe my reaction as disappointed rather than surprised. Few things surprise me anymore. I don’t disagree with your characterization of what the Olympics has become. I think the Olympic movement is totally corrupted and the money should be better spent on providing more facilities for ordinary Canadians to improve their fitness, since as you know obesity is a huge health problem in Canada. However, I must object to your characterization of the 1936 Olympics as being ” the last time the Olympics showed any class at all.” For they were the Nazi Games and as you can see from this link from the files of the New York Times, they are totally obscene.
https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0801.html
hi mizdarlin...I understand what you mean, and it's true that Hitler theories about the master race did receive a bruising. But as you can see from that NYT story there was no resistance there either. Just horrible hideous fawning. But at least the teams in Sochi did not goose step past Putin like some of them did before Hitler. Thanks goodness for small mercies... ;)
P.S. I think you blog looks cool,I'll be sure to visit it now I know it's yours...
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