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Sochi Games boycott by U.S. possible? (Snowden)

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avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Feb 27, 2012
Moscow Trip for Obama May Be Off as Snowden Tensions Build

Excerpt:
WASHINGTON — President Obama may cancel a scheduled trip to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin in September as the standoff over the fate of Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor seeking asylum there, takes its toll on already strained relations between the United States and Russia, officials said Thursday.​
 

Serious Business

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Jan 7, 2011
Its very obvious that criminals are saying they oppose Putin to get people in the west to believe they aren't guilty so there is pressure to release them from western governments.

Well, I'd point out what's really obvious here, but I'll give your literacy and education the benefit of the doubt. ;) FYI, Alexey Navalny is a major organizer and political leader in the opposition movement years before he was charged and convicted.

Right! As if the rule of law is not deteriorating further in US.;)

This is not a competition or game between Russia and the US, it's a very real struggle in Russia for fairness and decency. Although, if it were a competition, the US would win. :points: See, in the US, opposition leaders are elected to major offices where they wield obstructive power, personalities such as Lindsey Graham and John Boehner who have been mentioned in this thread. Opposition leaders in Russia are exiled, jailed, tortured and/or assassinated.
 

gmyers

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Well, I'd point out what's really obvious here, but I'll give your literacy and education the benefit of the doubt. ;) FYI, Alexey Navalny is a major organizer and political leader in the opposition movement years before he was charged and convicted.



This is not a competition or game between Russia and the US, it's a very real struggle in Russia for fairness and decency. Although, if it were a competition, the US would win. :points: See, in the US, opposition leaders are elected to major offices where they wield obstructive power, personalities such as Lindsey Graham and John Boehner who have been mentioned in this thread. Opposition leaders in Russia are exiled, jailed, tortured and/or assassinated.

Navalny is a neo nazi criminal which is why his big protests collapsed. Now he runs to western media all the time because that's where Most of his supporters are now. So now he is a criminal neo nazi western puppet.
 

noskates

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Jun 11, 2012
I have not read this entire thread - mostly because it makes me so irritated. IF the US boycotted Sochi because of a political point they're trying to make I think it would be a travesty. Let the politicians the countrie's leaders work it out and not impact people who have worked and worked at no small cost - physically or financially - for years to make it to Sochi. I don't believe in boycotts anyway - because they always impact the innocent people and very rarely achieve their goal other than to royally piss everyone off.

Just my opinion.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
In 1980, there might have been a reason to boycott the Olympics because of some thought that the boycott would have an effect. (Though I was against the boycott and have always felt bad for the athletes who lost their chances to compete.) But after we saw how ineffectual that boycott was, we can no longer realistically consider an Olympic boycott as a possible action to take. In fact, from the intervening years, it's been made clear that keeping channels open in international events in areas such as sports, music, and science is one of the best ways to improve relations among countries. It's no coincidence that many of the earliest meetings of the U.S. and China happened through sports (ping-pong first) and music (Isaac Stern and I think the Boston Symphony, or was it the New York Philharmonic?). I'm sure that the Soviet skaters at the Calgary Olympics, especially the charming Gordeyeva and Grinkov, helped narrow the chasm between Us and Them (whichever side you consider to be Us).

In any case, I hope this move goes nowhere. Not only will the athletes be hurt by it, but America will look like a bunch of sore losers. This time around, no other countries are going to join in solidarity with us and boycott arm in arm with us. We'll be twisting in the wind alone.
 

gmyers

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Mar 6, 2010
In 1980, there might have been a reason to boycott the Olympics because of some thought that the boycott would have an effect. (Though I was against the boycott and have always felt bad for the athletes who lost their chances to compete.) But after we saw how ineffectual that boycott was, we can no longer realistically consider an Olympic boycott as a possible action to take. In fact, from the intervening years, it's been made clear that keeping channels open in international events in areas such as sports, music, and science is one of the best ways to improve relations among countries. It's no coincidence that many of the earliest meetings of the U.S. and China happened through sports (ping-pong first) and music (Isaac Stern and I think the Boston Symphony, or was it the New York Philharmonic?). I'm sure that the Soviet skaters at the Calgary Olympics, especially the charming Gordeyeva and Grinkov, helped narrow the chasm between Us and Them (whichever side you consider to be Us).

In any case, I hope this move goes nowhere. Not only will the athletes be hurt by it, but America will look like a bunch of sore losers. This time around, no other countries are going to join in solidarity with us and boycott arm in arm with us. We'll be twisting in the wind alone.

I definitely think if the us got to the point of boycott other countries would follow. Canada UK etc.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
^ I don't think so. Why would the UK and Canada want to look like fools just because the United States did?

