Sochi

Something about the Winter Olympic games has puzzled me.  The region is area is rife with unrest which caused Putin to put security into overdrive.  I for one believed there was (and could still be) some kind of incident, but so far nothing is happening that is making the news.  Partly due to the amazing amount of force brought by Putin and partly due to the underwhelming attendance by non-Russians, Sochi has so far not been Munich.

What stories that were coming out are about the substandard accommodations.  Rooms were only partially completed, an athlete ended-up locked in his bathroom, dirty water came out of the taps and the lack of enough pillows were all making the news.  Then there was the failure of the Olympic sign to light properly during the opening ceremonies.  What happened to the most expensive Olympics ever?

But something seemed too familiar about all of the negative images.  Russia, which under Putin had been undergoing a serious rebranding, was being made to look like a bunch of incompetent Cold War rubes.  It reminded me of a disinformation campaign, only this time it was the US conducting it against Russia.

A British blogger also has come to a similar conclusion.  The images of the Sochi games echoes the Soviet era.  The site goes on to conclude this was in response to Putin's stance against gay rights.  Perhaps or perhaps it was a way of trying to take away from Putin's image of a "man of action".

Of course the US has nothing to feel smug about as none of its speed skaters have yet medaled.  The reason now surfacing is their high-tech suits actually produced more drag.  So both sides are guilt of not properly testing things out in advance.

The win by the US over Russia in ice hockey seems to be the final piece in this 80s reboot.  Hopefully this does not continue into another Cold War.