Western media do a delhi cwg to russian winter olympics

The Messiah

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Embarrassment deepens for Putin on eve of Winter Games, with sewage in the water, no spectators, no pillows for the athletes... and there isn't even any snow!

- Pillows for volunteers 'moved to the athlete's village due to a shortage'
- Rumours that Putin's alleged girlfriend will light the Olympic flame
- Reports that the only spectators milling about are Russian
- Journalist at hotel 'turned on his faucet and watched as sewage spilled out'


The first athletes have only just taken to the slopes at the Winter Olympics, but the event is already being overshadowed by a serious of embarrassing gaffes for President Putin.

Today it was reported it appears that there are not enough pillows for the athletes in the Olympic Village.

Luiza Baybakova, a member of the catering staff for the games, posted a photo of the news on her Instagram feed.

The sign reported by Voactiv read: 'Attention dear colleagues! Due to an extreme shortage of pillows for athletes who unexpectedly arrived to Olympic Village in the mountains, there will be a transfer of pillows from all apartments to the storehouse on 2 February 2014. Please be understanding. We have to help the athletes out of this bind.'

The news suggests the athletes turned up before schedule or that the planners had not ordered enough to accommodate the numbers.

Thousands of athletes, soldiers, journalists and herds of smiley volunteers are in place, eager to help at the event.

Although today it was revealed so far it seems like the only spectators milling about are Russian.

Dina Kobolenko works at the tourist information stand near the Sochi train station, armed with maps of this subtropical resort on the Black Sea.

She says that as of two days before the Games, she'd seen only a single foreigner - a South Korean.

They couldn't understand each other, though, so had to communicate in sign language.

Fears about terrorism and the hassle of reaching Sochi from points abroad may be keeping some foreigners away - and undermining Vladimir Putin's plans to transform Sochi into a magnet for international tourism.

A train traveling between Olympic sites and downtown Sochi cheerily announces to visitors in English: 'We wish you a pleasant journey!'

But on a recent ride, its seats were half empty.

And a sweep through four train cars found ... not a single foreign fan.

it is not just spectators that are absent, however. The games are missing one crucial element: snow.

Sochi is a Black Sea resort on the same latitude as Nice in the south of France, which is why all the outdoor activities actually take place 40 miles away. And to make matters worse, unseasonably warm temperatures have predicted for the duration of the event.

The state of the hotels for journalists covering the games have not proved to be a success either.

Today journalist Katie Baker wrote on Grantland.com: 'I had yet to eat my breakfast this morning when someone regaled me with a story about a guy staying up in Sochi's mountaintop media hotel cluster who turned on his faucet and watched as sewage spilled out.

'Last night, a colleague returned to her room after a long day of work to find the door swung open, a set of keys still dangling from the lock.

'Nothing was stolen, but a TV had finally been installed. It could have been worse: The door to one guy's room was supposedly kicked down by workers trying to put in a cable box.'

Journalist Stacy St. Clair tweeted of her experience of having no water in her room on Twitter.

She said she was told by a receptionist to avoid it even if restored: 'Do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous.'

Another news coming from Russia suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin's rumoured girlfriend may be lighting the Olympic flame at the Fisht Stadium near the Black Sea.

Although it has never been confirmed Alina Kabayeva, a 2004 Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion, is thought to be Putin's lover since he split up with his wife last year.

News.com.au. reported Putin said 'I'm aware of this (the speculation), I was told of this by (Kremlin spokesman) Dmitry Peskov. These are the usual red herrings,' Putin said according to News.com.au.

The shocking images and anecdotes comes after it emerged Russia exceeded its budget by millions to spend $32billion on the games.

Russia insists widespread fears for human rights are unfounded despite a video by Human Rights Watch incorporating clips from some of the worst examples of homophobic violence in Russia which has been filmed and uploaded to the internet.

However, Vladimir Putin has sanctioned action to be taken on the city's large population of stray dogs.

In a bid to make the area presentable to welcome in people from around the world, the animals are being fed poison on the streets and left to die.

The strategy has outraged animal rights activists - and baffled journalists arriving in Sochi today who claim the city is brimming with ailing dogs.

Meanwhile, a top U.S. counterterrorist official says there are 'a number of specific threats' aimed at the Winter Olympics that start this week in Sochi, Russia - with the greatest danger coming from the Caucasus Emirate, which has threatened to attack the games.

Russia has mounted a massive security operation for the Olympics, deploying more than 50,000 police and soldiers amid threats from Muslim insurgents.

Embarrassment for Putin on eve of Winter Games, with sewage in the water, no spectators, run-down hotels and no pillows for the athletes | Mail Online

propaganda, media is fully aligned with political policy of the govt.
 

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