By the way, in the 1980 boycott the United Kingdom decided to leave it up to the national federation of each sport separately, or to the conscience of the individual athlete, whether or not to participate in the Games.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter sent famous boxer Muhammed Ali to Africa to try to get some African countries on board, but none was persuaded. Maybe this year we can send renowned figure skater and state department good will ambassador Michelle Kwan to Asia for the same purpose. Maybe she can talk her good friend Yuna Kim into withdrawing. ;)

By the way, China joined in the 1980 boycott against Russia but not the Soviet-led 1984 boycott of the Los Angeles games.
 

gmyers

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Mar 6, 2010
^ I don't think so. Why would the UK and Canada want to look like fools just because the United States did?

By the way, in the 1980 boycott the United Kingdom decided to leave it up to the national federation of each sport separately, or to the conscience of the individual athlete, whether or not to participate in the Games.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter sent famous boxer Muhammed Ali to Africa to try to get some African countries on board, but none was persuaded. Maybe this year we can send renowned figure skater and state department good will ambassador Michelle Kwan to Asia for the same purpose. Maybe she can talk her good friend Yuna Kim into withdrawing. ;)

By the way, China joined in the 1980 boycott against Russia but not the Soviet-led 1984 boycott of the Los Angeles games.

That is so true. The UK GOVERNMENT boycotted but athletes could go and compete under OLYMPIC flag. I don't believe that the UK and Canada would think the US was being a fool. They never do! Just going to mention Iraq! But maybe there is more daylight now? I don't think so but maybe there is! They learned some lessons maybe? I don't know but I can really see there being GOVERNMENT boycotts but not athlete boycotts. Too many people are talking about it! Much more ever than China in Beijing! In my view there is more talk of boycotting the Winter Olympics of 2014 than summer of 2008! And China is a total real dictatorship that is not even in dispute because that's the system! There is not even anything Chinese can vote on that much.
 

Bluebonnet

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Aug 18, 2010
Well, I'd point out what's really obvious here, but I'll give your literacy and education the benefit of the doubt. ;) FYI, Alexey Navalny is a major organizer and political leader in the opposition movement years before he was charged and convicted.



This is not a competition or game between Russia and the US, it's a very real struggle in Russia for fairness and decency. Although, if it were a competition, the US would win. :points: See, in the US, opposition leaders are elected to major offices where they wield obstructive power, personalities such as Lindsey Graham and John Boehner who have been mentioned in this thread. Opposition leaders in Russia are exiled, jailed, tortured and/or assassinated.

Alexey Navalny has been out of the jail after one day.

I definitely think if the us got to the point of boycott other countries would follow. Canada UK etc.

I don't think Canada and UK have blindly followed US. Sometimes, they do think and act independently. Canada has several Olympic gold medal hopefuls. Why should it follow US to boycott the game for Snowden or any political reasons? US will be seen as stupid if it's government decided to boycott it. It won't happen though. For start, NBC won't allow it.:laugh:

But after we saw how ineffectual that boycott was, we can no longer realistically consider an Olympic boycott as a possible action to take.

Especially more and more countries have participated Olympics. It is no longer a few countries' sport event anymore. No one really care if one or two countries decided not to come. If, maybe say, 10 big countries have decided to boycott it, it might effective. But it will never happen.
 

clairecloutier

Final Flight
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Aug 27, 2003
I still don't think we should boycott, for the athletes' sake. But I wish this Olympic Games was anywhere but Russia.

I truly love and appreciate and respect Russian culture. But IMO Putin is destroying this country, or at least its international reputation. His antigay legislation is a disgrace, his jailing and destruction of his political opponents is immoral, and his decision to shelter Snowden is not only deeply hypocritical but also beyond insulting to the U.S.
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
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Nov 20, 2011
I still don't think we should boycott, for the athletes' sake. But I wish this Olympic Games was anywhere but Russia.

I truly love and appreciate and respect Russian culture. But IMO Putin is destroying this country, or at least its international reputation. His antigay legislation is a disgrace, his jailing and destruction of his political opponents is immoral, and his decision to shelter Snowden is not only deeply hypocritical but also beyond insulting to the U.S.

and ??? the US harbors terrorists not only wanted in Russia but in by other countries and grants them asylum
hypocrite much ? :confused: Snowden isn't a criminal btw
 

karne

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But I wish this Olympic Games was anywhere but Russia.

And I wished the 2008 summer Games was anywhere but China, yet they still went ahead, and that was with one of my country's athletes being told outright by the Chinese organising committee that they could not guarantee his safety!
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Russia taking in Snowden is an insult to the U.S. only if the U.S. decides that it wants to feel insulted. The U.S. should tell Russia, do what you want, it's no skin off our nose one way or the other. Then they should tell Snowden (as Belle told Ebeneezer Scrooge), "Be happy in the life you have chosen."
 
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